222 



FOREST PRESERVE DEFINED. 



$ 7. All the lands no\v owned, or which may hereafter be acquired by the 

 State of New York within the Counties of Clinton (except in the Towns of 

 Alton;, .Mini I himii'mora) Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, 

 Lewis, Oucida, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Greene, Ulster and 

 Sullivan, shall constitute and be known as the Forest Preserves, except all such 

 lands within the limits of any incorporated village or city, and except all such 

 lands, not wild lands, as have been, or may hereafter be, acquired by the State of 

 New York, upon or by foreclosure of or sale pursuant to any mortgage upon 

 lands made to the Commissioners for loaning certain moneys of the United States, 

 usually called the United States Deposit Fund, and all such excepted lands 

 acquired by the State of New York may be sold and conveyed as provided by law. 



STATE LAND CANNOT BE LEASED. CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH IT CAN BE SOLD OR 

 EXCHANGED. APPRAISERS APPOINTED. DUTY OF COMPTROLLER. 



8. The lands now or hereafter constituting the forest preserve shall be 

 forever kept as wild forest lands, and shall not be sold, nor shall they be leased or 

 taken by any person or corporation, public or private, except that whenever any 

 of the lands now constituting the forest preserve or which may hereafter become 

 a part thereof, owned by the State within any county specified in section seven of 

 the act hereby amended, shall consist of separate small parcels or tracts wholly 

 detached from the main portions of the forest preserve and bounded on every 

 side by lands not owned by the State, then it shall be lawful, and the comptroller 

 shall have power to sell and convey such separate tracts or parcels, or the timber 

 thereon, to such person or persons, corporation or association as shall have offered 

 the highest price therefor ; but no such tracts or parcels of land or the timber 

 thereon, shall be sold by the comptroller except upon the recommendation of the 

 forest commission or a majority thereof, together with the advice of the attorney- 

 general in behalf of the State. Such separate tracts or parcels of land may be 

 exchanged by the comptroller for lands that lie adjoining the main tracts of th 

 forest preserve upon the recommendation of the forest commission or a majority 

 thereof, together with the advice of the attorney -general on behalf of the State ; 

 but the values of said lands so exchanged must be first appraised by three 

 disinterested appraisers sworn to faithfully and fairly appraise the value of said 

 lands, and the difference if any, between the values of such parcels so proposed to 

 be exchanged shall be paid by the party so exchanging with the State into the 

 State treasury, but the State shall not pay the amount of any such difference. 

 Two of said appraisers shall be nominated and appointed by the county judge of 

 the county in which said lands proposed to be exchanged are situate or in case 

 such lands are situate in two counties, then the county judge of each county shall 

 nominate and appoint each one appraiser. The two appraisers so appointed shall 

 select a third appraiser, and they shall report to the comptroller the result of said 

 appraisal, before such lands shall be exchanged as aforesaid. The said appraisers 

 so appointed shall receive the same compensation for their services as is provided 

 for appraisers of decedent's estates, to be paid by the party so proposing to 

 exchange lands with the State. It shall be the duty of the comptroller annually 

 to report to the legislature all sales or exchanges of lands made under the pro- 

 visions of this act, together with all bids and the amounts received therefor, and 

 in said report shall be included the reports of appraisers of lands exchanged in 

 accordance with the foregoing provisions. The proceeds of all lands so sold, or 

 the receipts from all exchanges so made, shall be invested by the comptroller, 

 with the approval of the forest commission, in the purchase of forest land adjoin- 

 ing great blocks of the forest preserve* now owned by the State. 



