N.Y. General Municipal Law § 72-a: Acquisition and development of forest lands

§ 72-a. Acquisition and development of forest lands. The governing

board of a county, town or village may severally acquire for such

county, town or village, by purchase, gift, lease or condemnation, and

hold as the property of such municipality, tracts of land having forests

or tree growth thereon, or suitable for the growth of trees, and may

appropriate therefor the necessary moneys of the county, town or village

for which the lands are acquired. Such lands shall be under the

management and control of such board and shall be developed and used for

the planting and rearing of trees thereon and for the cultivation

thereof according to the principles of scientific forestry, for the

benefit and advantage of the county, town or village. The determination

of any such board to acquire lands under the provisions of this section

shall be by resolution; but the question of the final adoption of such

resolution shall be taken up by the board only after public notice

thereof has been published at least once in each week for two successive

weeks, as follows: If it be a resolution of a board of supervisors, the

publication shall be made in the newspapers in which the session laws

and concurrent resolutions are required to be published, provided that

if publication cannot be made in both such newspapers as herein required

because of infrequency of publication of one of them, such notice need

be published in only one such newspaper; if it be a resolution of a town

board or of a board of trustees of a village, the publication shall be

made in a newspaper published in the town or village respectively. The

first publication of such notice shall be at least fourteen days before

the question of final adoption of the resolution may be taken up by the

board. Any period of seven successive days shall constitute a week under

this section. The board shall give a hearing to all persons appearing in

support of or in opposition to such proposed resolution. If it be

determined to purchase such lands the moneys necessary therefor may be

provided as follows: If the acquisition be by a county, the board of

supervisors may cause such moneys to be raised, in whole or in part, by

taxation and levied and collected as other county taxes or such moneys

may be raised, in whole or in part, pursuant to the local finance law;

if the acquisition be by a town, the moneys necessary therefor shall

constitute a town charge and be raised, in whole or in part, by taxation

as other town charges or such moneys may be raised, in whole or in part,

pursuant to the local finance law; if the acquisition be by a village,

the moneys therefor may be raised, in whole or in part, by taxation, as

other village taxes or such moneys may be raised, in whole or in part,

pursuant to the local finance law. All revenues and emoluments from

lands so acquired shall belong to the municipality and be paid to its

chief fiscal officer for the purposes of such municipality and in

reduction of taxation therein. Such forest lands shall be subject to

such rules and regulations as such governing board of the municipality

shall prescribe; but the principal object to be conserved in the

maintenance of such lands shall be the sale of forest products in aid of

the public revenues and the protection of the water supply of the

municipality. Such lands or portions thereof may be sold and conveyed,

or leased, if a resolution therefor be adopted by the affirmative vote

of two-thirds of all the members of such governing board; but no such

resolution directing an absolute conveyance shall be effectual unless

adopted after a public hearing, held upon notice given in the manner

required in the case of a resolution to acquire such lands. A deed of

conveyance or lease of such lands, when authorized as aforesaid, shall

be executed by the county treasurer of the county, supervisor of the

town or president of the village by which the conveyance or lease is

made. Moneys may be appropriated for the care and maintenance of such

lands and the development and use for forests thereon annually, by the

county, town or village, respectively, and the amount thereof raised by

taxation in the same manner that other expenditures of such county, town

or village are provided for by law.