LibGuides: Cultural Resource Management by Luis Cortinas: Jurisprudence

American Jurisprudence

§ 1. "Public lands;" "public land laws"

The term "public lands" generally refers to government lands that are open to public sale or other disposition under general laws and that are not held back or reserved for a governmental or public purpose. The phrase "public lands" is synonymous with "public domain." Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, public land is land or an interest in land that the United States owns within a state and that the Secretary of the Interior administers through the Bureau of Land Management. In this context, it is not significant how the United States acquired ownership. Explicitly excluded are lands located on the Outer Continental Shelf and lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos. Under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, public land is:

(1) land that the United States owns and administers as part of the national park system, the national wildlife refuge system, or the national forest system; and

(2) all other land for which the United States holds the fee title, except for lands on the Outer Continental Shelf and lands under the jurisdiction of the Smithsonian Institution.

The term "public land laws" traditionally refers to statutes governing the alienating of public lands, as distinguished from both mining laws governing the mining of hard minerals on public lands and mineral leasing laws designating the leasing of public lands for gas and oil.

Florida Jurisprudence

§ 23. Archaeological property

The Emergency Archaeological Property Acquisition Act of 1988¹ establishes a program to protect archaeological properties of major statewide significance from destruction as a result of imminent development, vandalism, or natural events by creation of a rapid method of acquisition for a limited number of specifically designated properties. The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund must consider the purchase of lands pursuant to the Act on its own motion or on a written request by any person, corporation, organization or agency. Written requests must be filed with the Division of State Lands and the Division of Historical Resources; the director of either division must place those requests which substantially comply with the requirements of the Act on the agenda of the Board of Trustees. Should the board agree to consider the request, it must approve a plan for future actions that may lead to the acquisition of the property.

The sum of $2 million dollars is reserved annually within the Florida Forever Trust Fund for the purpose of emergency archaeological acquisition, with unspent amounts, or amounts not obligated by the end of the third quarter, to be used for specified acquisitions. However, no funds may be spent for the acquisition of property unless:

the property is an archaeological property of major statewide significance
the structures, artifacts, or relics, or their historic significance, will be irretrievably lost if the state cannot acquire the property
the site is presently on the acquisition list for Conservation and Recreation Lands or Florida Forever lands, or complies with the criteria for inclusion on the any such list but has yet to be included on the list
no other source of immediate funding is available to purchase or otherwise protect the property
the site is not otherwise protected by local, state, or federal laws
the acquisition is not inconsistent with the state comprehensive plan and the state land acquisition program

Moreover, no funds may be spent from the account for excavation or restoration of the properties acquired, though funds may be spent for preliminary surveys to determine if the sites meet the criteria for acquisition. An amount not to exceed $100,000 may also be spent from the account to inventory and evaluate archaeological and historic resources on properties purchased, or proposed for purchase.

Title to property acquired pursuant to the Act is held in the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. However, the board may not acquire property until the disposition or settlement of any litigation involving the property or involving the use of or construction on the property or on adjacent property.

§ 273. Protection of historic properties; State Historic Preservation Officer; Florida Historical Commission

The Division of Historical Resources is required to employ a State Historic Preservation Officer, qualified by special training or experience in the field of historic preservation, and such other specialists in the field of historic preservation as deemed necessary, who must possess such qualifications as the Division may prescribe.

The Department of Management Services, in consultation with the Division, is required to adopt rules for the renovation of historic properties which are owned or leased by the State. Such rules are to be based on national guidelines for historic renovation, including the standards for rehabilitation adopted by the United States Secretary of the Interior.

Provision is also made by statute as to the Florida Historical Commission, which has been created within the Department of State in order to enhance public participation and involvement in the preservation and protection of the state's historic and archaeological sites and properties. There is also created within the Division the Historic Preservation Grant Program, which is authorized to make grants of moneys appropriated by the legislature in furtherance of the program's purposes.