Hunting, Education, and Recreational Development Act or the HEARD Act
This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to dispose of federal lands under their respective jurisdictions by offering them for sale or exchange to units of local government in accordance with this bill.
Before the offering of lands for sale or exchange, states or the unit of local government in whose jurisdiction the lands are located may elect to obtain any such lands for local public purposes pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Interior or USDA, as appropriate, shall retain the elected lands for conveyance to such states or unit of local government in accordance with that Act.
The bill prescribes requirements for disposition of the gross proceeds of the sales of lands under this bill, including that: