§ 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.