§183-32  Use of funds, etc.  Such fundsas may be appropriated shall only be used by the department of land and naturalresources (1) to acquire by purchase or exchange any land, or any interest inany land, within an area which the department has, pursuant to section 183-31determined to be a watershed and (2) to acquire by condemnation forest reserveeasements in any such area; provided that no land shall be subject to suchcondemnation by the department if the owner thereof, prior to commencement of condemnationproceedings, has surrendered in perpetuity the care, custody, and control ofthe land to the State as a forest reserve; provided that no funds appropriatedby this part shall be used to condemn all or any portion of, or any interestin, any parcel of land now held in fee simple by one or more persons, whichparcel has a total area of twenty acres or less, if on July 1, 1949, anyportion of the parcel was improved or used for residential purposes, unless thelot or lots are, after July 1, 1949, subdivided for transfer of title into lotsizes of less than one-third acre, in which case all the lots of less thanone-third acre may be condemned, and the prohibition thereof shall also beapplicable to any lots into which any such parcel shall be subdivided whetheror not the lots after the subdivision shall be improved or unimproved.  Nothingherein shall prevent the department to accept surrenders for a term of years asprovided in section 183-15.

The term "forest reserve easement" asused in this part means and includes the right to the possession and control ofland for the purposes of protecting and promoting forest growth thereon and ofprotecting the surface and underground waters from pollution or contamination,including, without limitation to the general­ity of the foregoing, the right toexclude the owner in fee (except as hereinafter provided) and all others fromthe land; provided that the term shall not include any water right, nor shallit authorize the department to deprive the fee simple owner or the owner'slessee of the right to enter upon the owner's land for the purpose of taking,developing, or storing water, or for any other purpose incidental to the fulluse and enjoyment of the owner's water rights, or of any other rights in the land,provided reasonable means be taken to prevent undue destruction of forest coverand pollution or contamination of water by such activity.

When any forest reserve easement is acquired,the department shall protect and promote the forest growth thereon to the endthat the water rights of the fee simple owner will not be impaired.  [L 1949, c274, §3; RL 1955, §19-22; am L 1959, c 263, §4(a); am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §22;am L 1961, c 132, §1; HRS §183-32; gen ch 1985]