§195-4  Powers and duties of the department. 
(a)  To preserve, manage, and protect the reserves system, the department is
authorized, in addition to any other powers, to:



(1)  Designate and bring under its control and
management, as part of the reserves system, any areas as follows:



(A)  State owned land under the jurisdiction of
the department may be set aside as a natural area reserve by resolution of the
department, subject to the approval of the governor by executive order setting
the land aside for that purpose;



(B)  New natural area reserves may be
established:



(i)  By gift, devise, grant, reimbursement to
cooperators, exchange, or purchase of land or any interest therein, including,
but not limited to, conservation easements;



(ii)  By eminent domain pursuant to chapter 101;
or



(iii)  By the setting aside of state owned land
for that purpose by the governor, as provided in section 171-11;



(2)  Cooperate or contract with any federal, state, or
county governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency, private organization, or
individual in carrying out the purpose of this chapter;



(3)  Acquire by gift, devise, grant, or donation any
personal property to be used in the acquisition or management, or both, of
natural area reserves;



(4)  Implement, after consultation with the commission
and based on the most comprehensive up-to-date compilation of scientific data,
the acquisition, management, protection, and use of natural area reserves; and



(5)  Prepare and take the necessary steps to implement
the management plan set forth in section 195-11.



(b)  The department, with at least twenty days
public notice, shall conduct one or more public hearings before terminating
state funding for a management plan approved by the board under the natural
area partnership program, requesting the governor to revoke or modify an
executive order that sets aside lands for the reserves system, or prior to the
designation of the following types of lands into the reserves system:



(1)  State lands under the jurisdiction of the department;



(2)  State lands that are removed from other uses or
modified by the governor through an executive order that sets aside land for
the natural area reserves system;



(3)  Lands acquired by eminent domain pursuant to
chapter 101; and



(4)  State lands proposed by the governor for
inclusion into the reserves system, as provided in section 171-11.



The notice shall be given in the county where the
proposed natural area reserve or natural area partnership is located and also
statewide.  The notice shall contain, but not be limited to, the time and place
of the hearing, the location of the land, and the proposed changes. [L 1970, c
139, pt of §1; am L 1987, c 350, §3; am L 1991, c 326, §3; am L 1992, c 180,
§1; am L 1998, c 2, §52]