disapproving the Kerr-McGee and Global lease applications and the relief they seek should be denied and their lawsuits dismissed. The reasons for that conclusion are set out in the discussion which follows.

BACKGROUND

A.
The Osceola National Forest was established in 1931 by President Herbert Hoover pursuant to the Creative Act of 1891, 26 Stat. 1103, Mar. 3, 1891. The vast majority of the Forest was acquired under the authority of the Weeks Act of 1911, Ch. 186, 36 Stat. 961, as amended by Act of June 7, 1924, Ch. 348, 43 Stat. 654. The primary purposes behind the acquisition and development were timber production, water shed protection, fish and wildlife protection, and preservation and maintenance of recreational opportunities. National Forest Preservation Comm'n., Sen. Doc. No. 44, 71st Cong., 2d Sess.6 (1929). Osceola Forest consists of nearly 158 thousand acres located in North-Central Florida. Included within that acreage are cypress swamps, pine lands, unique hardwood wetlands, and upland hardwood forests. Highly diverse creek and river systems, within the area serve as a source of high quality surface and ground water, and provides an important water shed for North-Central Florida. The Forest also provides a home for important varieties of fish and wildlife species and for a number of valued and certain limited and endangered species. 1979 Supplement to the Final Environmental Statement, infra p. 625.
The authority for phosphate leasing on federal land and the limits on the Interior Secretary's ability to lease, depends upon whether the lands are classified as "public domain" or "acquired" lands. Public domain lands