§339 — Title 43 Public Lands | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior may let someone with a lawful desert-land entry made before July 1, 1925 (or an assignee from before March 4, 1929) who honestly spent $3 per acre trying to reclaim the land but cannot reasonably get water, finish getting title by making small payments. After notice the person has 90 days to pay 25 cents per acre to the U.S. land office and file a written choice to get title, then one year from that filing to pay another 75 cents per acre to receive a patent (official ownership). If the final payment is not made on time, the entry is canceled and money already paid is lost.

Title 43, §339

Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Where it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior with reference to any lawful pending desert-land entry made prior to July 1, 1925, under which the entryman or his duly qualified assignee under an assignment made prior to March 4, 1929, has in good faith expended the sum of $3 per acre in the attempt to effect reclamation of the land, that there is no reasonable prospect that he would be able to secure water sufficient to effect reclamation of the irrigable land in his entry or any legal subdivision thereof, the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, allow such entryman or assignee ninety days from notice within which to pay to the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of the United States land office 25 cents an acre for the land embraced in the entry and to file an election to perfect title to the entry under the provisions of this section, and thereafter within one year from the date of filing of such election to pay to such officer the additional amount of 75 cents an acre, which shall entitle him to a patent for the land: Provided, That in case the final payment be not made within the time prescribed the entry shall be canceled and all money theretofore paid shall be forfeited.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title. “Officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior” and “such officer” substituted for “register” on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, which abolished all registers of district land offices and transferred functions of register of district land offices to Secretary of the Interior. See section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

§339 Perfection of title to entry; supplementary provisions to sections 335, 337, and 338

Summary

Title 43, §339

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

Transfer of Functions

Citations & Metadata