§423c Exchange of unpatented entries; entries, farms or private lands, eliminated from project; rights not assignable; rights of lienholders; preference to ex-service men

Summary

People who hold unpatented claims on public land that is removed from a reclamation project, or whose water rights are cut so their remaining land can’t support a family, may trade those claims for other public land in the same or another Federal reclamation project. They get credit for time they lived on, improvements they made, and farming they did on the original land, and they get credit on the new land for construction costs they already paid. If they already made final proof on the old claim, they don’t have to prove the new one. If part of a farm is lost because the land is permanently unproductive, the owner can take an equal amount of available nearby project land with the same credits. Private owners whose land was removed may, with the Secretary of the Interior’s approval and if the land is free of liens, give up up to 160 acres to the United States and pick an equal area of vacant irrigable project land, receiving credit for construction costs already paid. The Secretary can change and combine farm units to make these exchanges work. These exchange rights cannot be transferred to someone else. The Secretary must treat lienholders’ rights fairly. If two people apply for the same farm and one is an ex‑service member, the veteran gets preference.