Title 36 — Title 36 — State Lands

Acceptance of federal grants. The state of Wyoming hereby accepts the conditions of § 4 of an act of congress entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1895, and for other purposes"; approved August 18…

Selection, management and disposal of lands. The selection, management and disposal of said land shall be vested in the state board of land commissioners, as constituted by section 3 of article 18 of the constitution of the state of Wyoming. Said state board of land commissioners…

Institution of legal proceedings. All suits or actions brought by the board, under the provisions of this act, shall be instituted by the board, in the name of the people of the state of Wyoming.

Disposition of forfeitures. All moneys received by the state of Wyoming as proceeds from forfeited bonds, pledges or other forfeitures of whatsoever kind in connection with the operations under the act commonly known as the "Carey Act" shall become a part of the general fund.

Meetings; president; duty; quorum. The board shall meet at least once in each month, at such time as the board may prescribe, for the transaction of business. The governor shall be president of the board, and it shall be his duty to sign all contracts, papers or documents that sh…

Special meetings; duties of secretary. The president shall have the power to call a special meeting, if in his judgment, public good requires the same to be done for any purpose contemplated in this chapter, or any other chapter prescribing the duty of said board; and such call m…

Office; duties of director. The board shall have an office in Cheyenne. The director shall be in charge of the office. He shall have the custody of the records of the board; shall receive and file all proposals for the construction of irrigation works to reclaim lands selected un…

Rules; copies of maps, plats and contracts; annual report of contractors; waiver of rules. The board shall provide suitable rules for the filing of proposals for constructing irrigation works, and for the entry of and payment for the land by settlers, and for the forfeiting of en…

Duties of employees; fees. The board shall prescribe the duties of all its employees and shall collect the following fees: for filing each application, one dollar ($1.00); for filing each final proof, one dollar ($1.00); for issuing each patent, one dollar ($1.00); for making cer…

Annual report. The board shall issue, on or before November thirtieth of each year, a report setting forth in detail the names, location and character of the irrigation works in process of construction, the acreage and legal subdivisions of land intended to be reclaimed, the esti…

Grants of rights-of-way to counties. The board of land commissioners is hereby empowered, under such terms and regulations as may be provided by it, to grant to the counties of this state, either temporary or permanent rights-ofway for roads and highways, over and across lands ce…

Requisites; contents. Any person, company of persons, association or incorporated company constructing, having constructed or desiring to construct ditches, canals or other irrigation works to reclaim land under the provisions of this act shall file with the board a request for t…

Guaranty; forfeiture. The board shall have authority to prescribe that each request and proposal shall be accompanied by a certified check in an amount to be designated by the board, the same to be held as a guarantee of the execution of the contract with the state in accordance …

Application for permit to appropriate water. The person, company of persons, association or incorporated company, making application to the board for the selection of lands by the state, shall have filed with the state engineer an application for a permit to appropriate water for…

Examination. Immediately upon receipt of any request and proposal, as designated in W.S. 36-7-301, it shall be the duty of the director of the office of state lands and investments to examine the same, and ascertain if it complies with the rules of the board and the regulations o…

Submission for consideration; approval. Whenever the director shall have made the investigation of such request and proposal as he deems necessary, he shall submit such request and proposal, with the report of such investigation, to the board for its consideration. In case of app…

Notification of nonapproval; resubmission. When requests and proposals are not approved by the board, the board shall notify the parties making such proposal of such action, and the reason therefor. The parties so notified shall have sixty (60) days in which to submit a satisfact…

Duty to contract; contents; withdrawal of land and filing of bond necessary. Upon the withdrawal of the land by the department of the interior, it shall be the duty of the board to enter into a contract with the parties submitting the proposal, which contract shall contain comple…

Terms. No contract shall be made by the board which requires a greater time than five (5) years for the construction of the canal, works or irrigation system, and all contracts shall be conditioned that active construction work shall begin within six (6) months from the date of t…

Notice upon failure to fulfill; sale of incompleted works; option to complete. Upon the failure of any parties, having contracts with the state for the construction of irrigation works, to begin the same within the time specified by the contract, or to complete the same within th…

State not responsible for contractor failures. Nothing in this act shall be construed as authorizing the board to obligate the state to pay for any work constructed under any contract, or to hold the state in any way responsible to settlers for the failure of contractors to compl…

Maps; lands subject to rights-of-way. The maps in the office of the board of the lands selected under the provisions of this act, shall show the location of the canals or other irrigation works approved in the contract with the board, and all lands filed upon shall be subject to …

patent. Inspection of completed systems; application for Whenever any person, firm or corporation constructing an irrigation system to reclaim lands under the Carey Act, shall notify the director that such irrigation system is completed, and that an ample supply of water is being…

Assessments for operation; failure to pay; enforcement of lien; costs and fees; injunction bond. Companies, associations, or corporations operating or controlling irrigation systems, ditches, or reservoirs or other devices for the distribution of water for irrigation shall be aut…

Notice lands open for settlement. Upon receipt of notice by the contracting company that water for beneficial irrigation can be furnished for all or any part of the lands in any segregation list at stated time, it being shown to the satisfaction of the board that the contracting …

Proceeds earmarked for reclamation. Pursuant to the act of congress, approved August 18, 1894 (28 Stat., 372-422), all moneys received by the state of Wyoming from the payments of fifty cents ($.50) an acre received on lands segregated under what is commonly known as the Carey Ac…

payments. Application for entry; certificate of location; Any adult citizen of the United States or any adult person having declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, may make application, under oath, to the board, to enter any of said land in an amount no…

Final proof of reclamation; fee and last payment; right to patent; failure to timely prove. Within three (3) years from the date of the certificate of location issued to an entryman on the Carey Act lands, the entryman shall appear before the director, who is hereby authorized to…

Issuance of patent to heir. Where an entryman upon Carey Act lands, who has made valid final proof thereon, dies before the state has issued patent therefor, patent when issued, shall issue in the name of the heir of the estate of such deceased entryman.

entry. Final proof by heirs; devise or descent of In all cases where lands have been entered under the provisions of W.S. 36-7-403, and the entryman has died prior to the making of final proof of reclamation, settlement, and occupation, proof of reclamation may be made by an heir…

Issuance of patents. Upon the issuance of a patent to any lands by the United States to the state, notice shall be forwarded to the settler upon such land. It shall be the duty of the board, under the signature of its president, and attested by its secretary, to issue a patent to…

When water rights attach to land. The water rights to all lands acquired under the provisions of this act shall attach to and become appurtenant to the land as soon as title passes from the United States to the state.

First and prior lien on water right. Any person, company or association furnishing water for any tract of land shall have a first and prior lien on said water right and land upon which said water is used, for all deferred payments for said water right; said lien to be in all resp…

Recording of contract; foreclosure of lien. The contract for the water right upon which the aforesaid lien is founded, whether heretofore or hereafter executed, shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county where said land is situate; and upon the default of a…

Notice and place of foreclosure sale; duties of sheriff; limitation on bids. All sales shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county where said land and water right is situate for six (6) consecutive weeks, and shall be sold to the highest bid…

Redemption. At any time within nine (9) months after the foreclosure sale by the sheriff, of the land and water rights as aforesaid, the original owner against whom the lien has been foreclosed, may apply to the person, company of persons, association or incorporated company purc…

Redemption; recording certificate of sale. Upon issuing any certificate of sale, it shall be the duty of the sheriff to file for record in the office of the county clerk of the county where such land is situated, a certified copy of such certificate of sale, and in case the origi…

Redemption; issuance of deed. In case the land and water rights shall be redeemed by any person other than the original owner, the sheriff shall, upon presentation of such certificate, issue a deed for such land and water rights to the person so redeeming the same. If the land an…

Proceeds of foreclosure sale; fees of sheriff. Where such lands and water rights are not purchased by the lienholder of such foreclosure sale, it shall be the duty of the sheriff to first pay the lienholder out of the proceeds of such sale, the amount of the lien together with al…

Authority to purchase water rights; lease and sale; disposition of moneys received. (a) The board of land commissioners is hereby authorized to purchase water rights or proportionate interests in canals, reservoirs or irrigation systems for the purpose of reclaiming school and ot…

Filing of reports for future use. The board of land commissioners shall from time to time secure reports from the state engineer or his deputies or assistants or from other qualified persons covering the lands for which it is proposed to secure water rights and lands for which ap…