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Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102

§474 Surveys; Plats and Field Notes; Maps; Effect Under Act June 4, 1897

Title 16 › CHAPTER 2 — NATIONAL FORESTS › SUBCHAPTER I — ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION › § 474

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Surveys, field notes, and plats made under the Director of the United States Geological Survey for public lands set aside as national forests under the Act of June 4, 1897 (chapter 2, sec. 1, 30 Stat. 34) must be treated the same as surveys returned through the Field Surveying Service. That includes subdivision surveys under the rectangular system when approved by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary’s designee, and certified copies must be filed in the local land offices where the lands lie, as with other surveys. Any other law that conflicts with this is not effective for these surveys. A certified copy of every topographic map and other maps showing forest boundaries, plus related field notes, must be signed by the Director of the United States Geological Survey and filed in the Bureau of Land Management.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §474

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Surveys, field notes, and plats returned from the survey of public lands designated as national forests undertaken under the supervision of the Director of the United States Geological Survey in accordance with provisions of Act June 4, 1897, chapter 2, section 1, thirtieth Statutes, page 34, shall have the same legal force and effect as surveys, field notes, and plats returned through the Field Surveying Service; and such surveys, which include subdivision surveys under the rectangular system, approved by the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate as in other cases, and properly certified copies thereof shall be filed in the respective land offices of the districts in which such lands are situated, as in other cases. All laws inconsistent with the provisions hereof are declared inoperative as respects such survey. A copy of every topographic map and other maps showing the distribution of the forests, together with such field notes as may be taken relating thereto, shall be certified thereto by the Director of the Survey and filed in the Bureau of Land Management.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act
June 4, 1897, chapter 2, section 1, referred to in text, is act
June 4, 1897, ch. 2, 30 Stat. 34. For classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“United States Geological Survey” substituted in text for “Geological Survey” pursuant to provision of title I of Pub. L. 102–154, set out as a note under section 31 of Title 43, Public Lands.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

“Field Surveying Service” substituted in text for “office of surveyors-general” by act Mar. 3, 1925. Subsequently, the Service was abolished and its functions transferred to Secretary of the Interior by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. “Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate” substituted in text for “Commissioner of the General Land Office” on authority of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. “Bureau of Land Management” substituted for “General Land Office” on authority of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. The “General Land Office” was abolished by Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946 with its functions consolidated with that of the Grazing Service to form a new agency in the Department of the Interior to be known as the Bureau of Land Management. 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 in the Appendix to Title 5.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 474

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102