§679 Patents to State of South Dakota of Certain Lands in Custer State Park; Reservation of Coal, Oil, Gas, and Other Mineral Rights

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior must give the State of South Dakota title (a patent) to up to 2,000 acres of unpatented federal mining claims inside Custer State Park if those claims were made before March 3, 1925. The State must pay $1.25 per acre and show that any private claim rights were transferred to the State or abandoned. The United States keeps all coal, oil, gas, and other mineral rights. The land patents must be used for park purposes. If the land is later found to be worth more for its minerals than for park use, Congress may pass a special law to let the minerals be taken, while respecting the State’s rights. The rule only applies to land in Custer State Park in townships 3 and 4 south, range 6 east, and the east one-third of townships 3 and 4 south, range 5 east, Black Hills meridian.