Title 43 — Public LandsRelease 119-73not60

§2303 Identification of Inholdings

Title 43 › Chapter 41— FEDERAL LAND TRANSACTION FACILITATION › § 2303

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture must set up a process, by State, to find private parcels inside public lands where the owner has said they want to sell. They must also rank which parcels to buy first using the rules in section 2305(c)(3). They must announce the process to the public as soon as practical after July 25, 2000, and again later, including in the Federal Register. A parcel is counted only if the owner replies to that notice. The parcel’s official start date is the later of (a) the earlier of when the land left the public domain or was set aside for special management, or (b) when the current owner acquired it. Identifying a parcel does not force an owner to sell or the United States to buy.

Full Legal Text

Title 43, §2303

Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a procedure to—

(1)identify, by State, inholdings for which the landowner has indicated a desire to sell the land or interest therein to the United States; and

(2)prioritize the acquisition of inholdings in accordance with section 2305(c)(3) of this title.

(b)As soon as practicable after July 25, 2000, and periodically thereafter, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide public notice of the procedures referred to in subsection (a), including any information necessary for the consideration of an inholding under section 2305 of this title. Such notice shall include publication in the Federal Register and by such other means as the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture determine to be appropriate.

(c)An inholding—

(1)shall be considered for identification under this section only if the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture receive notification of a desire to sell from the landowner in response to public notice given under subsection (b); and

(2)shall be deemed to have been established as of the later of—

(A)the earlier of—

(i)the date on which the land was withdrawn from the public domain; or

(ii)the date on which the land was established or designated for special management; or

(B)the date on which the inholding was acquired by the current owner.

(d)The identification of an inholding under this section creates no obligation on the part of a landowner to convey the inholding or any obligation on the part of the United States to acquire the inholding.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

43 U.S.C. § 2303

Title 43 — Public Lands

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60