§328 Expenditures and Cultivation Requirements

Summary

You cannot get a land patent under sections 321–323, 325, and 327–329 unless at least $3 per acre is actually spent to make the land usable. That money must go to things like irrigation, reclaiming and cultivating the land, permanent improvements, and buying water rights (for example, building main canals and branch ditches). After you enter the land, you must spend at least $1 per acre in the first year, $1 per acre in the second year, and $1 per acre in the third year. Each year you must file proof with the official named by the Secretary of the Interior. The proof must include signed statements from two or more credible witnesses saying $1 per acre was spent and how it was spent. At the end of year three you must also file a map or plan showing the improvements. If you fail to file the required testimony any year, the land goes back to the United States, the 25 cents you advanced is forfeited, and your entry is canceled. You may get the patent earlier if you can then prove you have already spent the full $3 per acre and that at least one-eighth of the land is cultivated.