§448 Desert-land Entries Within Reclamation Project Generally

Summary

If a valid desert-land claim falls inside a land withdrawal or an irrigation project made under the Act of June 17, 1902, and the claimant is stopped or delayed from improving or reclaiming the land because of that withdrawal or project, the time they were blocked does not count against the deadline to make the required improvements. If, after investigation, the Government abandons the irrigation project and returns the land to the public, the clock for meeting the desert-land rules starts when notice of abandonment and restoration is given. The claimant will get credit for money spent and improvements already made if they file proof. If the reclamation project is finished and water becomes available for the claimed land, the claimant must follow the rules of the June 17, 1902 Act. After notice from the Secretary of the Interior, and not less than two years later, the claimant must give up any land beyond one farm unit (as the Secretary decides). For the one farm unit kept, the claimant can make final proof and get a patent if they follow the Secretary’s regulations for the project’s irrigable land and the payment terms in the 1902 Act. A claimant who already owns a water right and reclaims the land is not required to accept the Reclamation Act’s conditions.