§ 994. — Sale of lands in Wisconsin.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC994]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 23--GRANTS OF SWAMP AND OVERFLOWED LANDS
Sec. 994. Sale of lands in Wisconsin
The Secretary of the Interior, in his judgment and discretion, is
authorized to sell, in the manner hereinafter provided in this section,
any of those lands situated in the State of Wisconsin which were
originally erroneously meandered and shown upon the official plats as
water-covered areas, and which are not lawfully appropriated by a
qualified settler or entryman claiming under the public land laws.
Any owner in good faith of land shown by the official public land
surveys to be bounded in whole or in part by such erroneously meandered
area, and who acquired title to such land prior to February 27, 1925, or
any citizen of the United States who in good faith under color of title
or claiming as a riparian owner had, prior to said date, placed valuable
improvements upon or reduced to cultivation any of the lands subject to
the operation of this section, shall have a preferred right to file in
the office of the officer, as the Secretary of the Interior may
designate, of the United States land office of the district in which the
lands are situated, an application to purchase the lands thus improved
by them at any time within ninety days from said date if the lands have
been surveyed and plats filed in the United States land office;
otherwise within ninety days from the filing of such plats. Every such
application must be accompanied with satisfactory proof that the
applicant is entitled to such preference right and that the lands which
he applies to purchase are not in the legal possession of an adverse
claimant under the public land laws.
In event such erroneously meandered land is bounded by two or more
tracts of land held in private ownership with apparent riparian rights
indicated by the official township plat of survey at date of disposal of
title by the United States, the Secretary of the Interior or such
officer as he may designate shall have discretionary power to cause such
meandered area, when surveyed, to be divided into such tracts or lots as
will permit a fair division of such meandered area among the owners of
such surrounding or adjacent tracts under the provisions of this
section. In administering the provisions of this section, where there
shall exist a conflict of claims falling within its operation, if any
claimant shall have placed valuable improvements upon the land involved,
or shall have reduced the same to cultivation, then to the extent of
such improvements or cultivation, such claimant shall be given
preference in adjustment of such conflict: Provided, That no preference
right of entry under this section shall be recognized for a greater area
than one hundred and sixty acres, in one body, to any one applicant,
whether an individual, an association, or a corporation: Provided
further, That this section shall not be construed as in any manner
abridging the existing rights of any settler or entryman under the
public land laws.
Upon the filing of an application to purchase any lands subject to
the operation of this section, together with the required proof, the
Secretary of the Interior shall cause the lands described in said
application to be appraised, said appraisal to be on the basis of the
value of such lands at the date of appraisal, exclusive of any increased
value resulting from the development or improvement thereof for
agricultural purposes by the applicant or his predecessor in interest,
but inclusive of the stumpage value of any timber cut or removed by the
applicant or his predecessor in interest.
An applicant who applies to purchase lands under the provisions of
this section, in order to be entitled to receive a patent, must within
thirty days from receipt of notice of appraisal by the Secretary of the
Interior pay to the officer, as the Secretary of the Interior may
designate, of the United States land office of the district in which the
lands are situated the appraisal price of the lands, and thereupon a
patent shall issue to said applicant for such lands as the Secretary of
the Interior shall determine that such applicant is entitled to purchase
under this section. The proceeds derived by the Government from the sale
of lands under this section shall be covered into the United States
Treasury and applied as provided by law for the disposal of the proceeds
from the sale of public lands.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe all
necessary rules and regulations for administering the provisions of this
section and determining conflicting claims arising thereunder.
(Feb. 27, 1925, ch. 363, Secs. 1-6, 43 Stat. 1013, 1014; 1946 Reorg.
Plan No. 3, Sec. 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)
References in Text
The public land laws, referred to in text, are classified generally
to this title.
Transfer of Functions
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,
Secs. 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out
under section 1451 of this title.
``Officer, as the Secretary of the Interior may designate''
substituted for ``register'', and ``Secretary of the Interior or such
officer as he may designate'' substituted for ``Commissioner of the
General Land Office'' on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3
of 1946, which abolished all registers of district land offices and
General Land Office and Commissioner thereof, and transferred functions
of register of district land office to Secretary of the Interior and
functions of General Land Office to a new agency in Department of the
Interior to be known as Bureau of Land Management. See section 403 of
Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, set out as a note under section 1 of this
title.
