Title 43—Public Lands: Interior--Volume 1
PART 9180—CADASTRAL SURVEY
§ 9180.0-2   Objectives.
(a) Alaska; existing surveys and extension thereof. The surveys up to the present time have been confined to known agricultural areas, the coal fields, and such other lands as have been considered to be suitable for development by settlers or otherwise. The extensions of the surveys to other areas will be governed largely by the character of the lands and their suitability for use, development, and administration under the public land laws applicable to Alaska.
(b) Resurveys. The real interest of the Government in the resurvey of the public lands is well stated in the said Act of March 3, 1909, “to properly mark the boundaries of the public lands remaining undisposed of.” Its duty being thus defined, the Bureau of Land Management will refrain from attempting to do more in the relocation of the corners of privately owned lands in a township being resurveyed than to reestablish such corners from the best available evidence of the original survey.
§ 9180.0-3   Authority.
(a) Delegation to Director, Bureau of Land Management. (1) In the establishment of the Bureau of Land Management by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946, the office of Supervisor of Surveys was abolished and the functions and powers thereof were transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, to be performed by such officers or agencies of the Department as might be designated by the Secretary. Under that authority, the functions and powers formerly exercised by the Supervisor of Surveys were delegated to the Chief Cadastral Engineer, subject to the supervision of the Director, Bureau of Land Management. In the general reorganization and realignment of functions of the Bureau, the office of Chief Cadastral Engineer has been abolished, and the functions of that office have been delegated to the Director.
(2) By this sequence, the cadastral surveying work of the Bureau of Land Management has been placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the Director, subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of the Interior. Certain functions relating to specific phases of the cadastral surveying work have been delegated to the State Director.
(b) Alaska. The rectangular system of survey of the public lands was extended to the State of Alaska by the Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 1098; 48 U.S.C. 351). The regular township surveys in Alaska conform to that system, but departures therefrom are permitted under the conditions stated in the Act of April 13, 1926 (44 Stat. 243; 48 U.S.C. 379), and in certain other cases, such as special surveys for trade and manufacturing sites, headquarters sites, and homesites under section 10 of the Act of May 14, 1898 (30 Stat. 413; 48 U.S.C. 461), as amended; for soldiers additional entries, pursuant to sections 2306 and 2307 of the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 274, 278); and for small tracts under the Act of June 1, 1938 (52 Stat. 609; 43 U.S.C. 682a), as amended.
(1) Administration of the public land surveying activities in Alaska is under the general supervision of the State Director, Bureau of Land Management, at Anchorage, Alaska. The office, in which the records relating to the public land surveys in the State are maintained, is located at Anchorage, Alaska. Correspondence relating to local survey matters should be addressed to the State Director, Juneau, Alaska.
(c) Resurvey of township —(1) Without cost to applicant when title to at least 50 percent of the area is in the United States. The Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 845), as amended by the Joint Resolution of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 884; 43 U.S.C. 772), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to cause to be made such resurveys of the public lands as after full investigation he may deem essential to properly mark the boundaries of the public lands remaining undisposed of.
(2) Cost to be prorated between applicants and United States, when more than 50 percent of the area is privately owned. (i) The Act of September 21, 1918 (40 Stat. 965; 43 U.S.C. 773), provides authority for the resurvey by the Government of townships heretofore held to be ineligible for resurvey under existing departmental regulations by reason of disposals in excess of 50 percent of the total area thereof.
(ii) Under the Act mentioned, and upon the application of the owners of three-fourths of the privately owned lands in any township previously surveyed, or upon the application of a court of competent jurisdiction, accompanied by a deposit of funds sufficient to cover the estimated cost, inclusive of the necessary office work, of the resurvey of all of the privately owned lands in such township, the State Director, Bureau of Land Management, is authorized, in his discretion, to cause to be made a resurvey of the township in question in accordance with the laws and regulations governing surveys and resurveys of the public lands; the cost of the resurvey of the residue of the public lands in such township to be paid by the Government from the current annual appropriation for the survey and resurvey of the public lands in addition to the portion thereof made available for resurveys and retracements by the provisions of the Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 845), as amended by Joint Resolution of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 884; 43 U.S.C. 772). The total cost of the resurvey of the township is thus divided between the Government and the petitioners in proportion to the extent of their respective holdings.
(iii) It is further provided that any portion of such deposit in excess of the actual cost of the field and office work incident to such resurvey of privately owned lands shall be repaid pro rata to the applicants for resurvey or to their legal representatives.
§ 9180.1   Interpretation of survey records.
§ 9180.1-1   Meridians.
(a) Alaska. The public land surveys in Alaska are governed by three principal meridians established as follows: The Seward Meridian, initiated just north of Resurrection Bay and extending to the Matanuska coal fields; the Fairbanks Meridian, commencing near the town of Fairbanks and controlling the surveys in that vicinity, including the Nenana coal fields; and the Copper River Meridian which lies in the valley of the Copper River and from which surveys have been executed as far north as the Tanana River and south to the Bering River coal fields and the Gulf of Alaska.
(b) Copies of records. Copies of plats of surveys in Alaska, or other records of the Public Survey Office, will be sold at the cost of production, in accordance with section 1 of the Act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 497), as amended (5 U.S.C. 488), and § 2.3 of this title.
§ 9183.0-2   Objectives.
Information respecting special surveys of soldier's additional entries, homesites, homesteads, and trade and manufacturing sites is given in subparts 2610, 2511, 2562, and 2730 of this chapter, respectively.
§ 9185.1   Applications.
§ 9185.1-1   Surveys.
(a) Original surveys. Application for the original extension of the rectangular system of public land surveys to include unsurveyed townships should be filed in duplicate with the State Director for the State in which the lands are situated. The application may be in letter form, and should describe the unsurveyed area by township and range of the public surveys, and should set forth the interest of the applicant in the land and the basis of need for extension of the surveys.
(b) Lands omitted from original survey. Application for the survey of an unsurveyed island or other land omitted from the original survey shall be made on Form 9600-2, or its equivalent, and filed in duplicate with the State director for the State in which lands are situated.
§ 9185.1-2   Resurveys.
(a) Filing of applications for survey without cost to applicant. The application prepared in accordance with this part, should be submitted to the State Director for the State in which the lands are situated.
(b) Filing of applications for survey with cost prorated. Applications for resurvey based upon the provisions of the Act of September 21, 1918, prepared in accordance with this part should be submitted to the State Director for the State in which the lands are situated. Prior to filing formal application, however, the interested parties should obtain from the proper office, as above designated, an estimate of the cost of the proposed resurvey.
§ 9185.1-3   Mining claims.
(a) Application for survey. Application for the survey of a mining claim should be filed with the State Director for the State in which the claim is situated.
(b) Mineral surveyors. See § 3861.5-1 for the appointment of mineral surveyors pursuant to section 2334 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 39).
§ 9185.2   Requirements for surveys.
§ 9185.2-1   [Reserved]
§ 9185.2-2   Lands omitted from original survey.
(a) Notice of intended application. Notice of intention to apply for survey of an island or other land omitted from the original survey shall be served on the adjacent land owners, and the Attorney General and the Secretary of State for the State in which the land is situated, at least 30 days prior to the date of application for survey. Service may be had by return receipt mail or in person, evidence of which may consist of the return receipt or signed acknowledgment of service. A copy of each notice, with proof of service thereof, shall be filed with the application. Failure to obtain evidence of service may be explained.
(b) Form of notice. No particular form of notice is prescribed. The notice must make it clear, however, that the land covered by the application is contended to be public land of the United States and subject to survey and administration as such, and that any protest against the proposed survey should be filed with the appropriate State Director. It must be shown what particular surveyed lands opposite the island, or adjoining the unsurveyed land, are owned by the adjacent land owner on whom the notice is served.
(c) Evidence required as to character of land in existence at time of original survey. An application for the survey of an island or other land omitted from the original survey must be accompanied by evidence showing that the land was in existence and above ordinary high-water elevation when the State was admitted into the Union, and when the adjacent lands were surveyed. Such evidence should consist of statements from at least two persons familiar with the land, as to its size, elevation, and appearance, and the species, size, and age of the timber growth thereon, or nature of other vegetation.
(d) Diagram required with application. A diagram showing the approximate configuration of the island or other land applied for, and its location with reference, to the public land surveys, must accompany the application.
(e) Cost of survey. In the event of approval of the application, the costs of the survey will be borne by the Government.
(f) No preference right. Should the island or other land be surveyed as public land, no preference right to acquire the same under the laws governing the disposal of public lands will be gained by the filing of the application for survey.
§ 9185.2-3   Unsurveyed islands and omitted lands.
(a) Section 211(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 2758), provides for the conveyance under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act of unsurveyed islands determined by the Secretary to be public lands of the United States. The conveyance of any such island may be made without survey; however, such island shall be surveyed at the request of the qualified applicant. If the applicant requests that a survey be executed, the applicant shall be required to:
(1) Furnish a written statement identifying his choice of donation of money, services, or both for the survey.
(2) If the applicant elects to donate money, such donation shall equal the Bureau of Land Management's estimated cost of survey. The donated money shall be credited and expended in accordance with section 307(c) of the Act. A written estimate of such costs shall be furnished to the applicant by the Bureau.
(3) If the applicant elects to donate services, such services shall be conducted and performed pursuant to the criteria established by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) Section 211(b) of the Act, provides for conveyance, under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869), of lands other than islands determined by the Secretary by survey to be public lands of the United States erroneously or fraudulently omitted from the original surveys. An applicant may be required to donate money, services, or a combination thereof for such survey. The procedures contained in § 9185.2-3(a) of this title shall be followed.
§ 9185.3   Requirements for resurveys; without cost to applicant.
§ 9185.3-1   Eligibility.
(a) Determined by ownership of land. As a general rule, and in the absence of any particular governmental purpose to be subserved, no township is eligible for resurvey unless title to at least 50 percent of the area of the lands embraced therein remains in the United States. For the purpose of determining the eligibility of a township under this rule, lands covered by approved selections, school sections, and entries upon which final certificates or patents have been issued are to be considered as alienated lands. Townships within the primary limits of railroad land grants are generally ineligible.
(b) Determined by physical character of remaining public land. In general no resurvey will be undertaken unless the preliminary examination of the township develops evidence of existing settlement and agricultural possibilities sufficient to support the presumption that the unappropriated lands therein are such as to attract bona fide entrymen, thus eliminating townships which, although theoretically eligible, are of such a physical character that the resurvey thereof would serve no useful purpose.
(c) Small areas. In the application of the terms of the Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 845), as amended, is not intended that there shall be undertaken any work involving the mere reestablishment of lost or obliterated or misplaced corners in a limited area of a township, such work being within the province of the local surveyors, and the authority of the public survey office will be limited to the giving of advice in accordance with the circular for the restoration of lost or obliterated corners. Employees of the Bureau of Land Management are prohibited from participating in the resurvey of a township, the reestablishment of lost corners, or in the subdivision of sections for private parties, even if the expense is borne by the county or municipal authorities or by individuals.
§ 9185.3-2   Showing required.
(a) Necessity. The applicants for the resurvey of any township are required to present satisfactory prima facie evidence of the necessity for such action, based either upon general obliteration of evidences of the original survey or upon conditions so grossly defective as to preclude the possibility of a reasonably certain identification of the subdivisions of the subsisting survey or a satisfactory local restoration thereof.
(b) Condition of original survey. Applications for the resurvey of each township must be supported by evidence in the form of a statement, preferably from the county or other competent surveyor, showing in detail that the evidences of the original survey have been obliterated to such an extent as to make it impracticable to apply the suggestions of the circular issued by the Bureau of Land Management for the necessary restoration of the lines and corners in the proper identification of the legal subdivisions occupied by the present or prospective entrymen or that the obliteration of the original monuments has become so advanced that the land boundaries can be identified only through extensive retracements by experienced engineers of the Bureau of Land Management.
§ 9185.3-3   Majority of land owners.
A majority of the settlers in each township are required to join in the application, and, in addition, there must appear the endorsements of the entrymen and owners, including the State, whose holdings represent the major part of the area entered or patented, with a description opposite each name of the lands actually occupied, entered, or owned, and a statement as to whether the applicant is a settler, entryman, or owner thereof. Where an entryman or owner, including the State, has failed for any reason whatsoever to join in the application, evidence of service of notice upon him for at least 30 days in advance of the filing of the application is required in order that he may be afforded ample opportunity to make timely protest against the granting of such resurvey if in his opinion such action is undesirable.
§ 9185.4   Requirements for resurvey; with cost prorated.
§ 9185.4-1   Estimate of cost.
(a) The cost of resurvey procedure is as a rule considerably in excess of that incident to the execution of original surveys and may range between rather wide limits. Where the obliteration is not excessive and the evidences of the original survey are harmoniously related, extensive verifying retracements will be unnecessary and ordinary dependent methods of resurvey can usually be applied. If, however, the obliteration is general or total, many miles of preliminary retracement may be required in order to obtain technical control, and where, by reason of errors in the original survey, the existing evidences thereof are discordant and conflicting locations have resulted, the procedure required may, in the case of densely entered townships, involve an expense of $5,000 or more per township.
(b) The applicants for resurvey should understand, therefore, that although the estimate supplied will be as nearly correct as the available information will permit, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed, and, consequently, all such estimates are subject to revision, if necessary, as the work proceeds and the field conditions are more fully developed. Any deposit in excess of actual cost will be returned to the applicants as provided by law, but in cases where the cost exceeds the deposit made in accordance with the estimate, an additional deposit will be required, failing which, operations will be suspended.
(c) In the application of the terms of this Act it is not intended that there shall be undertaken any work involving the mere reestablishment of lost or obliterated or misplaced corners in a limited area of a township, such work being within the province of the local surveyor, and the authority of the State Director will be restricted to the giving of advice in accordance with the circular for the restoration of lost or obliterated corners. Employees of the Government are prohibited from participating in the resurvey of a township or the reestablishment of lost corners or in the subdivision of sections for private parties, even if the expense is borne by the county or State authorities or by individuals, except as such action is specifically authorized by the Director, Bureau of Land Management, in accordance with the provisions of existing statutes.
(d) Deposit required: The deposit required of the petitioners by law must accompany the application and must be made in the amount, at the place and in the manner prescribed by the instructions which will accompany the estimate.
§ 9185.4-2   Showing required.
(a) Necessity. The applicants for the resurvey of any township are required to present satisfactory prima facie evidence of the necessity for such action. In general, it must be shown that the evidences of the original survey are so widely obliterated or that the prevailing survey conditions are so grossly defective as to preclude the satisfactory identification of the subdivisions of the subsisting survey or that the evidences of the original survey are in such an advanced state of deterioration that action looking to their preservation and perpetuation is expedient as in the public interest.
(b) Ownership of land. The applicants for resurvey are required to preface their petition by the statement that the extent of privately owned lands within the township is in excess of 50 percent of the total area thereof. If necessary, information in this connection may be obtained by the petitioners from the manager of the land office having local jurisdiction. Failure to comply with the condition set forth in this section or material error in the showing made, will not only result in delaying action upon the petition, but may require its rejection if it is found that the township is not properly subject to resurvey under the terms of the governing Act.
§ 9185.4-3   Three-fourths of land owners.
The owners of three-fourths of the privately owned lands within the township are required to join in the application, and all petitioners in whom ownership is vested, either individuals, the State, or corporations such as railroad companies whose interests are involved, are further required to supply, following their respective signatures, an accurate description by legal subdivision, section, township, and range of the lands to which title is claimed. Moreover, it must appear that notice of the proposed resurvey has been served upon all owners who have for any reason failed to join in the petition, and, in addition, it is highly desirable that all record entrymen who, under the terms of the act are not required to become parties to the petition, be similarly informed to the end that their objections, if any, may be heard and subsequent protest based upon the plea of ignorance may, insofar as possible, be avoided.