Title 43—Public Lands: Interior--Volume 1
PART 2610—CAREY ACT GRANTS
§ 2610.0-2   Objectives.
The objective of section 4 of the Act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat. 422), as amended (43 U.S.C. 641 et seq. ), known as the Carey Act, is to aid public land States in the reclamation of the desert lands therein, and the settlement, cultivation, and sale thereof in small tracts to actual settlers.
§ 2610.0-3   Authority.
(a) The Carey Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, to contract and agree to grant and patent to States, in which there are desert lands, not to exceed 1,000,000 acres of such lands to each State, under the conditions specified in the Act. The Secretary is authorized to contract and agree to grant and patent additional lands to certain States. After a State's application for a grant has been approved by the Secretary, the lands are segregated from the public domain for a period of from 3 to 15 years, the State undertaking within that time to cause the reclamation of the lands by irrigation. The lands, when reclaimed, are patented to the States or to actual settlers who are its assignees. If the lands are patented to the State, the State transfers title to the settler. Entries are limited to 160 acres to each actual settler.
(b) The Act of June 11, 1896 (29 Stat. 434; 43 U.S.C. 642), authorizes liens on the land for the cost of construction of the irrigation works, and permits the issuance of patents to States for particular tracts actually reclaimed without regard to settlement or cultivation.
(c) The Act of March 1, 1907 (34 Stat. 1056), extends the provisions of the Carey Act to the former Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado.
(d) The Joint Resolution approved May 25, 1908 (35 Stat. 577), authorizes grants to the State of Idaho of an additional 1,000,000 acres.
(e) The Act of May 27, 1908 (35 Stat. 347; 43 U.S.C. 645), authorizes grants of an additional 1,000,000 acres to the State of Idaho and the State of Wyoming.
(f) The Act of February 24, 1909 (35 Stat. 644; 43 U.S.C. 647), extends the provisions of the Carey Act to the former Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado.
(g) The Act of February 16, 1911 (36 Stat. 913), extends the Carey Act to the former Fort Bridger Military Reservation in Wyoming.
(h) The Act of February 21, 1911 (36 Stat. 925; 43 U.S.C. 523-524), permits the sale of surplus water by the United States Bureau of Reclamation for use upon Carey Act lands.
(i) The Act of March 4, 1911 (36 Stat. 1417; 43 U.S.C. 645), authorizes grants to the State of Nevada of an additional 1,000,000 acres.
(j) The Joint Resolution of August 21, 1911 (37 Stat. 38; 43 U.S.C. 645), authorizes grants to the State of Colorado of an additional 1,000,000 acres.
§ 2610.0-4   Responsibilities.
(a) The authority of the Secretary of the Interior to approve the applications provided for in this part, has been delegated to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management and redelegated to State Directors of the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) The grant contact must be signed by the Secretary of the Interior, or an officer authorized by him, and approved by the President.
§ 2610.0-5   Definitions.
As used in the regulations of this part:
(a) Actual settler means a person who establishes a primary residence on the land.
(b) Cultivation means tilling or otherwise preparing the land and keeping the ground in a state favorable for the growth of ordinary agricultural crops, and requires irrigation as an attendant act.
(c) Desert lands means unreclaimed lands which will not, without irrigation, produce any reasonably remunerative agricultural crop by usual means or methods of cultivation. This includes lands which will not, without irrigation, produce paying crops during a series of years, but on which crops can be successfully grown in alternate years by means of the so-called dry-farming system. Lands which produce native grasses sufficient in quantity, if ungrazed by grazing animals, to make an ordinary crop of hay in usual seasons, are not desert lands. Lands which will produce an agricultural crop of any kind without irrigation in amount sufficient to make the cultivation reasonably remunerative are not desert. Lands containing sufficient moisture to produce a natural growth of trees are not to be classed as desert lands.
(d) Economic feasibility means the capability of an entry to provide an economic return to the settler sufficient to provide a viable farm enterprise and assure continued use of the land for farming purposes. Factors considered in determining feasibility may include the cost of developing or acquiring water, land reclamation costs, land treatment costs, the cost of construction or acquisition of a habitable residence, acquisition of farm equipment, fencing and other costs associated with a farm enterprise, such as water delivery, seed, planting, fertilization, harvest, etc.
(e) Grant contract means the contract between a State and the United States which sets the terms and conditions which the State or its assignees shall comply with before lands shall be patented.
(f) Irrigation means the application of water to the land for the purpose of growing crops.
(g) Ordinary agricultural crops means any agricultural product to which the land under consideration is generally adapted, and which would return a fair reward for the expense of producing them. Ordinary agricultural crops do not include forest products, but may include orchards and other plants which cannot be grown on the land without irrigation and from which a profitable crop may be harvested.
(h) Reclamation means the establishment of works for conducting water in adequate volume and quantity to the land so as to render it available for distribution when needed for irrigation and cultivation.
(i) Segregation means the action under the Act of August 19, 1894 (39 Stat. 422), as amended (43 U.S.C. 641), by which the lands are reserved from the public domain and closed to application or entry under the public land laws, including location under the mining laws.
(j) Smallest legal subdivision means a quarter quarter section (40 acres).
§ 2610.0-7   Background.
The Carey Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, to contract and agree to grant and patent to States, in which there are desert lands, not exceeding 1 million acres of such lands to each State, as the State may cause to be reclaimed. The State shall also cause not less than 20 acres of each 160 acre tract to be cultivated by actual settlers. A number of amendments allowed additional acreages for certain States. Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming were allowed up to 2 million acres. Idaho was allowed up to 3 million acres.
§ 2610.0-8   Lands subject to application.
(a) The lands shall be unreclaimed desert lands capable of producing ordinary agricultural crops by irrigation.
(b) The lands shall be nonmineral, except that lands withdrawn, classified or valuable for coal, phosphate, nitrate, potash, sodium, sulphur, oil, gas or asphaltic minerals may be applied for subject to a reservation of such deposit, as explained in subpart 2093 of this title.
(c) Lands embraced in mineral permits of leases, or in applications for such permits or leases, or classified, withdrawn or reported as valuable for any leasable mineral, or lying within the geologic structure of a field are subject to the provisions of §§ 2093.0-3 through 2093.0-7 of this title.
(d) A project or individual entry may consist of 2 or more noncontiguous parcels. However, noncontiguous lands should be in a pattern compact enough to be managed as an efficient, economic unit.
§ 2611.1   Applications.
§ 2611.1-1   Applications for determination of suitability and availability of lands.
The first step in obtaining segregation of lands for Carey Act development shall be the filing of an application in the appropriate State office of the Bureau of Land Management requesting that the authorized officer make a determination regarding the suitability and availability of lands for a Carey Act Project. The application shall consist of a map of lands proposed to be reclaimed, containing sufficient detail to clearly show which lands are included in the Project, the mode of irrigation and the source of water. The map shall bear a certification by the State official authorized to file the application that the lands are applied for subject to the provisions of subpart 2093 of this title.
§ 2611.1-2   Determination of suitability and availability of lands.
The authorized officer shall evaluate the suitability and availability of the lands for agricultural development under the Carey Act utilizing the criteria and procedures in part 2400 of this title.
§ 2611.1-3   Application for grant contract.
If it is determined that lands are suitable and available for agricultural development under the Carey Act, the State shall submit the following, in duplicate, to the appropriate Bureau of Land Management office (43 CFR part 1821):
(a) A plan of development that includes:
(1) A report on the economic feasibility of the project and the availability of an adequate supply of water to thoroughly irrigate and reclaim the lands to raise ordinary agricultural crops.
(2) Procedures for avoiding or mitigating adverse environmental impacts and for rehabilitation of the lands if all or part of the project fails.
(3) A map in sufficient detail to show the proposed major irrigation works and the lands to be irrigated. Map material and dimensions shall be as prescribed by the authorized officer and shall be drawn to a scale not greater than 1,000 feet to 1 inch. The map shall connect canals, pipelines larger than 8 inches in diameter, reservoirs and other major facilities in relationship to public survey lines or corners, where present. The map shall show other data as needed to enable retracement of the proposed major irrigation works on the ground. The engineer who prepared the map shall certify that the system depicted therein is accurately and fully represented and that the system proposed is sufficient to fully reclaim the lands.
(4) Additional data concerning the specifics of the plan and its feasibility as required by the authorized officer.
(b) A grant contract in a form prescribed by the Director, Bureau of Land Management, in duplicate, signed by the authorized State official, shall also be filed. A carbon copy of the contract shall not be accepted. The person who signs the contract on behalf of the State shall furnish evidence of his/her authority to do so. The contract shall obligate the State to all terms and conditions of the Act and all specifications of the approved plan, and shall obligate the United States to issue patents to the State upon actual reclamation of the lands according to the plan or to settlers who are its assignees, as provided in subpart 2093 of this title.
§ 2611.1-4   Approval of plan and contract.
(a) After making a determination that the proposed project is economically feasible, that sufficient water can be furnished to thoroughly irrigate and reclaim the lands, that measures to avoid or mitigate adverse environmental impacts and to rehabilitate the lands if the project fails are adequate, and that State laws and regulations concerning the disposal of the lands to actual settlers are not contrary to the provisions and restrictions of the Act, the authorized officer may approve the plan. Before making this determination and approving the plan, the authorized officer may, in agreement with the State, modify the plan.
(b) Upon approval of the plan, the grant contract may be signed by the Secretary of the Interior, or an officer in the Office of the Secretary who has been appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. A notice that the contract has been signed and the lands are segregated shall be published in the Federal Register. As a condition to entering into the contract, the Secretary or his delegate may require additional terms and conditions. If such is done, the new contract form shall be returned to the State for signing.
(c) The contract is not final and binding until approved by the President.
(d) After the plan has been approved, and the contract signed and approved, the lands may be entered by the State and its agents for reclamation and for residency, if appropriate.
§ 2611.1-5   Priority of Carey Act applications.
Properly filed applications under § 2611.1-1 or § 2611.1-3 of this title shall have priority over any subsequently filed agricultural applications for lands within the project boundaries. However, the rejection of a Carey Act application will not preclude subsequent agricultural development under another authority.
§ 2611.2   Period of segregation.
(a) The States are allowed 10 years from the date of the signing of the contract by the Secretary in which to cause the lands to be reclaimed. If the State fails in this, the State Director may, in his discretion, extend the period for up to 5 years, or may restore the lands to the public domain at the end of the 10 years or any extension thereof. If actual construction of the reclamation works has not been commenced within 3 years after the segregation of the land or within such further period not exceeding 3 years as may be allowed for that purpose by the State Director, the State Director may, in his discretion, restore the lands to the public domain.
(b) All applications for extensions of the period of segregation must be submitted to the State Director. Such applications will be entertained only upon the showing of circumstances which prevent compliance by the State with the requirements within the time allowed, which, in the judgment of the State Director, could not have been reasonably anticipated or guarded against, such as the distruction of irrigation works by storms, floods, or other unavoidable casualties, unforeseen structural or physical difficulties encountered in the operations, or errors in surveying and locating needed ditches, canals, or pipelines.
§ 2611.3   Rights-of-way over other public lands.
When the canals, ditches, pipelines, reservoirs or other facilities required by the plan of development will be located on public lands not applied for by the State under the Carey Act, an application for right-of-way over such lands under Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761 et seq. ), shall be filed separately by the proposed constructor. Rights-of-way shall be approved simultaneously with the approval of the plan, but shall be conditioned on approval of the contract.
§ 2612.1   Lists for patents.
When patents are desired for any lands that have been segregated, the State shall file in the BLM State Office a list of lands to be patented, with a certificate of the presiding officer of the State land board, or other officer of the State who may be charged with the duty of disposing of the lands which the State may obtain under the law, that the lands have been reclaimed according to the plan of development, so that a permanent supply of water has been made available for each tract in the list, sufficient to thoroughly reclaim each 160-acre tract for the raising of ordinary agricultural crops. If patents are to be issued directly to assignees, the list shall include their names, the particular lands each claims, and a certification by the State that each is an actual settler and has cultivated at least 20 acres of each 160-acre tract. If there are portions which cannot be reclaimed, the nature, extent, location, and area of such portions should be fully stated. If less than 5 acres of a smallest legal subdivision can be reclaimed and the subdivision is not essential for the reclamation, cultivation, or settlement of the lands; such legal subdivision must be relinquished, and shall be restored to the public domain as provided in a notice published in the Federal Register.
§ 2612.2   Publication of lists for patents.
(a) Notice of lists. When a list for patents is filed in the State Office, it shall be acompanied by a notice of the filing, in duplicate, prepared for the signature of the State Director, or his delegate, fully incorporating the list. The State shall cause this notice to be published once a week for 5 consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of established character and general circulation in the vicinity of the lands, to be designated by the State Director, as provided in subpart 1824 of this chapter.
(b) Proof of publication. At the expiration of the period of publication, the State shall file in the State Office proof of publication and of payment for the same.
§ 2612.3   Issuance of patents.
Upon the receipt of proof of publication such action shall be taken in each case as the showing may require, and all tracts that are free from valid protest, and respecting which the law and regulations and grant contract have been complied with, shall be patented to the State, or to its assignees if the lands have been settled and cultivated. If patent issues to the State, it is the responsibility of the State to assure that the lands are cultivated and settled. If the State does not dispose of the patented lands within 5 years to actual settlers who have cultivated at least 20 acres of each 160 acre tract, or if the State disposes of the patented lands to any person who is not an actual settler or has not cultivated 20 acres of the 160 acre tract, action may be taken to revest title in the United States.
§ 2613.0-3   Authority.
The Act approved February 14, 1920 (41 Stat. 407; 43 U.S.C. 644), provides that upon restoration of Carey Act lands from segregation, the Secretary is authorized, in his discretion, to allow a preference right of entry under other applicable land laws to any Carey Act entryman on any such lands which such person had entered under and pursuant to the State laws providing for the administration of the grant and upon which such person had established actual, bona fide residence or had made substantial and permanent improvements.
§ 2613.1   Allowance of filing of applications.
(a) Status of lands under State laws. Prior to the restoration of lands segregated under the Carey Act, the Bureau of Land Management shall ascertain from the proper State officials whether any entries have been allowed under the State Carey Act laws on any such lands, and if any such entries have been allowed, the status thereof and action taken by the State with reference thereto.
(b) No entries under State laws. If it is shown with reasonable certainty, either from the report of the State officers or by other available information, that there are no entries under State law, then the Act of February 14, 1920, shall not be considered applicable to the restoration of the lands. Lands shall be restored as provided in a notice published in the Federal Register.
(c) Entries under State laws. If it appears from the report of the State officials or otherwise that there are entries under the State law which may properly be the basis for preference rights under this act, in the order restoring the lands the authorized officer may, in his discretion, allow only the filing of applications to obtain a preference right under the Act of February 14, 1920.
§ 2613.2   Applications.
(a) Applications for preference rights under the Act of February 14, 1920, shall be filed within 90 days of the publication of the restoration order.
(b) Applications shall be on a form approved by the Director and shall set forth sufficient facts to show that the applicant is qualified under the act and these regulations. The application must be subscribed and sworn to before a notary public.
(c) Persons qualified. The Act of February 14, 1920, applies only to cases of entries in good faith in compliance with the requirements of State law, with a view to reclaiming the land and procuring title pursuant to the provisions of the Carey Act; the act does not apply to cases where persons have settled on or improved the segregated land, either with the approval of the State authorities or otherwise, not pursuant to State law or not in anticipation of reclaiming the lands and procuring title under the Carey Act but in anticipation of initiating some kind of a claim to the land on its restoration because of failure of the project or cancellation of the segregation.
(d) Persons not qualified. The Act of February 14, 1920, does not apply to cases where the applicant's entry has been canceled by the State or forfeited for failure to perfect the entry according to State law, unless the failure is the result of conditions which culminated in the elimination of the lands from the project if the State has allowed a subsequent entry for the same lands, this shall be conclusive evidence that the default was the fault of the State entryman whose entry was forfeited or canceled.
§ 2613.3   Allowance of preference right.
If a person's application is approved, such person shall have 90 days to submit an application for entry under another land law, and shall be entitled to a preference right of entry under other law if and when the lands are determined to be suitable for entry under such law pursuant to the regulations found in part 2400 of this chapter.