Weekly journal-miner., 1910-05-18
CONSERVATION IS
 IMPORTAN MATTER

During the last twelve months the conservation work of the Geological | survey has included investigations re. lating 10 coal, oil and phosphate de. posits and to water power sites on the public domain.
 Coal land withdrawals were made covering 7,875,000 acres not previously | withdrawn and the form of withdraw. al affecting an additional 5000, 900 acres was changed to cover all forms of entry instead of coal entry alone. The new regulations of April 10, 1909, for the classification and valuation of coal lands, materially increased the sale price of these lands and fixed morc definitely the standards of coal classification. Thus, for example, un. der the old regulations, in eight wide. ly separated townships, the total area chased as coal land was 6s,s20 acres, and the sale price was fixed at t2,. 0ss, 800, whereas, under the new regu- Istions, the area in the same eight townships clsssed as coal land is 126,. e63 acres and the sale price Is t15,- vi, 7,sos-an increase in area of over 100 per cent and in price of over 500 per cent.
 Under the old regulations the maxi. mum price per acre for coal land was fixed at &75; under the new reg,ila. tions the maximum price per acre thus far fixed for any particular area is t465. The maximum valuation of a single township under the old reguls. lions was $94s,eo0; under the new regulations it is t9,206,s94. Special efforts have been made to release from existing withdrawals all non coal areas. and of the total area clas- sihed during the year, amounting to II, 900 acres, much the larger part
 or about l4,000,000 acres, has been ciassed as non.coal land. The sale price of the 3,436,o0o acres classed as coal land has been fixed at siel ,4so, wv. int saHe iahuf VI roi" "' '"'
 minimum price fixed by law, would
 have yielded s62,477 900.
 Phosphate land withdrawals in force
 March {, 1909, covered all vacant
 public lands in an area comprising
 4,493,55l acres in Wyoming, Utah and
 Idaho. During the year areas cover
 ing 2,3s9,l4l acres were restored t' entry, for the field work showed tha' they contained no phosphate. Addi tional withdrawals including 399,69' acres, have been made, and the form r of withdrawals has been changed s'
 as to cover entered as we'll as vacan lands. All unpatented lands in al 2 area of 2,504,Io3 acres are now af
 fec,ed by phosphate withdrawals. I The California oil land withdrawal made prior to March, 1909, aggre |, gating 2,3l4,4s2 acres, prevented tn Q acquisition of the withdrawn land ,. only under the agricultural land law n All lands covered by these witf . arawsls could be legally exploited fo f oil or other minerals. During the yea ?. these lands were excepted from acqu IF sition as oil or as mineral lands we'll as for agricultural use. Ne !, withdrawals were made in the state h of California, Colorado, Oregon, Uta |. and Wyoming, of a total area of ,e l3O,51O acres. In California the h were restored 10 entry 956,9l6 aer |. that field examination had shown :. be nonoil land. The area now co ,e cred by oil withdrawals is 3,4s7 O " acres.
 n. On March (, 1909, boyer site wit ss drawals were in force covering vaca BY public lands on twenty-nine rivers K. nine states. These withdrawals ba as since been reviewed by the Geologic in survey. the form of withdrawal | he been changed to include all enter he as we'll as all vacant lands and .er lands that were found to be not ed uable for the purpose for which ,n. withdrawal was made have been
 stored to entry. New withdraw
 have been made along ninety-seN ". rivers covering land not involved
 previous withdrawals and increas
 the total number of states affected es. eleven. These power site withdraw be now cover about 100000 acres of os cant public land and about 200,
 acres of entered land.
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