480 



ANNUAL REPORTS Or DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ernment for other than national forest purposes, on which all claims 

 are investigated by the department before they are allowed to go to 

 patent, except where an election to take surface title is filed in cases 

 covered by the act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat., 844), and the only 

 (juestion involved is the coal character of the land. 



When mining claims which appear to be invalid interfere with 

 national forest administration, it becomes necessary for the Forest 

 Service to apply for their cancellation by the Interior Department. 

 In making such application the Forest Service merely exercises the 

 same right which the law gives any private individual to contest a 

 claim which does not conform to the law before patent is applied for. 

 Except for such cases, the question of the validity of claims is raised 

 only upon notification to the Forest Service by the General Land 

 Office that patent is sought by the claimant. 



Under existing laws the Forest Service is powerless to protect 

 permittees who are allowed to occupy national forest lands for water- 

 power development and other purposes against the location of mining 

 claims upon the areas covered by their permits. It is exceed- 

 ingly desirable that legal recognition should be given to the 

 principle of highest use m such cases. Mining use does not neces- 

 sarily preclude other forms of use, nor is there any inherent reason 

 why the locator of a mining claim on public land should be given 

 any right upon the surface of his claim beyond the right to make 

 such use of it as is required for mining development. It would be 

 entirely practicable to provide for simultaneous development of more 

 than one resource without permitting the developer of any resource 

 to levy tribute upon another for privileges which he does not need. 



ACTION UPON CLAIMS OF ALL KINDS. 



Field examinations of claims furnished a basis for reports to the 

 General Land Office as follows: 



Reports to the General Land Office on unpatented claims. 



Action upon claims to national forest land before the Department 

 of the Interior resulted as follows : 



Claims to national forest land disposed of by the Department of the Interior. 



