124 



Settlement Notification to Applicants of Proposed Eliminations 



(Circular letter of January 30, 1913.) 



The Forest Service has endeavored for some time to secure a ruling from the Interior 

 Department that the elimination of land from a National Forest will not affect the 

 statu of areas previously listed under the act of June 11, 1906, or the preference right 

 of the applicant thereto, prior to entry. That department, however, holds that the 

 elimination of lands from a National Forest .that have been previously listed under the 

 act of June 11, 1906, and that have not been entered, restores these lands to the public 

 domain for entry under the general public-land laws, and that the June 11 applicant 

 has no preference right thereto, but that if such applicant is an occupant of the land at 

 the time of the elimination, his preference right will be recognized. It also holds that 

 the occupation under special-use permit will protect and preserve the preference 

 right of such applicant. 



In order, therefore, to protect the applicants within areas approved for elimination 

 from the National Forests, the following procedure will hereafter be observed in the 

 Washington office: As soon as any elimination is finally approved by the Forester 

 and while the proclamation is being prepared, the office of boundaries will inform the 

 branch of lands of the area which will be recommended for elimination. The section of 

 status in the branch of lands will then secure a statement of all tracts listed under the 

 act of June 11, 1906, within the area to be eliminated, which have not been opened to 

 entry for more than 60 days. When this statement is secured, letters to the applicants 

 concerned will be prepared in the branch of lands at the Washington office, advising 

 them of the holding of the Interior Department as set forth in the first paragraph of 

 this letter and that if they are not already occupying the lands for which they have 

 applied they can protect and preserve their preference right by taking possession of 

 such lands under a special-use permit. At the same time the district forester will be 

 notified not to accept any further applications on the area to be eliminated. 



Settlement Amendments Nos. 157 and 158 - 



Attention is called to amendments Nos. 157 and 158 to the Claims Manual, which are 

 now in print. These amendments modify the instructions with reference to the list- 

 ing of small areas and with reference to the naming of preferred applicants in listing 

 letters. 



Settlement Amendment of Lists 



On February 9, 1913, hi the matter of amended list No. 44, the First Assistant Secre- 

 tary of the Interior held that where a list under the act of June 11, 1906, had been 

 opened to entry and such listing was afterwards amended by omitting some of the 

 lands described in the original list, the lands thus omitted did not revert to the former 

 condition of withdrawn lands upon the opening to entry of the lands described in 

 such amendatory lists. This does not mean that lands listed under the act of June 

 11, 1906, but not entered, are not a part of the National Forest and subject to adminis- 

 tration as such, but simply that lands which have been listed and opened to entry 

 under that act are thereafter subject to entry by any qualified entryman without fur- 

 ther action by this department. 



