VICE. certain ra t-land entre d by cirr icated to t such entre rked incre produced vision of 2 the celtn If, howe of clie tual till n of a t as sadde September 5, 1903.-There is no authority to make such Executive withdrawal of public lands in a State as will reserve the waters of a stream flowing over the same from appropriation under the laws of the State or will in any manner interfere with its laws relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of the water. (32 L. D., 254.) RIGHTS OF WAY. May 6, 1904.-No rights are acquired by an application for a right of way under the act of February 15, 1901, prior to the approval thereof by the Secretary of the Interior. (32 L. D., 597.) No such right is acquired by virtue of an application for right of way for a railroad under the act of March 3, 1875, before the approval thereof and prior to the construction of the road, as will prevent the Secretary from withdrawing the lands covered thereby for use as a reservoir site under the provisions of the act of June 17, 1902, June 4, 1903.-The act of August 30, 1890, with regard to reservations for rights of way, does not apply to (1) land taken under the indemnity clause of railroad land grants which has actually been selected; nor (2) to various school land grants to States or Territories; nor (3) to indemnity school selections; nor (4) to educational and other grants to States and Territories, where selections have been made; nor (5) to special grants by acts of Congress. (32 L. D., 147.) June 17, 1904.-Where a right of way for a reservoir site has been granted under the act of March 3, 1891, which provides that entries subsequent to such grant shall be subject thereto, the United States, in purchasing the rights of such grantee, does not succeed to the superior rights granted by said act as to entries made subsequent to such grant; and the right to flood and appropriate lands and improvements under such subsequent entries must be acquired by the United States by agreement or by condemnation proceedings. May 18, 1905.-For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the act of June 17, 1902, the Government may avail itself of the privileges conferred by the act of March 3, 1891, granting right of way through the public lands for constructing ditches and reservoirs for irrigation purposes to the same extent that individuals, corporations, or associations of individuals may exercise such privileges, and subject to the same conditions and limitations. (33 L. D., 563.) RIGHT OF WAY APPLICATIONS. July 14, 1902.-The Commissioner of the General Land Office was instructed to submit to the Director of the Geological Survey, for his consideration and report, all applications for rights of way over the lands withdrawn for the uses of the Reclamation Service. September 18, 1902.-The above instructions were extended to cover rights of way applied for within the limits of forest reserves. June 23, 1903. The Commissioner of the General Land Office was instructed to submit to the Director of the Geological Survey all the applications received for rights of way for canals or reservoirs in any of the States or Territories subject to the operations of the reclamation act. SURVEYS. May 9, 1903. As the land which it is proposed to reclaim under some of the projects now being studied has not been subdivided in accordance with the public-land surveys, and as such subdivisions will be necessary in order to make proper descriptions for the disposal of the same, the Secretary decided that the necessary public-land surveys could be ordered whenever they were found advisable. July 14, 1903.-The Director was authorized to instruct the engineers and topographers of the Reclamation Service to retrace and re-mark the public-land lines within the areas under survey with a view to their reclamation. ARTESIAN WELLS. March 3, 1903.-The reclamation fund can not be used for drilling artesian wells for exploration. Such wells may be paid for from the reclamation fund only in cases when there is sufficient knowledge in advance to make it prob able that water will be obtained from them in sufficient quantities for the irrigation of lands, with the probability that the cost will be returned to the reclamation fund. (32 L. D., 278.) LAND AND PROPERTY PURCHASES. March 20, 1903.-Whenever the Director is authorized by the Department to enter on negotiations looking to the acquisition by the United States of rights or property, or both, he will designate such persons as he thinks proper to carry on such negotiations. April 28, 1903.-The expenses of procuring abstracts of title to lands or rights are payable from the reclamation fund, provided the lands or rights are to be purchased and not condemned. January 28, 1904.-When land the acquisition of which is necessary is not needed at once and can be purchased for a less price if the vendor is allowed to retain possession until the land is needed, an arrangement to that effect may be entered into. But after purchase and possession by the United States such lands can not be leased. March 24, 1904.-The Attorney-General instructed the United States attorney at Tucson, Ariz., to cooperate with the officers of the Reclamation Service in securing valid titles to lands sought to be purchased. These instructions serve as a precedent for obtaining similar cooperation in other districts. April 8, 1904.-Where the purchase of real property is contemplated, the title thereto will be passed upon by the assistant attorney-general for the Department of the Interior. February 6, 1905.-Where an irrigation system already constructed and in operation may be utilized in connection with a greater system to be constructed, its purchase for such purpose comes within the purview of the reclamation act. The reclamation fund can be used only for the purchase of lands necessary for the construction and operation of irrigation works within the territorial limits of the United States. (33 L. D., 391.) October 12, 1905.-Settlers upon lands within the limits of a withdrawal made under the terms of the reclamation act can not be compensated for improvements when the land is taken for construction purposes unless they have acquired a right as qualified settlers under the public land laws at the date of the withdrawal. LANDS IN PRIVATE OWNERSHIP. May 21, 1904.—Where lands are in private ownership in blocks of more than 160 acres the excess may be conveyed to members of the owner's family, provided the transfer is bona fide and the requirements of the reclamation act as to residence are complied with. (32 L. D., 647.) August 30, 1904. In regard to the disposition under reclamation projects of lands in private ownership held in tracts of more than 160 acres by any one ngineers an e publica ing artes nation tra ke it pro ies for ned to t rtment of righ proper r lands person, it was held that the views of the Department as to the necessities of the case would be satisfied by any agreement drawn upon the lines suggested in the forms adopted by the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users' Association or the Yuma County Water Users' Association. These forms provide for vesting in these associations the title to the excess of lands owned in blocks of more than 160 acres and authorize them to sell the lands in case of the failure of the owner to dispose of them to persons qualified to apply for water rights under the reclamation act by the time the Government is ready to furnish the water. (33 L. D., 202.) OPTIONS. April 28, 1903.-Payment of a sum of money for an option for a right of way, water right, or land needed for the reclamation work would not be a proper expenditure from the reclamation fund. EXCHANGE OF LANDS. February 20, 1904.-The Secretary has no authority to permit the owner of lands that are needed for a reservoir to be constructed under the terms of the reclamation act to select other lands of the same area within the district that may be made susceptible of irrigation from the proposed reservoir in exchange for the lands so needed for reservoir purposes. (32 L. D., 459.) PRINTING. October 28, 1903.-In view of the opinion of the Assistant Comptroller, dated October 21, 1903, that the Secretary of the Interior is authorized, under the provisions of section 10 of the reclamation act, to prescribe, by rule and regulation, the manner in which printing may be done by engineers in the field, the Secretary authorized the Director to have the requisite printing done locally, when necessary, in the prosecution of reclamation work, and directed that it be paid for from the reclamation fund. September 22, 1905.-The Director of the Geological Survey has authority to print specifications for the Reclamation Service as soon as they are received, at the lowest obtainable price for prompt delivery, and to pay therefor from the reclamation fund. TRESPASSERS. February 25, 1904.-Withdrawals under the first form of withdrawal (p. 24) are absolute, and the Department may remove persons from such lands as trespassers. INDIAN RESERVATIONS. February 9, 1904.-As a rule ceded Indian lands are subject to disposition under certain specific acts mentioned in the treaty or the act of Congress providing for the cession, and hence would not be subject to withdrawal under the provisions of the reclamation act. Specific decisions will be made on each case. ABANDONED MILITARY RESERVATION. July 20, 1904.-The Secretary of the Interior is without authority to segregate lands in abandoned military reservations for use as reservoir sites in connection with an irrigation project under the act of June 17, 1902. (33 L. D., 130.) NOTICE. August 5, 1905,-In giving public notice of the lands to be irrigated, of the adjustment of entries to the farm unit determined upon, and of the estimated payments, the register and receiver of the local land office are required to cause such notice to be given by posting in the local land office, by publication, and by mailing special notice by registered mail to every person who may have made entry during the period of withdrawal, requiring him to adjust his entry within sixty days a from the receipt of notice. (33 L. D., 191.) WATER USERS' ASSOCIATIONS. August 30, 1905.-The United States is not to be a party to a contract between water users' associations and the owners of lands lying within the irrigable area of a project; its only interest in the agreement or benefit it may derive therefrom is in the subdivision of large holdings in tracts not exceeding 160 acres and the transfer of the excessive lands to individuals who will reside thereon and bring them within the provisions of the irrigation act, and in the mutual agreement to be secured thereby between water users throughout the irrigable area upon the use and distribution of the water and the subordination of whatever rights they may have theretofore acquired to the provisions and conditions of the reclamation act. Agreements drawn upon such lines, providing a method of sale for excess lands conforming to the local law governing judicial sales, are satisfactory to the Department. (33 L. D., 202.) FOREST RESERVES AND NATIONAL PARK. December 30, 1904.-Lands in forest reserves and in the Yosemite National Park may be appropriated and used for irrigation works to be constructed under the reclamation act. (33 L. D., 389.) RECLAMATION FUND. February 6, 1905.-The authority of the Secretary of the Interior respecting the use of the reclamation fund as defined and limited by the act is to make preliminary investigation to determine the feasibility of any contemplated irrigation project, to construct and operate reservoirs and irrigation works, and to acquire rights or property necessary for these purposes. NAVIGABLE STREAMS. (33 L. D., 391.) February 6, 1905.-Congress has control over navigable streams and the waters thereof, and no claim based upon appropriation of such waters for irrigation purposes, made without the sanction of Congress, should be recognized by the Secretary of the Interior as valid. (33 L. D., 391.) LOCATION OF RECLAMATION PROJECTS, FORESTED forest reserves. The location of the principal reclamation projects is shown on Pl. I, which gives the outlines of the States and also of the areas now included within the These have been created largely with a view to conserve the water supply for the benefit of irrigation, and their position with reference to the irrigation projects is of importance particularly with reference to the expanse of wooded or forested areas, from which come the principal parts of water supply, and from which are derived the fuel and the fence posts, poles, and @August 18, 1904 (33 L. D., 158), thirty days allowed. |