Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WELCH: This is in further reference to your request for a report on H. R. 4874, a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to issue patent to the county of Del Norte, State of California, to Pelican Rock in Crescent City Harbor, Del Norte County, Calif. I have no objection to the enactment of the proposed legislation if the technical amendment hereinafter suggested is adopted. The bill would authorize this Department to issue a patent to the county for a small, unsurveyed, rock island with an area of about 1 acre. Available information indicates that this land, which is located in Crescent City Harbor, is desired by the county for use as a public wharf or for use in connection with the operation of the harbor. Since the island apparently can serve no useful purpose, apart from its use in connection with the development of the Crescent City Harbor, I see no reason for not recommending that favorable action be taken on H. R. 4874. However, in order to avoid the surveying expense which would be incurred prior to issuance of a patent under the bill, it is suggested that the bill be amended to indicate that the act itself conveys title to the land involved. The proposed amendment may be accomplished by changing the title to read "To transfer Pelican Rock in Crescent City Harbor, Del Norte County, Calif., to that county," and by substituting the following for sections 1 and 2: "That all the right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the island known as Pelican Rock, containing an estimated area of about 1 acre, and situated in the Pacific Ocean in the northern portion of section 33, township 16 north, range 1 west, Humboldt meridian, California, approximately a quarter of a mile north of Whaler Island, shown to be located in latitude 41 degrees 44 minutes 40 seconds north, and longitude 124 degrees 11 minutes 10 seconds west, on U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart entitled 'St. George Reef and Crescent City, California,' is hereby conveyed to the county of Del Norte, State of California, for the purpose of a public wharf or for such other purposes as it may be of use in the construction, maintenance, and operation of Crescent City Harbor." It should also be noted that since use of the land may affect the harbor improvement and navigational programs of the Department of the Army, your committee may wish to obtain that Department's views on the bill. The Bureau of the Budget has advised me that there is no objection to the presentation of this report. Sincerely yours, C. GIRARD DAVIDSON, Assistant Secretary of the Interior. 80TH CONGRESS 2d Session SENATE {No. 1496 REPORT EXTENDING THE PUBLIC-LAND LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES TO CERTAIN LANDS, CONSISTING OF ISLANDS, SITUATED IN THE RED RIVER IN OKLAHOMA JUNE 4 (legislative day, JUNE 1), 1948.-Ordered to be printed Mr. BUTLER, from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5071] The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5071) to extend the public-land laws of the United States to certain lands, consisting of islands, situated in the Red River in Oklahoma, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to extend the Federal public-land laws to certain islands located in the Red River in western Oklahoma. These islands have been homesteaded by three families, entries upon which were allowed by the Department of the Interior. When the homesteaders filed their final proof, it was found that although title to the lands was vested in the United States, they had never been brought under the public-land laws and that the entries therefore had been erroneously allowed. In Oklahoma the general rule is that the public-land laws apply only to areas to which they have been specifically extended. Since such action has never been taken, the homestead entries cannot be perfected and patents cannot be issued under existing laws. Three homesteads covering about 200 acres of land are directly involved in this legislation. An additional area of approximately 200 acres would be declared public lands under this bill and would be open to entry. The three homesteaders primarily concerned made their entries in good faith and it is the opinion of the committee that there is no good reason why patents should not be issued. The House Committee on Public Lands amended the bill to remove the provision reserving mineral rights to the United States. The entries of the first two homesteads were allowed without such a reservation, and that committee considered it a breach of good faith to insert one at this late date. The third homesteader filed a consent to an oil-and-gas reservation by the United States at the time his entry was allowed. This bill was submitted and recommended by the Department of the Interior, and the letter of transmittal to the Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereinbelow set forth in full and made a part of this report. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington 25, D. C., December 30, 1947. HON. JOSEPH W. MARTIN, Jr., MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is enclosed a proposed bill to extend the publicland laws of the United States to certain lands, consisting of islands, situated in the Red River in Oklahoma. I respectfully request that the proposed bill be referred to the appropriate committee for consideration, and I recommend that it be enacted. The area involved in the bill is a strip of land situated in the bed of the Red River in Oklahoma. The river is not navigable in this locality, and throughout most of the year the river bed is dry. Within the strip are several islands of higher land. In Oklahoma v. Texas (258 U. S. 574 (1922)) the Supreme Court held that the strip belonged to the United States, thus ending a lengthy controversy over the ownership. Subsequently, the public-land surveys were extended to cover partially the area and a few homestead entries were allowed. When the time arrived to perfect these entries and to issue patents, it was discovered the entries had been erroneously allowed because the public-land laws had not been extended to the area, the general rule in Oklahoma being that the public-land laws apply only to those areas to which they have been specifically extended. Consequently, the entries cannot be perfected and patents cannot be issued under existing laws. These homestead entries seem to have been made in good faith, and there is no good reason why they should not be allowed. The proposed bill is in the nature of remedial legislation to permit such allowance and to otherwise extend the public-land laws to this area. Since, however, the bulk of the land is not fit for agricultural purposes, being in a river bed and subject to frequent inundation, and since the land may have a high speculative value for oil and gas, the bill provides that patents on nonmineral entries, selections, and locations shall reserve the minerals to the United States. This provision would prevent entries merely for speculative purposes. As the public-land laws include the mining laws and the mineral leasing laws, the bill would also extend those laws to the strip. Therefore, the special act of March 4, 1923 (42 Stat. 1448, 30 U. S. C., sec. 230), which relates to mineral leasing in the area, would no longer be necessary and would be repealed. Existing valid rights under that act, however, would be preserved, as would the existing distribution of proceeds pursuant to the joint resolution approved June 12, 1926 (44 Stat. 740). The Department has repeatedly presented proposed legislation similar to this since the Seventy-third Congress. I hope, for the sake of the people who have performed every act necessary to perfect their homesteads, that the Congress will give this bill its prompt attention. The Bureau of the Budget has advised me that there is no objection to the presentation of this proposed legislation. Sincerely yours, 80TH CONGRESS 2d Session } SENATE {No. 1497 REPORT PROVIDING FOR THE ACQUISITION OF LANDS FOR GRAZING AND RELATED PURPOSES JUNE 4 (legislative day, JUNE 1), 1948.-Ordered to be printed Mr. BUTLER, from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 6073] The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6073) to provide for the acquisition of lands for grazing and related purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Taylor Grazing Act in order to facilitate the administration of public lands subject to the provisions of that act. No expenditure of Federal funds is involved. The Department of the Interior recommends the enactment of this legislation. Existing law permits the Federal Government to accept donations of lands within grazing districts, and this bill will grant authority to the Government to accept contributions of land, and of money for improvements thereto, outside of the grazing districts. At present, serious stock driveway problems exist where a driveway lies partly on public land and partly on private land. The enactment of this bill will enable donations to be made of such private land to the Government so that all of the land in the driveways will be under public ownership. Also, many livestock owners have asked that some stock driveways be rerouted for convenience and watershed protection. Any relocation will be difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish unless the Government is authorized to accept donations of key properties. The favorable report of the Interior Department to the chairman of the House Committee on Public Lands, under date of April 23, 1948, is herein below set forth in full and made a part of this report. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WELCH: This is in further reference to your request for a report on H. R. 6073, a bill to provide for the acquisition of lands for grazing and related purposes. I recommend that the bill be enacted. Section 1 of the proposed bill would grant the authority to accept donations of land which will facilitate the administration of the public lands that are subject to the provisions of the Taylor Grazing Act. Section 8 (a) of that Act now limits the authority of the Government to accept donations of lands under the act to lands within grazing districts. The proposed bill would amend section 8 (a) to include the complementary authority to accept gifts of land outside such districts. This is highly desirable in order to facilitate administration of the public lands in situations where stock driveways or other authorized uses of these lands are impeded by uneconomic boundary lines. Livestock operators have requested that several stock driveways be rerouted for convenience as well as for watershed protection and other reasons. Such relocation is difficult and in many cases impossible without authority to accept donations of key properties. Such authority would also be extremely helpful in securing small tracts of land in the vicinity of district offices for the construction of necessary warehouses and storage houses. Section 2 of the bill would empower the Secretary to accept contributions toward the administration, protection, and improvement of lands within or without the exterior boundaries of a grazing district. This would be accomplished by amending section 9 of the Taylor Grazing Act of June 28, 1934, which, in its present form, authorizes the Government to accept such contributions only with respect to lands within a grazing district. The power to accept the additional contributions for the administration and improvement of lands outside a grazing district is, of course, a necessary corollary to the authority which section 1 of the bill would confer in authorizing the Government to accept donations of lands outside of such districts, and is essential to a sound and workable range-betterment program with respect to the lands outside as well as inside the grazing districts. In view of your desire to have an immediate statement of the Department's views, I have not submitted this report to the Bureau of the Budget. I am unable, therefore, to inform you as to the relation of the proposed legislation to the program of the President. Sincerely yours, OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Under Secretary of the Interior. O |