LAND STATUS

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LAND STATUS

• Karen Goldsmith
• Land Law Examiner
• If you have any questions contact
• Karen Goldsmith (775) 861- 6408

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LAND STATUS
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DETERMINING LAND STATUS FOR MINING CLAIMS

• This presentation will demonstrate the basic
  requirements and a few of the more common actions
  on public lands that will help you determine
• 1) Whether your area of interest is on land in
  Federal ownership and
• 2) Whether or not the land is open to mineral
  entry.

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TOOLS FOR LAND STATUS

• The Public Room here at the BLM Nevada State
  Office.
• The Master Title Plat (MTP) is a composite
  drawing of the survey plats of a township on
  which is shown the ownership and land status. Be
  sure to refer to notations, any supplemental
  plats and protracted surveys.
• The Historical Index (HI) is a chronological
  listing of all actions that affect the use or
  title to public land and resources for each
  township.
• Control Document Index (CDI)- Consists of copies
  of patents, deeds and any other documents that
  affect land status. Located at the BLM Nevada
  State Office and online.

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LOCATION OF CLAIMS AND ACTIONS

• 1) Access the following resources/websites
• ? BLM Nevada State Office Public Room provides
  online access
• to BLM official record websites which
  include
• ? Master Title Plat (MTP) http//www.nv.blm.gov/La
  ndRecords/
• ? Historical Index (HI) http//www.nv.blm.gov/Land
  Records/
• ? Control Document Index (CDI) http//www.glorecor
  ds.blm.gov
• 2) Search by the Legal Land Description of your
  claim
• 1) State Nevada
• 2) Meridian Mount Diablo/San Bernardino
• 3) Township
• 4) Range Depends where you are in the state
• 5) Section
• a) Quarter section(s) sometimes also called
  quadrant(s)
• (NE1/4, NW1/4, SW1/4, SE1/4)

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BLM Nevada Land Recordshttp//www.nv.blm.gov/Land
Records
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BLM Nevada Land Recordshttp//www.nv.blm.gov/Land
Records
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MASTER TITLE PLATS

• ? Master Title Plats- are graphic
  representations of current Federal ownership,
  agency jurisdiction, and rights reserved to the
  federal government on private land. All actions
  taken on public lands such as rights-of-way for
  roads, transmission lines, and communication
  sites are also shown. Private lands are
  identified with the patent number.
• ?Supplemental Plats -are created as necessary for
  sections within a township that are complicated
  and need to be drawn to a larger scale to show
  the details.
• ?Use Plats- are created when necessary to
  identify the location of oil and gas leases,
  geothermal leases and other specific uses that
  affect public lands.

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MTP-REMARKS-RIGHT HAND MARGIN
Master Title Plat
Remarks
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SECTION 18-SUPPLEMENTAL PLAT
Supplemental Plat
Drawn to a larger scale for congested or
complicated lands
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UNSURVEYED LAND

• ? The MTP will show if it is surveyed or
  unsurveyed
• ? If land is unsurveyed there is a protracted
  diagram available which has GPS Coordinates to
  tie into
• ? The protracted diagram is a graphic display of
  the extension of the rectangular survey system
  over unsurveyed
• public lands
• .

Lat. 37 06 52.925 Long. 115 05 12.640
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HISTORICAL INDEX (HI)

• The Historical Index is a chronological listing
  of all actions that affect the use or title to
  public land and resources for each township.
• The Historical Index is a ledger-type document
  that consists of notations that elaborate on the
  information shown on the MTP.
• There is a Historical Index for each MTP. The
  heading of the Index is identical to the heading
  of the MTP.

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HISTORICAL INDEX
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HISTORICAL INDEX
Section(s)
Acres
Action Date
Quarter (Qtr) Section(s)
Type of Document
Posted Date
Qtr Qtr Sec., Lots, and/or Other Lands affected
BLM Case File No., Pat/Deed Numbers or Order
Numbers
Remarks-Additional Pertinent Information
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BLM GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDShttp//www.gloreco
rds.blm.gov
Patent search
State Nevada Land Description Township Range Me
ridian (optional) Section
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BLM GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDShttp//www.gloreco
rds.blm.gov
The Results List shows that there is a Railroad
Grant Patent in Section 11
Patent 649429
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BLM GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDShttp//www.gloreco
rds.blm.gov
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BLM GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDShttp//www.gloreco
rds.blm.gov
Control Document Index Patents and other
documents that convey title or an interest in land
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BLM GENERAL LAND OFFICE RECORDShttp//www.gloreco
rds.blm.gov
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LANDS NOT OPEN TO MINING

• If claims are located entirely on land that is
  withdrawn from location and entry under the
  mining laws or on private land with no minerals
  reserved to the U.S, the claims will be declared
  null and void ab initio (from the beginning).
• Areas not open to mining
• Withdrawn or Segregated lands (i.e. Indian
  Reservations, Recreation and Public Purpose
  (RPP) classifications, Areas of Critical
  Environmental Concern (ACEC), military
  withdrawals etc.)
• Patented lands with no minerals reserved to
  the United States (i.e. Railroad grants, State
  Selection, Homestead Entry Patents, Mineral
  Entry Patents, FLPMA Exchange Patents etc).

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WITHDRAWN LANDS

• Withdrawals are delineated by a medium width
  dash-dot line on the MTP.
• Within the lower portion of the delineated land
  description, the abbreviation for withdrawal
  (Wdl) and the type of withdrawal is listed on the
  MTP.
• Historical Indexes also indicate withdrawn lands.

Withdrawal Line on MTP
SO 12/5/1959 Wdl Yellowstone R Game Res
EO Wdl Pyramid Lake Ind Res
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MTP-WITHDRAWN LANDS
A dash-dot withdrawal line does not tell you if
an area is open to mineral entry, as we will see
in a moment. If there is a withdrawal area, be
cautious as to whether the land is open to
mineral entry.
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MTP-T. 17 N., R. 20 E., MDM, NV

• Part of Sections 4 and 5, and all of Section 6
  are withdrawn in this township. The withdrawal
  notation lies on the southern boundary line of
  the withdrawal and provides certain information
• BLM Case File Number
• Public Law 100-550
• (the authority)
• The purpose Juris to USFS
• (The number 173 pertains to patent information
  not relevant to this topic).
• Public Law (PL) 100-550 is law that transfers the
  jurisdiction of surface management from the
  Bureau of Land Management to the US Forest
  Service.
• PL 100-550 does not close the affected land to
  mineral entry. Therefore, these lands remain OPEN
  to mineral entry under this law.

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MTP-T. 17 N., R. 20 E., MDM, NV

• All of Sections 34, 35 and 36 of this township
  are withdrawn as seen by the dash-dot line within
  these sections along their southern boundaries,
  and along the east boundary line of Section 36.
  (This withdrawal affects more of the township
  than shown in this illustration).
• In Section 34, above the withdrawal line shown,
  is the notation PLO 7491 and the date 7/5/2001.
• This notation refers to Public Land Order (PLO)
  7491, effective 7/5/2001.
• The purpose of this withdrawal is for the
  protection of open space values of public land.
  This PLO specifically withdraws the affected
  public lands from surface entry and mining,
  therefore these lands are CLOSED to mineral
  entry.
• Any mining claim located within the boundaries of
  this withdrawal are null and void ab initio
  (from the beginning).

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MTP-WITHDRAWN LANDS
US Naval Reservation Wdl
Indian Reservation Wdl
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T. 15 N., R. 29 E., MDM, NV
US Military Reservation Wdl
Dash-dot withdrawal line
Indian Reservation Wdl
Dash-dot withdrawal line
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HI-WITHDRAWN LANDS
Wdl-Walker Lake Indian Reservation
Mins Reserved to US All mins transferred to BIA
by Public Law
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HI-WITHDRAWN LANDS
US Military Reservation Wdl
Created by Public Law 106-65
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TOPOGRAPHIC MAP DEPICTING WITHDRAWN LANDS
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LANDS HELD IN PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
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PRIVATELY OWNED

• If claims are located entirely on land that has
  been patented with no reservation of locatable
  minerals (i.e. State selection, railroad grant,
  etc), mining is not open to the public and the
  claims will be voided ab initio.

Look for the patent lines on the MTP
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MTP PRIVATELY OWNED LAND
Pat 27-71-0076 D/C All Min
Pat 763118 D/C
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HI With Private Surface
PX PatentPrivate Exchange Patent
BLM Case File Number N-4571
Patent Number 27-71-0076
Patent dated January 7, 1971
This Patent conveys the East 1/2 of the Southeast
1/4 of section 6, Township 17 North, Range 20
East, Mount Diablo Meridian Nevada, from the
United States to a private individual. To
confirm the mineral ownership, we must look at
the Patent itself.
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PATENT 27-71-0076
Public land being conveyed from The US to a
private individual

1. Reservation to the US is a right of way for
   ditches and canals

1. Reservation to the US of all minerals in only
   this portion of the land being transferred out of
   US ownership, creating a split estate

Patent 27-71-0076
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SPLIT-ESTATE LANDS
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SPLIT-ESTATE LANDS

• Split-estate lands are created when the surface
  ownership passes from the U.S. on to a private
  party, but the U.S. reserves the mineral estate.
•  If the U.S. owns the minerals, and a private
  party owns the surface estate, you will need to
  determine what lands are available for mining and
  what procedures must be followed, depending on
  which authority the Patent was issued under.
• If the area you are interested in includes
  split-estate lands, you may need more assistance
  from the Public Room or Minerals Adjudication to
  determine whether the land is open to mineral
  entry.

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STOCK RAISING HOMESTEAD ACT (SRHA aka SRHE
PATENTS)

• One type of split-estate lands are lands patented
  under the Stock Raising Homestead Act (SRHA) of
  1916. The notation SRHE Patent means the same
  thing, and is short for Stock Raising Homestead
  Entry Patent.
• Lands patented under the SRHA are open to
  location subject to certain procedures.
• Public Law 103-23, passed into law on April 16,
  1993, amends the SRHA of 1916. The amendment
  defines the procedures that individuals or
  companies must follow prior to locating mining
  claims on SRHA lands for minerals reserved to the
  U.S. (See 43CFR 3838, Special Procedures for
  Locating and Recording Mining Claims and Tunnel
  Sites on Stock Raising Homestead Act (SRHA)
  Lands).
• SRHA lands require the filing of BLM Form 3830-3,
  Notice of Intent to Locate, among other things.
  Be sure this form is filled out accurately and
  completely-contact the BLM Public Room for any
  assistance you need in correctly completing this
  form.

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MTP/HI - SRHA LAND
Patent 952894 With Reservation of All Min to
the U.S
SRHE PatStock Raising Homestead Entry Patent
SRHE Patent 952894
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SRHA PATENT 952894
SRHA mineral reservation with right to prospect,
mine and remove the same
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SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
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Special Considerations Federal Aid Highways

•  A right of way (ROW) for a Federal Aid Highway
  usually extends 200 feet on each side of the
  centerline of the highway. 
• While lode claims may overlap a highway right of
  way, a placer claim cannot.
• Since a placer claim affects the surface of the
  land, any portion of a placer claim that lies
  within a Federal Aid Highway right of way is null
  and void from the beginning. 
• Placer claims must be contiguous.
•  
• A placer mining claim intersected by a Federal
  Aid Highway which divides it into two separate
  parts will need to be amended or one part will
  need to be relinquished in order to be a valid
  placer claim. 

Federal Aid Highway ROW 200 feet on EACH side of
the centerline
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Special Considerations Mineral Material Sites

• A Mineral Material Site is a specific area
  designated for the extraction of mineral
  materials, often located near a highway, for use
  in the maintenance of a highway or highways,
  carrying an exclusive right to mine the site
  area, typically to the Nevada Department of
  Transportation.
• Any portion of a placer mining claim that lies
  within a Mineral Material Site is null and void
  from the beginning.
• A conflict exists for any portion of a lode claim
  that extends into a designated Mineral Material
  Site.
• Any portion of a lode claim overlapping a Mineral
  Material Site boundary is not null and void from
  the beginning, as with a placer claim however,
  the lode claimant cannot mine any portion of the
  claim that lies within a Mineral Material Site
  area.

Mineral Material Site held by NV Dept. of
Transportation
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Special Considerations Free Use
Permits/Community Pits

• The designation of public lands as a Free Use
  Permit (FUP) or Community Pit establishes a right
  to remove the materials superior to any
  subsequent claim or entry of the lands.
•  Free Use Permits (FUP) are permits typically
  obtained by a governmental agency, such as a
  county, to extract mineral materials at no charge
  from specifically designated areas.
• Community Pits are designated areas where mineral
  materials are available for sale to the public.
  Permits can be purchased in any Field Office, and
  must be obtained prior to removal of material
  from a Community Pit.
• Sometimes community pits and free use permits
  come from the same deposit areas designated for
  this purpose.

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USEFUL LINKS

• GOVERNMENT LAND OFFICE RECORDS
• http//www.glorecords.blm.gov/
• LR 2000
• http//www.blm.gov/lr2000/
• MTP/HI RETRIEVAL
• http//www.nv.blm.gov/LandRecords/
• CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS
• http//www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text- idx?cecfrSID
  cc66d7a7b9deb6393f25ee6619501a36tpl/ecfrbrowse/T
  itle43/43c fr3800_main_02.tpl
• FEDERAL REGISTER
• http//www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action
  ?collectionCodeFR
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• http//www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/iac/faqmc.html
• TRANSLATING GPS INTO A LEGAL DESCRIPTION
• http//www.geocommunicator.gov/GeoComm/