Federal Lands
Lands owned by the United States. For mining claims, BLM's rules define federal lands as land owned by the United States and subject to location under the General Mining Law.
Detailed Definition
Federal lands are lands owned by the United States. The term has several official definitions, and they do not cover the same ground.
Three definitions
- BLM's Glossary of Surveying and Mapping Terms: "All classes of land owned by the Federal Government."
- FLPMA's "public lands": "any land and interest in land owned by the United States within the several States and administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management, without regard to how the United States acquired ownership," except Outer Continental Shelf lands and "lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos" (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
- BLM's mining claim rules: "any lands or interest in lands owned by the United States, subject to location under the General Mining Law, including, but not limited to, those lands within forest reservations in the National Forest System and wildlife refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System" (43 CFR 3830.5).
The last definition governs 43 CFR parts 3830 through 3839, which cover "locating, recording, and maintaining mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites on all Federal lands" (43 CFR 3830.2).
Who manages what
BLM's brochure "Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands" says BLM "manages about 245 million acres of public land, primarily located in 12 western states, including Alaska," and "also administers about 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation." BLM's page on locating a mining claim says that in the states open to location, "the BLM manages the surface of public land and the Forest Service manages the surface of National Forest System (NFS) land. The BLM is responsible for the subsurface on both public and NFS land." It adds that mining claims "can be located on open public land administered by another federal agency (most commonly on Forest Service land)."
Where mining claims can be located
The same page says "There are Federally-administered lands in 19 states where you may locate a mining claim or site": Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Federal land in those states is not all open; see Open to Entry and Withdrawal.
Surface rules and records
The brochure notes that exploration and mining on National Forest System lands are administered under 36 CFR 228, Subpart A, while BLM applies 43 CFR 3809 and related rules on its lands. It also says the Forest Service "does not keep the official land and mineral records for the national forests; they are deposited with the proper BLM state office."
Why it matters in mining claim research
Federal ownership is the first question, not the last. A tract can be federal and closed to location, or federal but acquired rather than public domain (see Public Domain Lands). Research identifies the surface manager, the owner of the minerals, and how the United States came to hold them, from BLM's land status records rather than from an ownership map alone.
Related Terms
BLM (Bureau of Land Management)
The Bureau of Land Management, the Interior Department agency that manages the federal mineral estate and records and maintains unpatented mining claims and sites.
Open to Entry
Federal land that is open to the location of mining claims and sites under the General Mining Law, because it has not been withdrawn or segregated from mineral entry.
Withdrawal
An action by Congress, the President, the Secretary, or another agency that withholds federal land from location or entry under some or all of the public land laws, including the mining laws.
Public Domain Lands
Lands the United States obtained by cession from the original states or by treaty or purchase. Only public domain minerals are locatable under the Mining Law; acquired minerals are not.
State Trust Lands
Land granted by Congress to a state, usually at statehood, and held in trust to earn revenue for schools and other beneficiaries. It is state land, not federal land open to mining claims.
Land Status
The legal condition of a tract of federal land: ownership of surface and minerals, withdrawals, segregations, reservations, and the rights already attached to it.