43 U.S.C. § 2 : US Code - Section 2: Duties concerning public lands

Search 43 U.S.C. § 2 : US Code - Section 2: Duties concerning public lands

The Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate
shall perform all executive duties appertaining to the surveying
and sale of the public lands of the United States, or in anywise
respecting such public lands, and, also, such as relate to private
claims of land, and the issuing of patents for all grants of land
under the authority of the Government.