43 U.S.C. § 1068 : US Code - Section 1068: Lands held in adverse possession; issuance of patent; reservation of minerals; conflicting claims

Search 43 U.S.C. § 1068 : US Code - Section 1068: Lands held in adverse possession; issuance of patent; reservation of minerals; conflicting claims

The Secretary of the Interior (a) shall, whenever it shall be
shown to his satisfaction that a tract of public land has been held
in good faith and in peaceful, adverse, possession by a claimant,
his ancestors or grantors, under claim or color of title for more
than twenty years, and that valuable improvements have been placed
on such land or some part thereof has been reduced to cultivation,
or (b) may, in his discretion, whenever it shall be shown to his
satisfaction that a tract of public land has been held in good
faith and in peaceful, adverse, possession by a claimant, his
ancestors or grantors, under claim or color of title for the period
commencing not later than January 1, 1901, to the date of
application during which time they have paid taxes levied on the
land by State and local governmental units, issue a patent for not
to exceed one hundred and sixty acres of such land upon the payment
of not less than $1.25 per acre: Provided, That where the area so
held is in excess of one hundred and sixty acres the Secretary may
determine what particular subdivisions, not exceeding one hundred
and sixty acres, may be patented hereunder: Provided further, That
coal and all other minerals contained therein are reserved to the
United States; that said coal and other minerals shall be subject
to sale or disposal by the United States under applicable leasing
and mineral land laws, and permittees, lessees, or grantees of the
United States shall have the right to enter upon said lands for the
purpose of prospecting for and mining such deposits: And provided
further, That no patent shall issue under the provisions of this
chapter for any tract to which there is a conflicting claim adverse
to that of the applicant, unless and until such claim shall have
been finally adjudicated in favor of such applicant.