CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS A LAND STATUS CHECK? WHY DO WE CHECK STATUS?

• Jurisdiction: United States

Federal Land Status Determination
(May 1971)
CHAPTER 1
WHAT IS A LAND STATUS CHECK? WHY DO WE CHECK STATUS?
Robert P. Davison
Holland & Hart
Denver, Colorado

Simply stated, a land status check is an examination of the federal, state and county land records which apply to the pertinent area of interest to determine the present ownership and the availability of lands in the area of interest for the intended use. No land status check is complete until all of the sources have been investigated, but a complete check is not always necessary.

The federal land records show actions taken by the government in its position of owner-manager of the public domain. Public land disposals, classifications, withdrawals and use limitations created by federal authority all are recorded here. These records are cumulative and are discontinued only when the land is patented and passes from public to private ownership.

There is one significant omission from the federal land records during the period of government ownership. This is the unpatented mining claim acquired pursuant to the Mining Law of 1872. As you know, the discoverer of locatable mineral on the public domain can acquire title to the mineral deposit by following rather simple procedures in staking the area claimed and posting a

[Page 1-2]

notice of location which also is recorded at the appropriate county courthouse. Nowhere in this procedure is there a requirement that the federal Land Office be notified. Quite often the first time the federal records reflect a mining claim is when a patent application is filed. Of course, if this patent is issued, the particular land passes out of the public domain and the federal land books are closed as to it. This deficiency in the public land records may not continue for the Public Land Law Review Commission has recommended procedural changes which will require a copy of a location notice to be filed with the appropriate federal Land Office in each state.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that for mining purposes federal land records can be ignored and a land status check concentrated only on the county courthouse. The mining location is no good if at the time it was made, the public domain was not open to entry for mining purposes. On the Colorado Plateau in the 1950's when there was feverish activity in locating uranium, little or no thought had been given to the status of the public domain. Claims were located and mined based on the information contained...