Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 63 Part 1.djvu/717

 63 STAT.] 81ST CONG. , 1ST SESS.-CHS. 521, 522 -AUG. 30, 1949 [CHAPTER 521] AN ACT August 30, 1949 To authorize the sale of public lands in Alaska. [H. R. 2859] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That public lands Alka.p in Alaska not within national parks or monuments, national forests, Indian lands, and military reservations, which have been classified by the Secretary of the Interior as suitable for industrial or com- mercial purposes, including the construction of housing, may be sold by him at public auction, after giving not less than thirty days' notice of such intended sale in a newspaper of general circulation in Alaska, in tracts not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres in the aggregate, to any bidder who furnishes proof satisfactory to the Secretary that such bidder has the bona fide intention and the means to develop the tract for such use: Provided,That withdrawn or reserved lands may be disposed of under this Act only with the consent of any department or agency having administrative jurisdiction over such lands. SEC. 2. No sale shall be made for less than the appraised price of Sale pn ce the land and the cost of making any survey to properly describe the land sold. SEC. 3. There shall be issued to each purchaser of land under this chCBette of pur Act a certificate of purchase. Within three years after issuance of Patent infee. such certificate, upon proof supported by affidavits of two disinterested persons that the purchaser has used the land for the purpose for which it was classified for sale for a period of not less than six months, a patent in fee shall be issued. Patents under this Act shall Right reserved to issue only after survey, and shall contain a reservation to the United States of all minerals in the lands patented together with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the minerals, and such other reserva- tions as may be necessary and proper: Provided, That, notwithstand- Liability. ing the provisions of any Act of Congress to the contrary, any person who hereafter prospects for, mines, or removes any minerals from any land disposed of under this Act shall be liable for any damage that may be caused to the value of the land and tangible improvements thereon by such prospecting for, mining, or removal of minerals. Nothing in this section shallbe construed to impair any vested right in existence on the effective date of this section. SEC. 4. This Act shall not affect any existing valid rights. The Act of May 14, 1898 (48 U. S . C., secs. 371 and 462), as amended, 30Stat.409,4t3. creating shore space reserves, shall not apply to nor limit the operation of this Act. SEC. 5. The Secretary of the Interior may make such rules and tio,,U and regula regulations as may be necessary and proper to provide for the develop- ment, under applicable law, of minerals reserved to the United States, to provide appropriate notice of and method of conducting sales, to prevent speculation, to promote the orderly development of lands in Alaska, to provide protection and compensation for damages from mining activities to the surface and improvements thereon, and to carry out any of the other purposes of this Act. Approved August 30, 1949. [CHAPTER 522] AN ACT August30,1949 To authorize the addition of certain lands to the Big Bend National Park, in the [H. R. 2877- State of Texas, and for other purposes. [Publ l c Law 276] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary Bi Bend National of the Interior is authorized to acquire, in such manner as he shall Additional land. 679

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