Public Land Law Exam With Complete Solutions 100% Verified
The National Forest System - ANSWER The Forest Service is an agency of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Its mission, established in 1905, is to "sustain the health,
diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of
present and future generations.".
BLM Public Lands - ANSWER The mission of the Bureau of Land Management directs the
agency, among other things, to sustain the productivity of America's public lands. The
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) established the BLM's
multiple-use mission, which requires that public land resources are managed for a
variety of uses.
National Wildlife Refuge System - ANSWER The National Wildlife Refuge System, a part
of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, follows the mission, "to administer a national network
of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate,
restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United
States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
National Park System - ANSWER The first national park was created in 1872 when
Congress reserved Yellowstone County in the Wyoming and Montana territories as a
public park. Because there were no state governments in place to manage the park, it
remained in the care of the Department of the Interior. It was not, however, until 1916
that President Wilson signed legislation establishing the National Park Service,
mandating that it "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the
wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such
means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.".
AK Purchase/Statehood - ANSWER • 1867: SOS Seward purchased AK from Russia for
$7M
• 1959: Statehood (almost all land owned by federal gov't)
AK Enabling Act - ANSWER New state gov't won the right to select 104M acres of federal
land, but natives began to protest in mid-1960s (b/c aboriginal title had never ben
,disturbed and transferring title to state or industry would violate native property rights)
1968 Superfreeze - ANSWER Interior Secretary stopped issuing land patents and
mineral leases pending Congressional resolution of the native claims
1971: AK Native Claims Settlement Act - ANSWER o Natives given right to select 44M
acres of federal land
o Natives given almost $1B in federal funds
o State selections of land allowed to resume
o Reservation of lands for environmental purposes
1980: AK Nat'l Interest Lands Conservation Act - ANSWER Allocated 100+M acres to
federal conservation systems (mostly former BLM lands)—doubling size of Nat'l Park
System, tripling that of Wildlife Refuge System, and quadrupling the Nat'l Wilderness
Preservation System
Tee Hit Ton Indians v. US (1955) - ANSWER Indian title could be extinguished by US w/o
just compensation.
Oneida County v. Oneida Indian Nation (1985) - ANSWER SC held invalid a 1795 land
transfer from the Oneida Nation to the State of NY never approved by Congress. Court
has since retreated from this view.
Federal power to dispose of resources - ANSWER Federal land agencies possess limited
power to dispose of public resources that remain subject to unextinguished Indian title.
Johnson v. M'Intosh - ANSWER The Indian tribes did not have the right to transfer to
anyone but the US govt. M'Intosh prevails because he derives his title from the US,
which has the exclusive right to transfer the land.
Principle of discovery - ANSWER The foundation for the colonizers' power to deal with
the resident Indians in a piece of land. In relation to the colonizers' powers among
, themselves - it grants bare fee title. The principle grants the exclusive right by discovery
to settle, possess, and govern the new land, and the absolute title to the soil, subject to
certain rights of occupancy only in the natives.
Indian Title - ANSWER Unique property interest that allowed Indian tribes to reside,
hunt, and fish upon their native lands and to sue trespassing parties for damages. Also
allowed tribes to transfer, only w/consent of federal gov't. Absent such consent, Indian
title cannot be affected by actions of states or private parties.
Submerged Lands - ANSWER New states automatically received some land at
statehood—the beds underlying navigable waters w/in their boundaries—based on SC's
decision that title to such lands in the original 13 states passed from the British Crown
to their colonies before the US's establishment.
Equal Footing Doctrine - ANSWER Constitutional principle that all states admitted to the
Union under the Constitution since 1789 enter on equal footing with the 13 states
already in the Union at that time. Based in A4S3C1: "New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union."
Pollard v. Hagan (1845) - ANSWER SC case that established Equal Footing Doctrine
Exception to Submerged Lands Doctrine - ANSWER US may reserve the beds of
navigable waters for federal purposes prior to statehood. E.g., federal ownership of
submerged lands in the AK National Wildlife Refuge survived statehood and the Pollard
principle.
Public Trust Doctrine - ANSWER Principle that submerged lands should be managed in a
manner that protects the collective interests of citizens to use and enjoy their
resources.
Land grants from the federal gov't to states took two basic forms - ANSWER 1.
"In-place" grants of specified, numbered sections in each township for the purpose of
supporting the new state's common schools. Actual location couldn't be determined
until the land was surveyed. In the meantime, the states were given the right to make "in
lieu" selections of other available federal lands.
The National Forest System - ANSWER The Forest Service is an agency of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Its mission, established in 1905, is to "sustain the health,
diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of
present and future generations.".
BLM Public Lands - ANSWER The mission of the Bureau of Land Management directs the
agency, among other things, to sustain the productivity of America's public lands. The
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) established the BLM's
multiple-use mission, which requires that public land resources are managed for a
variety of uses.
National Wildlife Refuge System - ANSWER The National Wildlife Refuge System, a part
of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, follows the mission, "to administer a national network
of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate,
restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United
States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
National Park System - ANSWER The first national park was created in 1872 when
Congress reserved Yellowstone County in the Wyoming and Montana territories as a
public park. Because there were no state governments in place to manage the park, it
remained in the care of the Department of the Interior. It was not, however, until 1916
that President Wilson signed legislation establishing the National Park Service,
mandating that it "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the
wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such
means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.".
AK Purchase/Statehood - ANSWER • 1867: SOS Seward purchased AK from Russia for
$7M
• 1959: Statehood (almost all land owned by federal gov't)
AK Enabling Act - ANSWER New state gov't won the right to select 104M acres of federal
land, but natives began to protest in mid-1960s (b/c aboriginal title had never ben
,disturbed and transferring title to state or industry would violate native property rights)
1968 Superfreeze - ANSWER Interior Secretary stopped issuing land patents and
mineral leases pending Congressional resolution of the native claims
1971: AK Native Claims Settlement Act - ANSWER o Natives given right to select 44M
acres of federal land
o Natives given almost $1B in federal funds
o State selections of land allowed to resume
o Reservation of lands for environmental purposes
1980: AK Nat'l Interest Lands Conservation Act - ANSWER Allocated 100+M acres to
federal conservation systems (mostly former BLM lands)—doubling size of Nat'l Park
System, tripling that of Wildlife Refuge System, and quadrupling the Nat'l Wilderness
Preservation System
Tee Hit Ton Indians v. US (1955) - ANSWER Indian title could be extinguished by US w/o
just compensation.
Oneida County v. Oneida Indian Nation (1985) - ANSWER SC held invalid a 1795 land
transfer from the Oneida Nation to the State of NY never approved by Congress. Court
has since retreated from this view.
Federal power to dispose of resources - ANSWER Federal land agencies possess limited
power to dispose of public resources that remain subject to unextinguished Indian title.
Johnson v. M'Intosh - ANSWER The Indian tribes did not have the right to transfer to
anyone but the US govt. M'Intosh prevails because he derives his title from the US,
which has the exclusive right to transfer the land.
Principle of discovery - ANSWER The foundation for the colonizers' power to deal with
the resident Indians in a piece of land. In relation to the colonizers' powers among
, themselves - it grants bare fee title. The principle grants the exclusive right by discovery
to settle, possess, and govern the new land, and the absolute title to the soil, subject to
certain rights of occupancy only in the natives.
Indian Title - ANSWER Unique property interest that allowed Indian tribes to reside,
hunt, and fish upon their native lands and to sue trespassing parties for damages. Also
allowed tribes to transfer, only w/consent of federal gov't. Absent such consent, Indian
title cannot be affected by actions of states or private parties.
Submerged Lands - ANSWER New states automatically received some land at
statehood—the beds underlying navigable waters w/in their boundaries—based on SC's
decision that title to such lands in the original 13 states passed from the British Crown
to their colonies before the US's establishment.
Equal Footing Doctrine - ANSWER Constitutional principle that all states admitted to the
Union under the Constitution since 1789 enter on equal footing with the 13 states
already in the Union at that time. Based in A4S3C1: "New States may be admitted by the
Congress into this Union."
Pollard v. Hagan (1845) - ANSWER SC case that established Equal Footing Doctrine
Exception to Submerged Lands Doctrine - ANSWER US may reserve the beds of
navigable waters for federal purposes prior to statehood. E.g., federal ownership of
submerged lands in the AK National Wildlife Refuge survived statehood and the Pollard
principle.
Public Trust Doctrine - ANSWER Principle that submerged lands should be managed in a
manner that protects the collective interests of citizens to use and enjoy their
resources.
Land grants from the federal gov't to states took two basic forms - ANSWER 1.
"In-place" grants of specified, numbered sections in each township for the purpose of
supporting the new state's common schools. Actual location couldn't be determined
until the land was surveyed. In the meantime, the states were given the right to make "in
lieu" selections of other available federal lands.
