This article discusses mining claims on “split-estate” land, also known as Stock Raising Homestead Act (SRHA) land, and the extra steps involved in staking mining claims there.
Introduction
Panke Claim Staking Services (PCSS) stakes mining claims across the western United States. Most claims that we stake are on federal public land (think national forest land and BLM land). However, a different situation can occur where we stake mining claims on “split-estate” land which is private land.
What Is “Split-Estate” Land?
In 1916 the U.S. government passed the Stock Raising Homestead Act where they opened up a large amount of public land to homesteading for ranching purposes. Homesteaders could claim a whole section of land, 640 acres, but the federal government retained the mineral rights to the land, the so-called “subsurface”. So landowners homesteaded and were issued patents to the land. They owned the surface and the federal government owned the subsurface. This land is called split-estate land.
How Much Split Estate Land Is There?
The short answer is, a lot:
- Montana, 11.7 million acres
- Wyoming, 11.6 million acres
- New Mexico, 9.5 million acres
- Colorado, 5.2 million acres
- Idaho, 3.4 million acres
- Arizona, 3 million acres
- California, 2.5 million acres
- Oregon, 1.5 million acres
- Utah, 1.2 million acres
- Nevada, 300,000 acres
- Washington, 300,000 acres
- U.S Total, 57 million acres
Figures come from https://ballotpedia.org/Oil_and_gas_extraction_on_federal_land_in_Idaho, https://ballotpedia.org/Oil_and_gas_extraction_on_federal_land_in_Wyoming, https://ballotpedia.org/Oil_and_gas_extraction_on_federal_land_in_Nevada and https://ballotpedia.org/Oil_and_gas_extraction_on_federal_land_in_New_Mexico
Staking Mining Claims on “split-estate” land
Because the federal government owns the subsurface mineral rights of split-estate land, the land is open to mineral entry. However, you can’t just waltz onto that land and stake mining claims there like you can on public land. Careful work in the due diligence phase of a claim staking project, an extra form to file with the BLM, extra fees to pay and more time on the project are all parts of the process before you go stake claims.
The Due Diligence Phase
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology has a handbook titled “Mining Claim Procedures”, found here. It is an excellent introduction to the due diligence phase of any claim staking project, not just those in Nevada. Check out the section on page 14, “Determining Land Status”. The goal of the due diligence phase is to determine if your area of interest is open to claim staking. Most or all of the info that you need is available online, but it can be time consuming. Panke Claim Staking Services has spent quite a bit of time in the last year working with clients on the due diligence phase of their claim staking projects.
The Extra Paperwork, Fees and Time Phase
Let’s pretend that due diligence found that the land in your area of interest is open to mineral entry. There are no active mining claims there as far as your BLM MLRS and County Clerk research can determine. The land is a mix of BLM land and split-estate land. Now what?
- You have to file a BLM Form 3830-3, often referred to as a NOITL, with the state BLM office for each split-estate land owner whose land you want to explore and/or stake. See the most recent edition of the form here.
- All the NOITL regulations are in Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Click here to see the regs and for a step-by-step guide to the whole NOITL process.
- To find out who currently owns the split-estate land, you access county tax records via the County Assessor website. This step is either easy if the county has modernized their website and has GIS maps w/ property ownership info readily available, or time consuming if you have to call the assessor’s office and work with somebody there to get the ownership info.
- Fill out the NOITLs for each landowner and file them with the necessary fees with the state BLM office. The current processing fee for each NOITL is $35 (I found the fee info here).
- Serve a copy of the NOITL on the landowner(s) (and provide proof to BLM that you did so)
- Wait the 30 days required after serving the NOITLs on the landowners
The Claim Staking Phase
Once you’ve waited the necessary 30 days, and have received acceptance confirmation from BLM with the NOITL serial numbers that they assigned to each NOITL, it’s time to go stake those claims. It’s regular claim staking now, although there’s a couple of things to keep in mind:
- There is a fair amount of bad feelings about split-estate land. If you Google search something like, “split estate land controversies”, you’ll find numerous groups wishing to change how split estate land is managed.
- The Locator or the Locator’s Agent will be staking mining claims on land owned by a landowner, so good communication with the public while in the field is important. When PCSS is staking split-estate mining claims, we bend over backwards trying to have good relations with everybody we meet. We share maps, look at and explain copies of the NOITLs, or hand out written explanations of SHRA land to people who kind of know about this “split land stuff” but it’s vague
- Location Notices should have a spot on them referencing the NOITL serial number like in the pic below. When you file your claims with BLM after staking them, part of their adjudication process will be to verify that you staked the claims in your open 90 day NOITL period (and that you filed NOITLs in the first place):
Conclusion
Staking mining claims on split-estate land can be a complex topic, and hopefully this article didn’t just sow confusion. The article is an overview of the process and not a thorough step by step handbook. Panke Claim Staking Services has had significant recent experience with handling the split-estate process from start to finish. Sadly, I (Sigurd here) admit that I enjoy geeking out on Master Title Plats, so if you need PCSS’s expertise, please contact us.
