43 U.S.C. § 315M
Section 315m · Lease of isolated or disconnected tracts for grazing; preferences
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 9 court decisions — leading case Alves v. United States (1998)
Most recently applied in Western Watersheds Project v. Interior Board of Land Appeals (October 2010)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Secretary of the Interior is further authorized, in his discretion, where vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved lands of the public domain are so situated as not to justify their inclusion in any grazing district to be established pursuant to this subchapter, to lease any such lands for grazing purposes, upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe: Provided, That preference shall be given to owners, homesteaders, lessees, or other lawful occupants of contiguous lands to the extent necessary to permit proper use of such contiguous lands, except, that when such isolated or disconnected tracts embrace seven hundred and sixty acres or less, the owners, homesteaders, lessees, or other lawful occupants of lands contiguous thereto or cornering thereon shall have a preference right to lease the whole of such tract, during a period of ninety days after such tract is offered for lease, upon the terms and conditions prescribed by the Secretary: Provided further, That when public lands are restored from a withdrawal, the Secretary may grant an appropriate preference right for a grazing lease, license, or permit to users of the land for grazing purposes under authority of the agency which had jurisdiction over the lands immediately prior to the time of their restoration.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1954—Act May 28, 1954, inserted proviso authorizing Secretary to grant a preference right to users of withdrawn public lands for grazing purposes when lands are restored from withdrawal.
1936—Act June 26, 1936, inserted first proviso.