43 U.S.C. § 772
Section 772 · Resurveys or retracements to mark boundaries of undisposed lands
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 22 court decisions — leading case Sweeten v. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (1982)
Most recently applied in United States v. Estate of St. Clair (April 2016)
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 may, as of March 3, 1909, in his discretion cause to be made, as he may deem wise under the rectangular system on that date provided by law, such resurveys or retracements of the surveys of public lands as, after full investigation, he may deem essential to properly mark the boundaries of the public lands remaining undisposed of: Provided, That no such resurvey or retracement shall be so executed as to impair the bona fide rights or claims of any claimant, entryman, or owner of lands affected by such resurvey or retracement.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1976—Pub. L. 94–579 struck out proviso authorizing that not more than 20 per centum of relevant appropriations be used for resurveys and retracements under this section.
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Section 705(a) of Pub. L. 94–579 provided that the amendment made by that section is effective on and after Oct. 21, 1976.
Savings Provision
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–579 not to be construed as terminating any valid lease, permit, patent, etc., existing on Oct. 21, 1976, see section 701 of Pub. L. 94–579, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title.