43 U.S.C. § 151 — Opening of lands restored to entry after withdrawals

When public land is removed from a national forest, or released from a government "withdrawal" (a hold that had kept the land off-limits), the President may decide to reopen that land for settlement. He does this only when, in his judgment, it is proper or necessary. The President can choose how the land opens: by letting settlers move in directly, by holding a drawing, or by any other method he considers advisable for equal opportunity and good administration. The President can also limit the opening. He may provide that, for a period of up to 90 days, the newly opened land can be claimed only by two kinds of people: actual settlers using the homestead-entry laws, or people using the desert-land laws (a program for claiming dry land by irrigating it). After that period, any land still unclaimed becomes subject to whichever public-land laws normally apply to it.