43 U.S.C. § 436 — Time when entry may be made generally

This section controls when settlers can file land claims (called "entries") on land the government has reserved for irrigation projects. Starting June 25, 1910, no one may make an entry, and no would-be settler (called an "entryman") may go onto the reserved land, until two things happen. First, the Secretary of the Interior must set the "unit of acreage per entry" — the size of the plot each claim will cover. Second, water must actually be ready to deliver to the land in that unit, or to some part of it, and the Secretary of the Interior must publicly announce that water is ready. Only after both of these steps are done can someone make an entry or move onto the land.