DEPOSITED BY THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Every day scores of people ask the Bureau of Land Management about so-called land locators and filing services.

Land locators and filing services are people or businessmen who perform various services for public land applicants for a fee. None of these people or businesses is licensed or regulated by the Federal Government. Land locators often perform such jobs as examining the status of lands on the public land records, inspecting the character of public lands on the ground, filling out application blanks, or preparing supplementary information that may be required with an application for public lands.

The Government does not require anyone to hire a land locator or a filing service. All that is necessary is that the applicant comply with the laws and regulations and submit a proper application.

Whether a person wishes to hire a land locator or filing service to assist him in finding a suitable tract of vacant public land, and in preparing an application, is strictly a matter of choice for the individual.

The Bureau of Land Management neither encourages or discourages the use of such services, and BLM cannot furnish the names or addresses of any people or firms doing this kind of work. However, anyone who is thinking about hiring a land locator or filing service should make absolutely sure he is dealing with a reputable organization. Above all, anyone who employs a land locator should find out exactly what services the locator will do in exchange for his fee-sometimes people have paid exorbitant sums for the doing of something which they could have done themselves at a nominal cost.

The regulations usually require that an applicant be personally acquainted with the land sought. If a locator prepares an application for your signature without first taking you to the land, and identifying it from survey markers, you should hesitate to sign the application.

All applications received by the Bureau of Land Management are considered on their own merits. No one would receive any kind of special treatment or consideration simply because he had filed his application through a land locator. All BLM information, data, records, maps, and other materials which are available to land locators and filing services, are also available to anyone who is interested in filing an application. Land locators receive no special or "inside" information that is not available to anyone else.

Though some land locators are completely honest businessmen who perform services for the public, some other land locators and filing services have engaged in land promotional schemes that, while staying just within the letter of the law, border on unethical or fraudulent practices. When in doubt, an applicant should contact the local Better Business Bureau or real estate regulatory agency and obtain their opinion.

In general, most locator services complete their contract with an applicant when he "receives the official receipt from the Land Office."

Some people have mistakenly thought that this receipt meant their application had been approved. The Land Office receipt is not an approval of the application or a permit to occupy or use the land. The receipt is only an acknowledgment that the application and service fees have been received by BLM and are now on file. The receipt in no way implies that an application will eventually be approved.

În the real estate business realtors do not usually earn their fee until the final sale has been completed. Up until that time, a person only makes a deposit of "earnest" money to show his good faith. If the deal later fails, through no fault of the prospective buyer, the realtor will return the money deposited. People doing business with land locators or filing services would do well to obtain similar agreements. This would mean that a person would not lose his money if his application is later denied. Such arrangements, of course, would have to be worked out directly with the locator or filing service.

Anyone who is planning on filing an application with the Bureau of Land Management, should, of course, fully inform himself about what it is nec essary for him to do. He should also find out how much the Government will charge for filing the application, and also how much the land or resources would cost if he dealt directly with the Government. In general, the service fee for filing an application with BLM is $10.

As far as filling out an application is concerned, BLM employees will be happy to assist anyone by answering questions or furnishing information, either in person or by mail.

Only if people are fully informed about their rights and about the requirements of the law and the regulations can the public be sure their interests are fully protected-and only in that way can the Bureau of Land Management effectively perform its public service responsibility.

End

MAJESTIC MT. McKINLEY provides breathtaking back BLM survey team that marked boundary of Mt. McKin

phany. With grimness of purpose, he worked with his hands instead of his mouth. As a matter of fact Ken told us he had shared the same tent with Larry for 6 weeks before he heard him say a word. Then out came the astounding utterance: "The river's still going by."

Larry was also a practical fellow. In a Fairbanks hotel after our trip, it was Larry who said: "I've rented this bathroom, I'm going to get my money's worth." Whereupon he proceeded to take seven baths in one day.

Having spent much time with the Bureau's surveying parties, Herbert C. Torgerson's position was firmly established. He was head chainman. He was a burly, thick-chested sourdough, possessed with fantastic endurance. To be his as sistant we were able to get another woodsman, W. C. Conover, whose chaining ability was supplemented by an extraordinary "axe aim."

No little of the success of our expedition was attributable to Floyd himself, the dean of Alaskan surveyors. He had more service than any of us. Indeed he taught us more practical things than we could have learned from shelves of books.

Grant Pearson was loaned to us by the Park Service. No stranger in this region, he had been with the first party to scale both the north and south peaks of Mt. McKinley. He was now marking the boundary of the great national park, of which he was later to become such a successful superintendent.

On the trail Pearson's lead dog, knowing the minute any other Malemute went on strike, would snap his jaws and snarl until the lagging canine resumed his share of the load.

With his near-wild charges, Pearson never failed to let them know who was boss. A Siberian husky held his head high with conscious dignity. "That's 'Speedy'" Grant said. "He's my

partner.

Floyd said to me, "Hold out a dried fish for Speedy, so I can take a picture."

"And what if I lose my hand?"

"Oh, you won't lose more than a coupla fingers," Pearson reassured me.

Having no stand-in, I declined the spotlight and continued with my anatomy intact.

After pulling a sled all day, our animals were tied up beyond paw's length of one another. We did not have time to go to a dog fight. And much less a dog hunt for the restless adventurers who would wander off on side trips.

The huskies were well named when it came to combating howling blizzards. Leashed outside camp, they suffered no harm in the foulest weather.

It is not their heredity that makes these dogs occasionally ferocious, but their environment. If they suffer prolonged exposure, they behave like wolves, but if they are taken into the Alaskans' home as pets, they become excellent watch dogs. One problem was not ours; to unsnarl our hus

kies from an oncoming dog team. We did not meet man or beast on the entire trip.

The concrete-filled iron posts weigh more than 34 ton. But they were the reason for our expedition, so they had to go with us. They certainly limited the rest of our supplies and gear, all of which had to be transported by dog sled.

No heavy duty trucks were going to pull warm house trailers for us. Nor was there to be an airlift to bring us fresh food or clean clothes. We all agreed to take only one change of clothes, and from the looks of us at the end of the trip, no one cheated, not even with so much as an extra bar of soap.

Starting from the skin outward, we wore wool underwear, shirt, pants, socks, the footgear shoe pacs, and switched to fur cap, parka, mukluks and gloves. All of these were top quality in spite of the budget. And we each had a pair of the best snowshoes made.

Our pockets filled with roll-your-owns, we contented ourselves with the knowledge that we had good eiderdown sleeping bags and sturdy canvas

by DAN JONES, Valuation Engineer (Mining), BLM

A

laska's mineral resources are intimately associated with its geography, geology, and topography. Geographically, Alaska lies partially in the Temperate Zone and partially in the Arctic Zone. It is the largest peninsula in North America.

Because of its geographical location, its climate varies in the extremes. In the far north, the summer is short but pleasant; precipitation is low. In the central part of Alaska, winter is severe, down in the minus 60's; summer is much warmertemperatures as high as 100° F. have been recorded. Precipitation is extremely low.

Along the Bering Sea coast the summer is cool while winters are cold but not severe. The Aleutian Islands between the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean show the conflict that exists between these two bodies of water. Born of volcanic nature, they are often obscured by heavy fogs. They have a mild but wet climate; are brilliantly green with vegetation and act as a barrier to the cold current in the Bering Sea from entering the warmer Pacific Ocean.

The Panhandle of Alaska, the archipelago and mainland of southeastern Alaska, has a mild summer and a mild winter with heavy precipitation during the fall and winter that is as much as 150 inches in the Ketchikan area.

Rocks found in Alaska date from the earliest epoch, Pre-Cambrian, to the most recent quaternary. Each epoch played its part in forming the present land. For instance, a unique formation of Jurassic time, some 130 million years ago, is the great coal-bearing series of northwestern Alaska. However, the Eocene period, approximately 50 million years ago, is the greatest coalmaking period of Alaska's history, as was the Carboniferous the coal-making period of the Appalachians.

Prior to this period, however, was that age when the metalliferous veins were injected into the older rocks. This occurred during the Upper Cretaceous period (some 100 million years ago) and in certain localities up into Tertiary times. The creation of the gold-bearing quartz veins occurred during these periods as well as copper deposits

throughout Alaska and the tin deposits of the Seward Peninsula. In many cases these veins were to furnish the substance for placer deposits.

Recent geology was affected by the glaciers formed locally throughout the ranges of Alaska. Post-glacial deposits contain most of the placer gold that has been mined in Alaska. The deeply buried gold deposits of Fairbanks and Nome, however, are much older.

The discovery of Alaska by Vitus Bering on July 16, 1741, marked the high point of Russian expansion. Undoubtedly, there were many motives that caused the Czars to extend their domains throughout the centuries, but the basic economic motive which led to the discovery of Alaska was the never ceasing search for new sources of fur. In contrast to the Spanish explorers, the search for minerals never played an important part in Russian explorations. Notwithstanding, several efforts were made to explore for minerals and develop them once they had been located.

However, it was not until 1849 that any scientific mineral exploration was made in Alaska. In that year, Peter Doroshin, a graduate of the Imperial Mining School at St. Petersburg, was sent by the Russian American Company to investigate the mineral resources of Russian America.

Doroshin spent 4 years prospecting along the Pacific seaboard of Alaska. He located many lignite coal deposits and on his recommendation a coal mine was opened at Port Graham, Cook Inlet. The mine operated for several years and supplied coal for local use.

Doroshin also found placer gold on the Kenai Peninsula and on the Russian River sluiced out several ounces of gold. The Russian American Company was discouraged with the results, however, and discontinued the exploration program. In 1863, the company decided to again find mineral wealth in the colony. This time they gave a lease to Ivan Furuhelm. This lease conveyed the rights of all minerals found in the colony to Furuhelm for a period of 7 years. The purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867 terminated this lease. Of interest is the fact that the one "mineral"