(a) When (1) land must be classified or designated pursuant to the authorities cited in § 2400.0-3 before an application may be approved and (2) the filing of applications is permitted prior to classification, the application together with a petition for classification on a form approved by the Director (hereinafter referred to collectively as a petition-application) must be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 1821.2 of this chapter. Lists indicating the proper office for filing of applications may be obtained from the Director or any other officer of the Bureau of Land Management. Copies of the petition for classification form and the application forms may be obtained from the proper offices or from the Bureau of Land Management, Washington, DC 20240.

Upon the filing of a petition-application, the authorized officer shall make a preliminary determination as to whether it is regular upon its face and, where there is no apparent defect, shall proceed to investigate and classify the land for which it has been filed. No further consideration will be given to the merits of an application or the qualifications of an applicant unless or until the land has been classified for the purpose for which the petition-application has been filed.

(a) The State Director shall make and issue a proposed classification decision which shall contain a statement of reasons in support thereof. Such decisions shall be served upon (1) each petitioner-applicant for the land, (2) any grazing permittee, licensee, or lessee on the land, or his representative, (3) the District Advisory Board, (4) the local governing board, planning commission, State coordinating committee, or other official or quasi-official body having jurisdiction over zoning in the geographic area within which the lands are located, and (5) any governmental officials or agencies from whom the record discloses comments on the classification have been received. If the decision affects more than 2,560 acres and would lead to the disposal of the lands, the decision will also be published in accordance with the provisions of subpart 2462.

(b) When there are multiple petition-applications for the same land, the proposed classification decision shall state which petition-application, if any, will be entitled to preference under applicable law; or where no petition-application has been filed for the purpose for which the land is proposed to be classified, the decision shall so state.

(1) When multiple petition-applications have been filed for the same land, the one first filed for the purpose for which the land is classified will be entitled to preference under applicable law.

(2) When two or more petition-applications have been simultaneously filed for the purpose for which the land is classified, the petition-application entitled to preference will be the first to be selected by drawing.

(3) If no petition-application has been filed for the purpose for which it is proposed to classify the land, the proposed decision shall state that the land will be opened to application by all qualified individuals on an equal-opportunity basis after public notice.

(a) For a period of 30 days after the proposed classification decision has been served upon the parties listed in § 2450.3(a), protests thereto may be filed by an interested party with the State Director. No particular form of protest is required under this subparagraph, it being the intent of this procedure to afford the State Director the opportunity to review the proposed classification decision in the light of such protests.

(b) If no protests are filed within the time allowed, the proposed classification action shall be issued as the initial classification decision of the State Director, and shall be served on the petitioner-applicants and upon grazing permittees, licensees, or lessees.

(c) If protests are timely filed, they shall be reviewed by the State Director, who may require statements or affidavits, take testimony, or conduct further field investigations as are deemed necessary to establish the facts. At the conclusion of such review, the State Director shall issue an initial classification decision, either revised or as originally proposed, which shall be served on all interested parties.

(a) For a period of 30 days after service thereof upon all parties in interest, the initial classification decision of the State Director shall be subject to the exercise of supervisory authority by the Secretary of the Interior for the purpose of administrative review.

(b) If, 30 days from receipt by parties in interest of the initial decision of the State Director, the Secretary has not either on his own motion, or motion of any protestant, petitioner-applicant, or the State Director, exercised supervisory authority for review, the initial classification decision shall become the final order of the Secretary.

(c) The exercise of supervisory authority by the Secretary shall automatically vacate the initial classification decision and the final Departmental decision shall be issued by the Secretary of the Interior and served upon all parties in interest.

(d) No petitioner-applicant or protestant to a proposed classification decision of a State Director to whom the provisions of this section are applicable shall be entitled to any administrative review other than that provided by this section or to appeal under provisions of parts 1840 and 1850 of this chapter.

(a) A final order of the Secretary shall continue in full force and effect so long as the lands remain subject to classification under the authorities cited in subpart 2400 until an authorized officer revokes or modifies it. Until it is so revoked or modified, all applications and petition-applications for the lands not consistent with the classification of the lands will not be allowed. Any payments submitted therewith will be returned. If the order is revoked or modified, the land will be opened to entry on an equal-opportunity basis after public notice in accordance with applicable regulations for the purpose for which it may be classified.

(b) Nothing in this section, however, shall prevent the Secretary of the Interior, personally and not through a delegate, from vacating or modifying a final order of the Secretary. In the event that the Secretary vacates or modifies a final order within sixty days of the date it became final, any preference right of a petitioner-applicant will be restored.

The filing of a petition-application gives no right to occupy or settle upon the land. A person shall be entitled to the possession and use of land only after his entry, selection, or location has been allowed, or a lease has been issued. Settlement on the land prior to that time constitutes a trespass.

Where public land is classified for entry under section 7 of the Taylor Grazing Act or under the Small Tract Act pursuant to a petition-application filed under this part, the petitioner-applicant is entitled to a preference right of entry, if qualified. If, however, it should be necessary thereafter for any reason to reject the application of the preference right claimant, the next petitioner-applicant in order of filing shall succeed to the preference right. If there is no other petitioner-applicant the land may be opened to application by all qualified individuals on an equal-opportunity basis after public notice or the classification may be revoked by the authorized officer.