(a) To qualify under the Act of 1954, a person, or his predecessors in interest, (1) must have been issued, prior to January 21, 1953, a patent for lands lying along the meander line as originally determined, and (2) must have held in good faith and in peaceful, adverse possession since the date of issuance of said patent adjoining public lands lying between the original meander line and the resurveyed meander line.

(b) To qualify under the Act of 1925, a person must either (1) be the owner in good faith of land, acquired prior to February 27, 1925, shown by the official public land surveys to be bounded in whole or in part by such public lands or (2) be a citizen of the United States who, in good faith under color of title or claiming as a riparian owner, had, prior to February 27, 1925, placed valuable improvements upon or reduced to cultivation any of such public lands.

(a) Claimants under the Act of 1925 have a preferred right of application for a period of 90 days from the date of filing of the plat of survey of lands claimed by them. Applications for public lands under the Act of 1954 must be filed within 1 year after August 24, 1954, or 1 year from the date of the official plat or resurvey, whichever is later. All applications must be filed in the proper office (see § 1821.2-1 of this chapter).

(b) Every application must be accompanied by a filing fee of $10, which is not returnable.

(c) No particular form is required but the applications must be typewritten or in legible handwriting and must contain the following information:

(1) The name and post office address of the applicant.

(2) The legal description and acreage of the public lands claimed or desired.

(3) The legal description of the lands owned by the applicant, if any, adjoining the public lands claimed or desired. If the claim is based on ownership of such adjoining lands, the application must be accompanied by a certificate from the proper county official or by an abstractor, showing the date of acquisition of the lands by the applicant and that the applicant owns the lands in fee simple as of the date of application.

(4) If the applicant is a color-of-title applicant under the Act of 1925, a statement whether or not the applicant is a citizen of the United States.

(5) If the application is based on color of title or riparian claim under the Act of 1925, a statement fully disclosing the facts of the matter; or if the application is based on peaceful, adverse possession under the Act of 1954, a similar statement showing peaceful, adverse possession by the applicant, or his predecessors in interest, since the issuance of the patent to the lands adjoining the claimed lands.

(6) A statement showing the improvements, if any, placed on the public lands applied for including their location, nature, present value, date of installation, and the names of the person or persons who installed them.

(7) A statement showing the cultivation, if any, of the lands applied for, including the nature, location, and dates of such cultivation.

(8) The names and post office addresses of any adverse claimants, settlers, or occupants of the public lands applied for or claimed.

(9) The names and post office addresses of at least two disinterested persons having knowledge of the facts relating to the applicant's claim.

(10) A citation of the act under which the application is made.

(a) The applicant will be required to publish once a week for five consecutive weeks in accordance with § 1824.3 of this chapter, at his expense, in a designated newspaper and in a designated form, a notice allowing all persons claiming the land adversely to file with the Bureau of Land Management, Washington, DC, their objections to issuance of patent under the application. A protestant must serve on the applicant a copy of the objections and furnish evidence of such service.

(b) The applicant must file a statement of the publisher, accompanied by a copy of the notice published, showing that publication has been had for the required time.

(a) Persons entitled to a patent under the Act of 1954 must, within 30 days after request therefor, pay, under the same terms and conditions, the same price per acre as was paid for the land included in their original patent.

(b) Persons entitled to a patent under the Act of 1925, within 30 days after request therefor, must pay the appraised price of the lands, which price will be the value of the lands as of the date of appraisal, exclusive of any increased value resulting from the development or improvement of the lands for agricultural purposes by the applicant or his predecessors in interest but inclusive of the stumpage value of any timber cut or removed by them.