Chamberlain–Ferris Act

The Chamberlain–Ferris Act (39 Stat. 218) of June 9, 1916 was an Act of the United States Congress that ruled that 2,800,000 acres (11,000 km²) of the original 4 million granted to the Southern Pacific Company (successor to the Oregon and California Railroad) in California and Oregon were "revested" to the United States, and put under the control of the General Land Office, which was to dispose of the lands and timber through auction sales.^[1]

It was sponsored by Sen. George E. Chamberlain (D) of Oregon and Rep. Scott Ferris (D) of Oklahoma.^{[citation needed]}

The results proved disappointing, and the act was repealed by the subsequent O&C Act of 1937 (50 Stat. 874) of August 28, 1937, which authorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish sustained yield units on the land, 2,700,000 acres (11,000 km²) of which was still unsold. This Act established the O&C Administration to manage the lands.^[1]

As of 2006, 2 million acres (8,100 km²) of the revested lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) are managed by the United States Forest Service.^[1]

See also

• Oregon land fraud scandal
• Oregon and California Railroad
• 64th United States Congress (1915–17)
• 74th United States Congress (1935–37)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Gerald W. Williams (2006). The Forest Service. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 340, 344. ISBN 9780313337949. 

External links

• legislative history of O&C lands
• "It's not welfare". The Register Guard. March 26, 2007. http://www.articlearchives.com/government/public-finance-taxes-taxation/1651259-1.html. 
• Text of the statute