RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS.

SEC. 205. RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. (a) Sales.—In accordance with the provisions of this section, the Secretary is authorized to sell and issue a patent to a tract of public land located in Minnesota to an applicant for such sale where the Secretary determines that— (1) such tract does not exceed one thousand five hundred acres and, because of its location or other characteristics, is difficult and uneconomic to manage as part of the public lands and is not 104 STAT. 1023suitable for management by another Federal department or agency, and (2) such sale would not be inconsistent with land use plans, if any, developed in accordance with section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712). (b) Price Adjustments.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, following adjudication of any claims the Secretary may, at the Secretary’s discretion, convey land pursuant to this section at fair market value, less equities presented by an applicant for such conveyance and less the value of any improvements that the applicant or the applicant’s predecessors in interest have placed on the land. Such equities may include (but are not limited to)— (1) the amount paid for the land by the applicant; (2) longevity of applicant’s claim; (3) taxes paid on the land; and (4) other equities as the Secretary may determine relevant. (c) Descriptions.—Any tract of public land conveyed pursuant to this section shall be described in accordance with the Public Land Survey System as reflected on the approved Federal plat of survey. Where a tract does not conform to an existing survey plat, the Secretary may either— (1) convey title to a trustee, qualified under the laws of the State to act as a trustee and acceptable to the Secretary, acting on behalf of more than one applicant to whom such trustee shall be required to transfer such tract, in order to conform the legal description to such plat; or (2) require an applicant to reimburse the United States for the cost of preparing a plat of survey. No cost incurred by a trustee in implementing this subsection shall be borne by the United States. (d) Applicability and Procedure.— (1) This section shall apply only to tracts specified in subsection 204(b) of this Act, and only if the Secretary has determined such claims to be sufficiently meritorious as to be appropriate for exercise of the Secretary’s discretionary authority under this section. (2) No sale under this section shall take place before thirty days after the Secretary has published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where a tract proposed for sale is located a notice of the Secretary’s determination that such tract is eligible for sale under this section and that the Secretary intends to offer such tract for sale. Such notice shall indicate the size and general location of the tract and the name or names of the claimant or claimants to whom the Secretary intends to sell such tract.