Land Revision Act of 1891
Logo of the U.S. Forest Service
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Flag of the U.S. Forest Service
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | February 1, 1905 |
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| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters |
Sidney R. Yates Building 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, D.C. |
| Employees | 28,330 Permanent 4,488 Seasonal (FY08) |
| Annual budget | $5.806 billion (FY08) |
| Minister responsible | |
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| Parent agency | U.S. Department of Agriculture |
| Website | www |
The General Revision Act (sometimes Land Revision Act) of 1891 was a Federal legislation initiative signed in 1891 under the Presidential Administration of Benjamin Harrison. The General Revision Act of 1891 reversed previous policy initiatives, such as the Timber Culture Act of 1873, in which land fraud was readily accessible on the behalf of wealthy individuals and corporations. The acquisition of vast mineral and timber resources in the western United States was often cited as a governing motive for such individuals and corporations to claim land rights for future settlement and resource depletion activities, The General Revision Act of 1891's legacy is frequently credited by its ability to catalyze a series of federal land reform initiatives, notably under the Presidential Administration of Theodore Roosevelt. From the Reclamation Act of 1902 to the formation of the United States Forest Service in 1905, the General Revision Act of 1891 acted as a critical first piece of federal legislation granting increased plots of publicly allotted land and decreased extraction rights to privately held western land owners within the early stages of the 20th century.
Prior to the passage of the General Revision Act of 1891, previous major land policy initiatives had allowed for a growing monopolization of western lands on the behalf of wealthy individuals and corporations. The Timber Culture Act of 1873 was passed to foster the growth of timber in arid regions by making available 160 free acres of land to anybody willing to plant trees upon 40 acres of it. Initiatives such as the Desert Land Act of 1877 were also passed, giving 640 acres of land at $1.25 per acre to anybody willing to irrigate the land within three years. These conditional land contracts allowed groups like stock ranchers, timber/mining companies and land speculators to acquire vast sums of land for little cost or consequence. The Jeffersonian idea of small scale land ownership would not apply given these circumstances as monopolization of private lands was occurring at a rapid pace, often spanning 67,000 to million acres per purchase. Despite these transactions, the federal government had secured some large-scale land reserves prior to the General Revision Act's passage. These reserves included Yosemite, secured in 1864 as a permanent trust, as well as two million acres within the Yellowstone Valley in 1872. Upon the General Revision Acts passage in 1891, President Harrison immediately withdrew 1.2 million additional acres from the Yellowstone Valley, the first of an eventual 13 million acre reserve campaign throughout the Harrison presidency.
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