The correct answer is D) occupying it and improving it.
The Homestead Act encouraged people to settle in the American West. Settlers were given land free by occupying it and improving it.
The Homestand Act was enacted in May 1862. It allowed people to settle in the Western territories of the United States. The federal government gave 160 acres to public land to families to establish in those territories to work the land and improved to make it productive.