HR8686-119

What This Bill Does

This bill adds a new Yuma Proving Ground subtitle to the Military Land Withdrawals Act of 2013. It withdraws and reserves public land near Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona to support military readiness and security. The withdrawal applies to approximately 21,782.981 acres in the Highway 95 requested withdrawal area, excluding approximately 800 acres of subsurface estate owned by the State of Arizona, and approximately 249.29 acres in the Howard Cantonment requested withdrawal area.

The withdrawn land is removed from entry, appropriation, and disposal under public land laws; location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and disposition under mineral and geothermal leasing laws. The land is reserved for use by the Secretary of the Army for purposes specified in Public Land Order No. 848 of July 1, 1952, and as authorized under section 2914 of the Military Land Withdrawals Act.

The Secretary of the Interior must manage the withdrawn and reserved land under the new subtitle, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and other applicable law. The land may still be managed for wildlife and habitat conservation, cultural property preservation, wild horse and burro management, predator and animal control, recreation, public access, hunting, and suppression of non-military brush or range fires when those uses are consistent with law and executive orders. Nondefense uses are subject to conditions and restrictions jointly determined by Interior and the Army as necessary to permit defense use.

Interior remains responsible for leases, easements, rights-of-way, permits, licenses, or similar instruments for activities crossing both the withdrawn land and nearby non-Army land, but those instruments generally require Army consent and may include Army conditions. The Secretary of the Interior may assign management responsibility to the Secretary of the Army, and if that happens the Army must manage the land under the subtitle, the Sikes Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, cooperative Interior-Army arrangements, and other applicable law. The withdrawal lasts indefinitely or until the Secretary of the Army determines there is no longer a military need.

The bill creates a specific utility-corridor exception. Interior may issue rights-of-way in the Bureau of Land Management designated Parker-Blaisdell Utility Corridor for critical regional-grid-level utility infrastructure, including above-ground transmission lines, consistent with the February 28, 2025 memorandum of understanding between the BLM Yuma Field Office and U.S. Army Garrison Yuma. That right-of-way authority may not be delegated below the BLM State Director, is not subject to Army consent, and may not be assigned to the Army. Interior must consult with the Army and include conditions as much as practicable to minimize impacts to the Army mission.

Who Benefits and How

The Army and Yuma Proving Ground benefit from an indefinite land reservation that protects military readiness and security needs. The Bureau of Land Management and Interior benefit from clear authority to manage the land and issue certain cross-boundary authorizations. Wildlife habitat, cultural resources, wild horses and burros, hunters, recreation users, and public-access users benefit because the bill preserves those activities when they are consistent with the military reservation. Regional electric-grid infrastructure developers benefit from a Parker-Blaisdell Utility Corridor right-of-way process that does not require Army consent.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Mining claimants, mineral lessees, geothermal developers, and other public-land entry or disposal applicants are barred from new entry, mining location, mineral leasing, or geothermal leasing on the withdrawn land unless they have valid existing rights. Nondefense land users must comply with Interior-Army conditions and restrictions when those limits are required for defense use. The Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management must manage the land, issue cross-boundary authorizations, and keep utility-corridor decisions at the State Director level. The Army must coordinate on land-use conditions and may receive implementation duties if Interior assigns management responsibility to the Secretary of the Army. Utility corridor applicants must undergo State Director-level review and comply with conditions to minimize impacts to the Army mission.

Key Provisions

• Withdraws approximately 21,782.981 acres in the Highway 95 area and approximately 249.29 acres in the Howard Cantonment area from public land, mining, mineral leasing, and geothermal leasing laws.
• Reserves the withdrawn land for Army use connected to Yuma Proving Ground readiness and security.
• Preserves compatible wildlife, cultural, wild horse and burro, recreation, public-access, hunting, and fire-suppression uses.
• Subjects nondefense uses and cross-boundary land authorizations to Interior-Army conditions, with Army consent generally required.
• Allows Interior to assign management responsibility to the Army under the Sikes Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, cooperative arrangements, and other applicable law.
• Creates a Parker-Blaisdell Utility Corridor right-of-way process for critical regional-grid utility infrastructure without Army consent but with Interior-Army consultation and mission-impact conditions.
• Keeps the withdrawal in place indefinitely unless the Army determines there is no longer a military need.