Over 22,000 acres of public land in Arizona would be reserved indefinitely for military use.
A new bill would reserve about 22,032 acres of public land near Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona indefinitely for military use. The Department of the Interior would initially manage this land. This means the public would no longer be able to mine or lease minerals on these lands, but some recreational activities might still be allowed under conditions set by both the Interior and Army Secretaries. The change aims to support military readiness and security.
Today, certain public lands near Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, are subject to public land laws, mining laws, and mineral/geothermal leasing laws. After this bill, approximately 22,032.271 acres of this federal land would be withdrawn from these laws and reserved indefinitely for the Department of the Army for military purposes. This means new mining or mineral/geothermal leasing would be prohibited, but some recreational activities like hunting could continue under specific conditions.
HR 8686 · 119th Congress · May 7, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 10/10
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