Navy Requests Partial Cancellation for Marine Corps Land Withdrawal

The U.S. Department of the Navy has requested the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) remove approximately 33,488 acres of public lands from its application to withdraw the lands for the proposed expansion of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms. 

The partial cancellation, published in the January 25, 2010 Federal Register, is available on line at www.blm.gov/ca and includes the legal descriptions of the areas affected.  The cancellation is effective Feb. 24, 2010.

A previous notice published September 15, 2008, segregated the public lands involved for two years, making them unavailable for settlement, sale, and location of claims under the mining laws. 
 
The Department of the Navy, as required by the 1958 Engle Act, filed the application requesting the Secretary of the Interior to process a proposed legislative withdrawal of public lands for military training and exercises involving the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms. 

The initial application was for the transfer of jurisdiction of 365,906 acres of federal land, 64,407 acres of privately owned land and 7,779 acres of state owned land to the Department of the Navy for the Marine Corps base expansion.   In addition to the 33,488 acres of federal land being removed from the application, 24,837 acres of privately owned land and 4,034 acres of state land are being removed from the application. 

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