A bill to require the conveyance of certain public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support the training and readiness of the Utah National Guard.
Key claim: The bill would transfer certain federal public lands inside Camp Williams, Utah, from the Bureau of Land Management to the state at no cost so the Utah National Guard can use them for training and national defense.
Abstract
(S1732 · 113th Congress) Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey to the state of Utah, without consideration, certain lands located within the boundaries of the public lands currently withdrawn for military use by the Utah National Guard and known as “Camp Williams” in order to permit the Utah National Guard to use such conveyed land for National Guard and national defense purposes. Latest action (2013-11-19): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Why this matters
Federal-to-state transfers of BLM land inside active military training areas consolidate control for the installation’s operator and remove dual-agency administration, but they also permanently remove acreage from the federal public-lands estate. Even narrow, no-cost conveyances like this one set precedents for how withdrawn BLM parcels around National Guard installations are ultimately disposed of. The fiscal effect is minimal, but the land-status change is permanent.