Military training lands locked up for 25 more years across Alaska, New Mexico, California

What it does

This bill extends military land withdrawals in Alaska, New Mexico, and California for 25 additional years (to 2051) and corrects acreage descriptions in existing military withdrawal statutes. The Yukon Training Area, Donnelly Training Areas, McGregor Range, and Fort Irwin military lands remain off-limits to civilian use, mining, and development, benefiting military training operations and readiness.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative function is to extend existing military land withdrawals by 25 years and correct technical acreage descriptions. It is a straightforward administrative extension of prior military readiness legislation.

What the text implies

• Extends military control over approximately 723,000+ acres of public land through 2051, foreclosing civilian development, mining, and recreation on those lands for a quarter-century.
• Acreage corrections (McGregor Range reduced from 608,385 to 605,401 acres; Fort Irwin increased from 110,000 to 117,710 acres) suggest prior surveys were inaccurate — the net effect is a modest increase in withdrawn acreage.
• No environmental review, public comment period, or alternative-use analysis is triggered by this extension — the bill treats the withdrawal as settled policy requiring only administrative renewal.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens retain no new rights; military training lands remain withdrawn from public use for 25 more years. However, the bill serves a legitimate national defense purpose (military readiness and training), and the lands were already withdrawn — this is a continuation, not a new restriction. The trade-off between military necessity and public land access is genuine but not resolved by this bill alone.

Named in the bill

Department of Defense, Yukon Training Area (Alaska), Donnelly Training Area East (Alaska), Donnelly Training Area West (Alaska), McGregor Range (Fort Bliss, New Mexico), Fort Irwin (California), National Training Center

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Sep 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Sep 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Armed Services and House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a…”
• Sep 18, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
• Nov 20, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Nov 20, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Unanimous Consent”
• Dec 9, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5091-5092)”
• Dec 9, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Crank moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.