Category Archives: Public Lands Policy & Management

Department of the Interior Transfers Public Land to Navy to Close Border Security Gaps

760 acres in San Diego and Imperial counties will be transferred to the Navy for a three-year National Defense Area to support border security and reduce illegal-use impacts.

Let’s start with this: I’m not a fan of the government – federal or state – transferring public lands out of public hands. EVER.

The Interior Department is handing roughly 760 acres of public land in San Diego and Imperial counties to the Navy for a three-year transfer to establish a National Defense Area in support of border security operations. The designated area stretches from the western edge of the Otay Mountain Wilderness to about a mile west of the California–Arizona line, a corridor officials say sees heavy illegal crossing activity and the attendant strain on the landscape. Continue reading