From: "Steve Hauser" To: campbell@ufomind.com Subject: clarification of early Groom land history Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 15:05:30 PST Greetings, Glenn: On your Area 51 laws page you mention you're interested in knowing under what authority the Groom land was used prior to PLO 1662 in 1958. I had a hunch the following was correct but I came upon a piece in the federal register the other day that made me sure. The Groom land became part of the Las Vegas Bombing Range (now Nellis) with Executive Order 8578 of October 29, 1940. When the base started in 1955, the land was still part of that bombing range, and ostensibly the DOD and CIA would be free to work out some legal arrangement. However, with PLO 1382, FR Doc 57-448, signed January 16, 1957, Exec Order 8578 was revoked as regards the 6 x 10 mile block subsequently known as "Area 51." PLO 1382 provides that those 38,400 acres "are included in an application for withdrawal (Nev. 043795) by the AEC. With respect to such lands, applications under the public land laws will be suspended . . . until final action on the application for withdrawal." The final action was PLO 1662 in June 1958. The rub, though, is that between PLO 1382 and PLO 1662 (some 17 months), there appears to have been no clear legal authority for the CIA to use the Groom Land or keep the public out. The Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999 revoked PLO 1662. Assuming the 6 x 10 mile block was included in the Air Force's legal land description submitted in accordance with MLWA 1999, then, well, that is likely the case and would be pretty boring. But if the Air Force didn't include the block in the recent description, PLO 1382 would still be in force, it would seem, and the block would be publicly accessible, albeit land-locked. I have submitted requests for the legal land description and the AEC's original application to BLM for the land ultimtely withdrawn by PLO 1662. I'll let you know if there's anything interesting. -Steve