H.R. 10669 – LANDs Act

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Updated October 7, 2026 at 11:42 AM UTC

The LANDs Act would make Congress the only body that can approve federal land withdrawals larger than 5,000 acres, unless a short‑term public‑land order or a national‑security need applies. It also changes the rules for creating national monuments, limiting their size and setting new criteria for what can be protected. The bill affects federal agencies that manage public lands, the President’s authority to designate monuments, and owners of land and water rights near those areas.

Key Provisions

Any federal land withdrawal covering more than 5,000 acres would need explicit congressional authorization.
Exceptions to the congressional‑approval rule include withdrawals made under a temporary public‑land order that lasts five years or less and withdrawals deemed necessary for national security by the President.
A "covered land withdrawal" is defined to include actions that withhold, reserve, transfer, or restrict use of federal land under various land, mining, or mineral‑leasing laws.
National monuments may not be larger than 640 acres and must be at least 50 miles away from the nearest existing monument, unless an emergency designation is made.
Emergency monument designations can protect any size of land for up to one year, may be used only once for a given site, and do not alter existing rights or uses.
Non‑federally owned property cannot be included inside a new monument without the owners’ written consent.
Designating a monument does not increase the amount of federal funding authorized for any fiscal year.
Water rights associated with a monument cannot be reserved by the designation and must be acquired according to state law.
The act narrows the definition of protected objects to "objects of antiquity" such as relics, artifacts, human remains, fossils (excluding fossil fuels), and certain historic buildings.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Natural Resources Committee

October 1, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

October 1, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Natural Resources Committee

October 1, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued October 1, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 10669

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 1, 2026

Mr. Gosar (for himself, Mr. Begich, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Crane, Ms. Hageman, Mr. Kennedy of Utah, and Mr. Stauber) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To require congressional approval for Federal land withdrawals over 5,000 acres, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Legislative Approval for National Designations Act or LANDs Act.

2.

Congressional approval required for land withdrawals over 5,000 acres

(a)

In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in subsection (b), a covered land withdrawal may only be carried out with the express authorization of Congress.

(b)

Exception

The restriction with respect to a covered land withdrawal under subsection (a) shall not apply if the withdrawal is—

(1)

made pursuant to temporary public land order, the expiration of which—

(A)

is 5 years or less after the date on which the land order was issued; and

(B)

has not been extended beyond the 5-year period after the date on which the land order was issued; and

(2)

necessary for national security purposes, as determined by the President.

(c)

Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

Covered land withdrawal

The term covered land withdrawal means a Federal land withdrawal carried out by a Federal agency that would result in a withdrawal of more than 5,000 acres in aggregate.

(2)

Withdrawal

The term withdrawal means—

(A)

withholding an area of Federal land from settlement, sale, location, or entry, under some or all of the general land laws, including—

(i)

entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws;

(ii)

location, entry, or patent under the mining laws; and

(iii)

operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, or geothermal leasing laws;

(B)

reserving an area for a use described in subparagraph (A);

(C)

transferring jurisdiction over an area of Federal land, other than property governed by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (40 U.S.C. 472), from one Federal agency to another Federal agency; or

(D)

restricting an area from operations of the mineral leasing provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).

3.

Limitation on size of national monuments; clarification of eligible objects

Section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a), by striking historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest and inserting object or objects of antiquity;

(2)

in subsection (b), by striking confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected and inserting in accordance with the limitations outlined in subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i); and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

(e)

Limitation on size of national monuments

Except as provided by subsections (g) and (h), after the date of the enactment of the Legislative Approval for National Designations Act, land may not be designated under this section in a configuration that would create a national monument—

(1)

that is more than 640 acres; and

(2)

the exterior boundary of which is less than 50 miles from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument designated under this section.

(f)

Exception for emergency designation

(1)

In general

Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation under this section of a national monument of any acreage amount if designation is made to prevent imminent and irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity to be protected by the designation.

(2)

One year limitation

A national monument designation under this subsection shall terminate on the date that is one calendar year after the date of the designation.

(3)

One time designation

Land designated as a national monument under this subsection—

(A)

may only be so designated one time; and

(B)

may not also be permanently designated as a national monument under this section.

(4)

Rights and uses

Land designated as a national monument under this subsection shall remain subject to—

(A)

valid existing rights; and

(B)

uses allowed on the day before such designation under an applicable land management plan, resource management plan, or forest plan.

(g)

Non-Federally owned property

After the date of the enactment of the Legislative Approval for National Designations Act, land may not be designated as a national monument under this section in a configuration that would place non-federally owned property within the exterior boundaries of the national monument without the express written consent of the owners of that non-federally owned property.

(h)

Effect of designated on federal funds

No designation under this section shall be construed to increase the amount of Federal funds that are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year.

(i)

Water rights associated with a designation

Water rights associated with a designation under this section—

(1)

may not be reserved expressly or by implication by a designation under this section; and

(2)

may be acquired for a designation under this section only in accordance with the laws of the State in which the water rights are based.

(j)

Definitions

For the purposes of this section:

(1)

Designated; designation

The terms designate and designation shall be construed to include declare and declaration, proclaim and proclamation, establish and establishment, extend and extension, and similar terms used in Federal statutes, regulations, or executive documents to refer to the creation or expansion of a national monument by the President.

(2)

Imminent and irreparable harm

The term imminent and irreparable harm does not include generalized, speculative, or cumulative environmental conditions, including long-term ecological or climatological changes, unless an immediate threat is identified with respect to a specific object or objects of antiquity.

(3)

Land

The term land shall not include submerged land or water.

(4)

Object or objects of antiquity

The term object or objects of antiquity—

(A)

means—

(i)

relics;

(ii)

artifacts;

(iii)

human remains;

(iv)

fossils (other than fossil fuels); and

(v)

certain buildings constructed before the date of the enactment of the Legislative Approval for National Designations Act; and

(B)

does not include, among other things—

(i)

natural geographic features;

(ii)

objects not made by humans, except fossils (other than fossil fuels) or human remains;

(iii)

landscapes or ecosystems; or

(iv)

values.

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