We understand this report will be used to prepare a formal withdrawal review for consideration by the Secretary of Interior. Specifically, the State's interest is with those portions of the withdrawal that occupy the bed of Walker Lake and the eastern slope of Mount Grant in the Wassuk Range.
Walker Lake is a navigable body of water, the bed and banks of which belong to the State.
Mount Grant lies above Walker Lake, the Army Depot, and the communities of Walker and Hawthorne, Nevada. This is correct, but does not fully describe the state's ownership of the bed and banks of the lake, to the ordinary and permanent high water mark. When the state's land was included in the military withdrawal, the federal government exceeded its authority. Although the state may not have objected at the time, it is certainly time to remedy that oversight. Any continued withdrawal must exclude the state's ownership.