House panel advances Yuma Defense Readiness Act to expand training land

A House committee on June 10 approved the Yuma Defense Readiness Act, a bill that would give the Army more room to train and test around Yuma Proving Ground by withdrawing about 22,000 acres of federal land in Yuma and La Paz counties. The proposal would amend the Military Land Withdrawals Act of 2013 and put the land under military control as a safety buffer for advanced air-delivery technologies and aviation systems.

The measure, H.R. 8686, was introduced in the House on May 7 by Rep. Paul Gosar. Gosar has argued that Yuma Proving Ground is one of the premier testing and training facilities in the world and the only site able to support high-altitude flight testing for next-generation defense technologies. The Army finalized its Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for the Highway 95 land withdrawal in July 2025, documenting the effect of the proposed change before lawmakers moved it forward.

For Yuma County, the debate reaches beyond military readiness. Army testimony says Yuma Proving Ground already covers 829,565 acres of withdrawn land and employs more than 2,000 civilian personnel, making it the county’s top civilian employer. A military installations survey cited by the Army puts the installation’s direct, indirect and induced economic impact at more than $1.1 billion a year, a scale of activity that makes the proving ground one of the region’s biggest economic drivers.

Mayor Douglas Nicholls backed the bill in testimony, saying Yuma strongly supports the move and describing Yuma Proving Ground as an economic anchor for the community and one of the most important engines in southwestern Arizona. Supporters say the additional withdrawal would reduce conflicts with incompatible development and preserve public access and existing rights, while giving the military more certainty around the land it uses for testing and training.

The practical effect for residents could be tighter limits on civilian land use near the proving ground and the Highway 95 corridor, along with more pressure on regional infrastructure as military activity grows. The bill now moves deeper into the House process, where lawmakers will have to decide how much land to reserve for defense use and how much civilian access to preserve around one of Yuma County’s most important installations.