Using Land Exchanges to Benefit Buffers: Conveying Military Land to Limit Encroachment

At times an installation may find that it no longer needs or wants certain parcels of land, so Congress gave the Services authority to convey unneeded property under 10 U.S.C. § 2869. The statute allows the military Services to enter into an agreement to convey Base Realignment and Closure or other excess property in exchange for a land acquisition to limit encroachment and other constraints on military training, testing, and operations. By combining this authority with that of the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative at 10 U.S.C. § 2684a, which allows the Services to enter into cooperative agreements with eligible entities to ensure compatible development in buffer regions, three installations were able to move more rapidly to protect critical areas, enhance their military missions, and save money in the process.