federal land

Cong. leaders tucked an expansion of nat'l parks, wilderness areas and drilling programs into a defense bill. The provisions are fiercely opposed by conservatives, who see it as a massive expansion of fed. land holdings that should have been dealt with in a stand-alone bill.

A fundamental right — the Fifth Amendment's requirement of “just compensation” for government takings — was vindicated, and a federal land grab averted in Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States.