Executive Order 10075—Eliminating Certain Public Lands From Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 2 and Reserving Them for Townsite Purposes

WHEREAS by Executive Order No. 6444 of November 25, 1933, certain public lands, including the lands hereinafter described, were restored to Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 2, California, under exclusive control and jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy; and WHEREAS it now appears from drilling operations that it is unlikely that oil or gas can be obtained in commercial quantities from the shallow zone underlying the town site of Ford, within the said Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 2, and that the interests of the United States in the soil and gas in the deeper and unexplored formations underlying such town site may be adequately protected with fewer drill sites than have been heretofore reserved; and WHEREAS it is deemed desirable and in the public interest that the lands hereinafter described, which are within the boundaries of the said townsite and the first addition thereto be made available for townsite purposes and for disposal under appropriate townsite laws; and WHEREAS such action has the concurrence of the Secretary of the Navy; NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 2380 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: The following-described public lands are hereby eliminated from Naval Petroleum Reserve NO. 2, California, and reserved for townsite purposes: Provided, that this elimination and reservation shall not apply to the oil and gas deposits in such lands, but such deposits shall be retained in and remain as a part of the said Petroleum Reserve No. 2 for the use and benefit of the United States Navy: Drill Sites Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, and 28, original town site of Ford, and Drill Sites Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10, first addition to the original town site of Ford, as shown on the plats of survey of the town site and first addition thereto accepted April 23, 1924, and May 16, 1926, respectively, and filed in the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to dispose of the said lands in accordance with the provisions of section 2381 of the Revised Statutes of the United States. The said Executive Order No. 6444 of November 25, 1933, is modified accordingly. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, August 18, 1949