Well here’s the thing the Enclave clause of the Constitution directly addresses the govt ownership of land says that the govt can own and use public land in the states for the purpose of forts, armories, magazines and other needful buildings. That’s it end of reasons.
The US govt does not have a specific right to commandeer millions of acres of land in the states. They certainly have no right to take and hold it for oil leases, tortoises, grazing fees or even just keeping it as a wilderness area. The states need to stand up and take back their property. We don’t need to amend the Constitution. We just need to force the US govt to abide by it.
1) The US government did not “commandeer millions of acres of land in the states”. The US government already owned the land PRIOR to the creation of the State of Nevada. And when the State of Nevada decided to join the Union, they agreed to not make claim to that land. In fact, it is the State of Nevada Constitution that they make no claim to that land.
2) Article 1 Section 8 (Enclave clause) allows for “... other needful buildings”. The Hover Dam is most certainly a needful building. The land in question is part of the Lake Mead National Recreational Area which includes the Hover Dam, Lake Mead, several docks, repair facilities, a Coast Guard Auxiliary. Further, the enclave clause does not limit the Congress to only military installations as some others have asserted. The fact is that the clause says “all places”.
3) In this case, the government has been abiding by the constitution. The land belongs to the US government and congress has the right to administer that land as they see fits.