Article IV, § 3, Clause 2, gives Congress authority over the lands, territories, or other property of the United States. It reads:
“The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States”.
“In brief, beyond the Fort Leavenworth and Paul dicta, appellees have presented no support for their position that the Clause grants Congress only the power to dispose of, to make incidental rules regarding the use of, and to protect federal property. This failure is hardly surprising, for the Clause, in broad terms, gives Congress the power to determine what are “needful” rules “respecting” the public lands. United States v. San Francisco, 310 U.S. at 310 U. S. 29-30; Light v. United States, 220 U.S. at 220 U. S. 537; United States v. Gratiot, 14 Pet. at 39 U. S. 537-538. And while the furthest reaches of the power granted by the Property Clause have not yet been definitively resolved, we have repeatedly observed that “[t]he power over the public land thus entrusted to Congress is without limitations.” United States v. San Francisco, supra at 310 U. S. 29. See Ivanhoe Irrig. Dist. v. McCracken, 357 U. S. 275, 357 U. S. 294 295 (1958); Alabama v. Texas, 347 U. S. 272, 347 U. S. 273 (1954); FPC v. Idaho Power Co., 344 U. S. 17, 344 U. S. 21 (1952); United States v. California, 332 U. S. 19, 332 U. S. 27 (1947); Gibson v. Chouteau, 13 Wall. 92, 80 U. S. 99 (1872); United States v. Gratiot, supra at 39 U. S. 537.”
http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/426/529/case.html
Question: does this mean that state-lands are federal?*
Moreover, just because the federal government claims property does not mean that claim is valid — look at how they have been trying to claim even non-navigable waterways as federal property.
* When a Territory becomes a State, does the ownership of the lands go to the State, or not? If it dies not, then how can that State be sovereign? and if a State is not sovereign, how can it in any way be equal to those states which are?