In 1853, with the passage of the Act of March 3, 1853 (10 Stat. 244), the federal government gifted 5.5 million acres to the state of California to be used for the support of public education. Between 1855 and 1984, nearly 90 percent of the “school lands” (all of the high quality land) was sold, leaving behind mostly desert land, most of which falling within the boundaries of the lands protected by the California Desert Protection Act.