US EditionProposed sale of millions of acres of public land under GOP budget bill prompts backlash
- Senator Mike Lee included a provision in the June 11 draft budget bill to sell over 2 million acres of federal land across 11 states to address the housing crisis.
- This proposal follows President Trump’s pledge to open federal land for housing and a March task force identifying suitable land among 650 million acres, but it faces strong debate and past rejection in the House.
- The proposed sales target public lands such as local recreation sites, wilderness study regions, important wildlife habitats, and migration paths, while federal lands officially protected for preservation and conservation purposes are excluded from disposal.
- A YouGov poll shows 71% of Americans oppose selling public lands, with critics calling it a ‘betrayal of future generations’ and warning of permanent loss of access and heritage.
- If passed, the bill would represent the largest modern sale of public land, potentially reducing federal holdings and prompting locked gates on trails, raising concerns about long-term public access and conservation.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Trump appointee, a Jackson Hole consultant, ID’d pitfalls of Wyoming managing its federal land
Not unlike the current moment, roughly a decade ago a political push to do away with large swaths of federal lands in the West was gaining steam. Utah Republican U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz ran a bill at the time that would have transferred 3.3 million acres of the federal estate to state ownership. The bill was later pulled, and the representative resigned his congressional seat after the proposal whipped hunters and anglers into a fury. The mov…
Stop the Largest Public Lands Sell-off in History
It’s the largest attack on public lands in U.S. history: Senate Republicans have proposed selling off nearly 3 million acres of these lands as part of their tax bill. Urge your senators to oppose any budget bill that sells off public lands, sells out the wild and worsens the climate crisis.
Earth Matters: Senate Republicans eager to sell public land for housing. Think it'll be affordable?
Crossposted from The Journal of Uncharted Blue Places. Catch me @meteorblades.bsky.social It’s been a long-term dream of many Western politicians and corporate bosses to sell off large portions of public lands that have been managed by the federal...
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