US EditionBill Mandating the Sale of Public Land Reduced in Scope
WESTERN U.S. STATES, JUN 25 – Sen. Mike Lee’s revised plan limits public land sales to parcels near population centers and excludes U.S. Forest Service lands, aiming to fund tax cuts and housing infrastructure.
- On Tuesday, the Senate parliamentarian removed a proposal from the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that would have authorized the sale of vast amounts of federally owned land across the country for development.
- Senator Mike Lee of Utah introduced the sell-off plan as part of the Senate's $4.5 trillion tax cut budget to address housing affordability, but backlash and parliamentarian rules led to its reduction.
- The revised plan targets roughly 1.2 million acres closer to urban areas, called 'freedom zones,' while critics warn public lands including wilderness and critical habitat risk permanent loss.
- Tracy Stone-Manning of The Wilderness Society said, 'This is a victory for the American public,' while Max Greenberg noted the threat remains despite parliamentarian challenges.
- The removal suggests strong institutional and public resistance to large-scale federal land sales, signaling ongoing debates over land conservation and housing priorities.
59 Articles
59 Articles
'The secrecy is gross': Republican tries to sneak last-minute change into 'big, ugly bill'
Ahead of a vote on Republicans' budget reconciliation package expected as soon as noon Saturday, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee revived his effort to sell off public lands.Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has blocked multiple provisions of the GOP megabill, including several under the jurisdiction of the Utah Republican's panel. Among them is his attack on public lands."Here we go again," Sen. Ron…
Bill mandating the sale of public land reduced in scope
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A controversial bill championed by Utah Senator Mike Lee has been reduced in scope. The bill previously required the sale of public lands from both the Bureau of Land Management and National Forests. Now, it contains language specifically excluding national forests and reduces the percentage of land BLM needs to sell. Sen. Lee posted this on X in reference to amendments made to the bill: X post by Senator Mike Lee Se…
If public lands go up for sale, so will America's frontier spirit • South Dakota Searchlight
A May 2024 view of the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)Americans have long enjoyed the practical and romantic aspects of the West. The West has provided us with minerals, timber, energy and space to roam freely for generations. We have a wonderful asset in the West — our public lands — which are owned by the people of the United States and held in trust for us by the federal government. Anybody …
Oil City News
As Wyoming protests, public land sell-off ‘just getting started’
by Angus M. Thuermer Jr., WyoFile In the face of a backlash, Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee has revamped his public land sell-off measure to target only Bureau of Land Management holdings while also declaring, “we’re just getting started.” A reconciliation budget proposal revised by Lee’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee targets BLM land within five miles of undefined “population centers.” It puts checkerboard BLM holdings back on a …
Senate Republicans pursue new version of public land sales as Colorado lawmakers push back
After hitting a roadblock this week with the Senate parliamentarian, Republicans in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee have a new proposal for federal land sales, which could require the sale of up to 1.2 million acres. The latest version of the text would require the disposal of between 0.25% and 0.5% of Bureau of Land Management land in 11 Western states, including Colorado, where it manages 8.3 million acres. Only land located “with…
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