US EditionUtah Republican Proposes Sale of More than 2 Million Acres of US Lands
- Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee introduced a budget amendment on June 18, 2025, proposing to sell 2.2 to 3.3 million acres of federal lands managed by the BLM and Forest Service across 11 Western states except Montana.
- Lee defended the sales by emphasizing the release of underutilized federal lands adjacent to developed regions to facilitate residential development and aid community growth, while critics challenged the lack of transparency in the planning process and the absence of detailed information on the specific properties involved.
- The amendment mandates that the Interior and Agriculture departments nominate 0.5% to 0.75% of their holdings for disposal, excluding national parks, monuments, wilderness, and lands with existing rights, aiming to reduce checkerboard land patterns from historic railroad grants.
- Conservation groups and some politicians called the proposal a 'Fire sale' and a ploy to fund tax cuts for the wealthy, warning it threatens public land access, outdoor recreation economies, and could provoke political backlash across party lines.
- Sales could shift millions of acres into private hands, raising uncertainty over land use, while supporters argue the transfer allows better local management and economic development amid continued Western population growth.
106 Articles
106 Articles
Utah Sen. Mike Lee touts selling off federal lands as a solution to housing crisis
By � Abe Streep �for ProPublica On Monday, June 23, a crowd of about 2,000 people surrounded the Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet ...
Utah Sen. Mike Lee Says Selling Off Public Lands Will Solve the West’s Housing Crisis. Past Sales Show Otherwise.
Last month, Lee introduced a now-removed amendment to Trump’s policy megabill that mandated the sale of up to 3 million acres. It did little to address the challenges of building affordable housing on public land.
Senator who mocked Minn. shooting put on blast over plan to sell millions of acres of public land
A U.S. senator from Utah who came under heavy criticism for mocking the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker is taking heat again — this time for a plan to sell millions of acres of public land.
Mike Lee's Land Plan Is a Good Plan
Should parts of Yellowstone National Park—or any national park or monument—be sold so private homes can be built there? Absolutely not. But what about a very small fraction of the approximately 437 million acres of land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service that is not part of any national park or monument? In May 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which allowed individuals and families to clai…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 49% of the sources are Center
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
