Proposed sale of millions of acres of public land under GOP budget bill prompts backlash

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(NEXSTAR) – Over 2 million acres of public land would go up for sale across 11 states under the current version of the Republican budget bill – a proposal that has met criticism from conservationists, hunting groups, local politicians and even some conservatives.

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, included the sale of federal lands – a longtime ambition of Western conservatives to cede lands to local control – in a draft provision of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Lee has defended the plan as a way to boost domestic energy production, create new revenue streams and increase housing. The Republican said in a video released by his office that the sales would not include national parks, national monuments or wilderness. They would instead target “isolated parcels” that could be used for housing or infrastructure, he said.

“Washington has proven time and again it can’t manage this land. This bill puts it in better hands,” Lee said last Thursday.

Lee has struggled to convince some members of his own party, however, and a similar measure was rejected by the House.

Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke led an effort to strip land sales out of the House version, saying he was a “hard no” on similar measures. Montana was removed from the proposal over the protests of Zinke and other local officials.

What lands could be sold?

An analysis by The Wilderness Society found that more than 250 million acres currently under the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are at risk of sale.

Lee’s proposal does not specify what properties would be sold. It directs the secretaries of interior and agriculture to sell or transfer at least 0.5% and up to 0.75% of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management holdings. That equals at least 2.1 million acres (868,000 hectares) and up to 3.2 million acres (1.3 million hectares).

The states potentially affected by the proposal are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The Wilderness Society and other conservation groups have reacted with outrage, saying it would set a precedent to fast-track the handover of cherished lands to developers.

“Shoving the sale of public lands back into the budget reconciliation bill, all to fund tax cuts for the wealthy, is a betrayal of future generations and folks on both sides of the aisle,” said Michael Carroll with The Wilderness Society.

Others have expressed doubt that the lands potentially up for sale would ever be suitable for housing development. Some of the parcels up for sale in Utah and Nevada under the House proposal were far from developed areas.

“I don’t think it’s clear that we would even get substantial housing as a result of this,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, the ranking Democrat on the energy committee, said of the Senate version. “What I know would happen is people would lose access to places they know and care about and that drive our Western economies.”

Conservative environmentalist calls sale a ‘loser issue’

Benji Backer, author of “The Conservative Environmentalist,” has accused Sen. Lee on social media of “secretly trying to sell” America’s public land for development.

“I’ve never seen so many conservatives AND liberals stand together as I’ve seen in opposition of this proposed mass sale of public lands,” Backer posted on X. “Conservation of our nation’s beauty is a deeply patriotic and nonpartisan value.”

An April poll sponsored by the Trust for Public and and conducted by YouGov found that, of the 4,000 Americans surveyed, 71% opposed the sale of public land. The opposition was bipartisan: 61% were Trump voters in 2024, and 85% Harris voters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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