Photo taken at the Onaqui Mountain Herd Management Area in Utah by Meg Frederick.
The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service would be required to sell up to 3.3 million acres of public land over the next five years under a provision intended for inclusion in the Senate budget reconciliation bill (dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”).
Return to Freedom adamantly opposes this short-sighted plan.
As written, it would make almost all land managed by the BLM and USFS for multiple use eligible for sale — including land set aside for wild horses and burros.
More than 250 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states would be eligible, according to a Wilderness Society analysis. An Outdoor Alliance estimate places that number at 300 million acres.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s provision is touted as a way to provide public housing, but it lacks safeguards to ensure it is restricted to that purpose.
We also strongly oppose the process by how agencies would “dispose” of this public land, little of which is suitable or makes sense for housing:
The provision would require that tracts of land be nominated within 30 days, then every 60 days until the goal is reached — there would be no hearings, public input or debate.
The secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture would solicit nominations from “any interested parties,” and would have broad discretion over what land is sold.
Other portions of the bill would place prohibitions on additional measures to protect our natural resources from damage.
Our public lands are wholly American, a part of our shared inheritance and responsibility as citizens. They are available for wildlife habitat and corridors, clean air, water, open space and recreation.
Our public lands are incredible and precious, unique and fragile. They must be protected.