SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – There has been a massive outcry against Sen. Mike Lee’s public land sell-off plans that were placed on the Senate budget reconciliation bill, then removed and reworded and back on the bill, and now it is off again.
On Friday, June 27, Lee submitted the fourth revision of his addition to the bill. Then, on Saturday night, Lee, a republican from Utah, announced that his newest version of public land sales was no longer on the “big, beautiful bill” because there were no guarantees land wouldn’t end up just in the hands of American families.
“Americans from all corners spoke out in unprecedented numbers, showing that our public lands are common ground, uniting us in the fight to protect them,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society. “Every member of Congress who listened and stood up to protect access to our favorite trails, fishing holes, and camp sites deserves thanks. Future generations are counting on them to remain vigilant against any more attempts to sell off our public lands—including the threats that we know are coming from the administration. Now we turn to fighting back on the other harmful provisions of this bill, which aim to lease millions of acres to oil and gas corporations at rock-bottom prices.”
The latest version of the bill did not include any restrictions on foreign entities buying the land, but it did give the first right of refusal to local and state governments. Lee said he wanted one million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to be available for affordable housing, and the land sales had to be within five miles of urban centers (an “incorporated municipality” or “the center of the population center of a census-designated place” with at least 1,000 residents).
The original version had 3.2 million acres of Forest Service and BLM land available for sale across the West, many of those acres around the Lake Tahoe Basin and the Sierra.
The Senate provision had sparked widespread outrage from hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts across the country. Trout Unlimited supporters sent tens of thousands of email messages to Congress and made thousands of direct calls to their Senators over the past week in opposition to the public land sales proposal.
“Protecting public lands is the most nonpartisan issue in the country,” said Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “Public lands are the cornerstone of our conservation legacy, uniting us with the last best places this country has to offer. We thank the members of Congress who have joined hundreds of thousands of outdoorsmen and women in opposing widespread public land selloffs in reconciliation. This is certainly not the first attempt to privatize or transfer our public lands, and it won’t be the last. We must stay vigilant and defend the places we love to fish, hike, hunt, and explore.”
With the public lands portion out of the budget bill at this time, the bill still has several hurdles to pass before it can be passed, and then it must still go back to the House for a vote. The President wants the budget bill passed by the 4th of July. The almost 1,000-page rewritten bill was sent to Senators at midnight Saturday.
Before Lee pulled it, the bill stated:
SEC. 50301. MANDATORY DISPOSAL OF BUREAU OF LAND 16 MANAGEMENT LAND FOR HOUSING.
The Secretary shall select for disposal not less than 0.25 percent and not more than 0.50 percent (Note: This equals 1.2 + million acres) of Bureau of Land Management land, and shall dispose of all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to those tracts selected for disposal under this section.
The story was updated to include a statement received after publication from Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) about the public land sales provision being removed from the Senate Budget Reconciliation bill:
“This is a huge victory for our district and our state. Our beautiful public lands are central to the character of our communities, and I will always fight to protect them in every way I can. Thank you to everyone who spoke out and made your voice heard to defeat this deeply misguided proposal.”
The bill still contains the following:
Cuts to clean energy, clean transportation, climate funds:
· Rescission of funding for clean heavy-duty vehicles.
· Repeal of greenhouse gas reduction fund.
· Rescission of funding for diesel emissions reductions
· Rescission of funding to address air pollution.
· Rescission of funding to address air pollution at schools
· Rescission of funding for the low-emission electricity program.
· Rescission of funding for implementation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act.
· Rescission of funding for greenhouse gas corporate reporting.
· Rescission of funding for methane emissions and waste reduction incentive program for petroleum and natural gas systems.
· Rescission of funding for greenhouse gas air pollution plans and implementation grants.
· Rescission of funding for low-embodied carbon labeling for construction materials.
· Rescission of funding for environmental and climate justice block grants.
· Rescission of funding for environmental and climate data collection.
· Termination of energy efficient home improvement credit
· Termination of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit.
· Termination of qualified commercial clean vehicles credit
· Termination of previously owned clean vehicle credit
· Termination of clean vehicle credit
· Termination of residential clean energy credit.
· Termination of the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction
· Termination of new energy-efficient home credit.
· Termination of cost recovery for energy property and qualified clean energy facilities, property, and technology.
· Termination of clean hydrogen production credit.
· Termination and restrictions on clean electricity production credit.
· Termination and restrictions on clean electricity investment credit.
· Phase-out and restrictions on advanced manufacturing production credit.
· Rescission of National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management funds
SEC. 50302. TIMBER SALES AND LONG-TERM CONTRACTING FOR THE FOREST SERVICE AND THE BUREAU 3 OF LAND MANAGEMENT.
For each of fiscal years 2026 through 2034, the Secretary shall sell timber annually on National Forest System land in a total quantity that is not less than 250,000,000 board-feet greater than the quantity of board-feet sold in the previous fiscal year.
Other aspects of the bill that remain: potential loss of health care coverage for 16 million Americans, and cuts to food assistance for millions more.