For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 12, 2025
Contacts: Brad Smith, Conservation Director, Idaho Conservation League, (208) 345-6933 ext 403, [email protected]
Legislation Introduced in U.S. Senate Would Sell Millions of Acres of Western Public Lands
Boise, Idaho – Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced legislation this week that would mandate the sale of millions of acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. The proposal is part of a broader package backed by President Donald Trump, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
The newly released legislative text directs the two agencies to “dispose” of public lands in 11 Western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The bill would require the BLM to sell between 1.23 and 1.84 million acres and the Forest Service to sell between 965,000 and 1.45 million acres of public land.
“Idahoans and Americans cherish their public lands for recreation, hunting, fishing, camping, and more,” said Brad Smith, Conservation Director for the Idaho Conservation League (ICL). “These are the places we take our families camping. It’s where you catch a cutthroat trout or go hiking with your kids. These lands belong to all of us, and we must keep them that way.”
Notably, the bill excludes Montana, where the state’s congressional delegation has been united in opposing proposals to sell or transfer public lands. Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana was instrumental in removing a similar provision from the House version of the bill.
The House land sale language was introduced by Republican Representatives Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah. Their proposal would have forced the sale of 500,000 acres of public lands in those two states.
Idaho Representative Mike Simpson also worked to strip the land sale provision from the House bill. Representative Russ Fulcher, however, voted in support of the measure.
“We hope Senators Risch and Crapo will stand with Representative Simpson and Montana’s delegation in opposing this terrible idea,” said Smith. “This short-sighted proposal is nothing more than an attempt to finance tax cuts for the wealthy by selling off our shared heritage. If these lands are privatized, ‘no trespassing’ signs will go up—and we’ll never get them back.”
President Trump has called on Congress to send the “Big Beautiful Bill” to his desk by July 4, but it remains unclear whether Senate Republicans can muster the necessary votes for passage.
###
Idaho Conservation League is a statewide organization whose mission is to protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love. www.idahoconservation.org