Public lands sales stripped from Republicans’ ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act’

Over the weekend, a proposal that would have required the sale of federal public lands was pulled from Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill. 

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who championed the sales coming out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that he chairs, posted on X Saturday evening that he was withdrawing the sales provision. 

Lee wrote that while there was “a tremendous amount of misinformation” and “outright lies” about the provision, there were also “sincere concerns” from communities and stakeholders. 

Opposition from both Republicans, Democrats and members of the public to the Senate committee’s public land sale proposal — and the chamber’s parliamentarian ruling it improper for the budget reconciliation bill — led Lee to revise and shrink the land sales week. 

What started as a proposal to sell between 0.5% and 0.75% of U.S. National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land, reportedly for housing, in 11 Western states, narrowed to between 0.25% and 0.5% of Bureau land within 5 miles of a population center following the parliamentarian’s ruling.  

The provision’s withdrawal drew public support from advocacy groups and lawmakers who opposed the inclusion of any public land sales in the bill. 

“Selling off public lands in this way was not just out of touch with public sentiment — it could have impacted businesses, jobs, public health, and the many rural communities that depend on access to outdoor recreation for economic development and quality of life,” said Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, a coalition that represents over 110,000 outdoor businesses in a statement. 

Colorado Democratic Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet applauded the withdrawal of the sales on social media as they continue to fight against other provisions of the reconciliation package. 

“Republicans were forced to strip out their unpopular provision to sell our public lands because we came together with the loudest voices to speak out,” Hickenlooper wrote on X. “When our sacred landscapes are at risk, Colorado will always work to protect our public lands.”  

It is the second time Republicans have failed to pass public land sales as part of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill. In May, a House proposal to sell off around half a million acres of public land in Utah and Nevada was introduced at the last minute, but was also stripped from the final reconciliation package that passed through the chamber.  

Colorado Reps. Joe Neguse, a Democrat, and Jeff Hurd, a Republican — both of whom represent portions of the Western Slope — opposed the sales in both the Senate and House bills, releasing a joint statement last week opposing the sale of any federal land. There was also bipartisan opposition from Colorado’s state lawmakers. 

Lee wrote that the provision’s exclusion was due to “the strict constraints of the budget reconciliation process,” hinting that it’s not the last time such disposals may be considered. 

“I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land — land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation,” Lee wrote, adding that he looks forward to helping President Trump “put underutilized federal land to work for American families.” 

As the Republicans’ spending and tax bill faces a “vote-a-rama” in the Senate Monday, advocacy groups and Democrats have expressed concerns with the bill’s many other provisions and what they could mean for federal public lands. This includes mandates to increase mineral and oil and gas leasing, timber production and development; taxes on clean energy like wind and solar; and measures that circumvent public input in environmental decisions.  

“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,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society, a national public lands advocacy group, in a statement.