Celebrating the defeat of public land sales
After a hard-fought battle, efforts to sell public lands through the Congressional budget reconciliation process have been defeated.
Proposals to sell off America’s greatest treasure
Efforts to sell public lands in reconciliation first emerged in May when the House Natural Resources Committee passed an amendment to sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah. Thousands of Trout Unlimited (TU) advocates mobilized against the amendment and contacted their representatives. Fortunately, the amendment was removed from the House legislation before the bill was sent over to the Senate.
Then, in June, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee released its reconciliation bill text that would have mandated the sale of millions of acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land across 11 western states—the largest sale of public land in modern history.
Immediately after the proposal was announced, word of the sales spread quickly and anglers, hunters and outdoor recreationists from all walks of life banded together to push back against the sell offs. Tens of thousands of TU members and supporters raised their voices by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to stand up against efforts to sell out our outdoor heritage.
Within a month of the proposal being released, Senate ENR leadership announced that the sell off language was removed from the bill text. Every person who sent an email, made a phone call and mobilized their friends, family and community members made a difference and showed proponents of public land sales that Americans will never stop defending the notion that public lands should remain in public hands.
The value of our public lands can’t be overstated
Public lands provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife, recreation access and drinking water supplies. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 72% of sportsmen and women in the West rely on public lands for hunting and half of all blue-ribbon trout fisheries flow across National Forests. Public lands are also critical for the protection of headwaters that provide clean drinking water for millions of Americans.
Outdoor recreation is a major economic force for the United States, generating $1.2 trillion in economic output and supporting five million jobs in 2023, according to the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.
Public land champions in Congress
Despite the attempts from some lawmakers to sell public lands, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle fought back tirelessly against the sell off schemes.
Trout Unlimited applauds these decision-makers for working across the aisle to remove the sales from reconciliation and staying in tune with anglers, hunters and their constituents who rely on public lands for their livelihoods and way of life.
Let’s stay vigilant
While this win is tremendous and we should all take a moment to celebrate, more sell off attempts will arise in the future.
We struck public land sales from reconciliation, but proponents of the sales will find other legislative or administrative pathways to sell swaths of our shared lands.
Let’s keep paying attention to what’s happening with public lands. From the halls of Congress to your local government, it’s important that we stay vigilant and continue defending the places we love to fish, hunt and explore.