WASHINGTON D.C. — A sweeping budget measure unveiled last week in Washington, D.C., has ignited bipartisan backlash across the West by ordering the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to sell as many as 3 million acres of federal public lands—roughly the size of Connecticut—within the next two years.
Drafted by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the provision is folded into the GOP’s “Big, Beautiful” tax-and-spending reconciliation package, already passed by the House. It directs land managers to publish sale lists every 60 days and prioritizes parcels:
Adjacent to existing development or highways
Already served by roads, water lines, and other infrastructure
Deemed “suitable” for residential housing or associated community needs
The mandate applies to 11 Western states—Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming—and sets a floor of 2 million acres and a ceiling of 3 million acres to be sold.
While supporters frame the plan as a fast-track solution to housing shortages, the bill also resurrects stalled energy priorities, including new oil-and-gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and rollbacks of earlier reforms that curbed speculative leasing.
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During a remote news conference on Friday, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Reps. Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, and Brittany Pettersen blasted the proposal.
“This is a five-alarm fire for hunters, anglers, recreationists, and everyday Colorado folks who enjoy these lands,” Neguse said, noting that 60 percent of his 2nd Congressional District is federal public land.
Colorado hosts 23 million acres of federal land that underpin an outdoor recreation economy worth an estimated $11 billion annually. Business leaders also voiced concern. Sarah Shrader, who heads the Grand Valley Outdoor Recreation Coalition in Grand Junction, warned that selling public land “would undermine rural economies that rely on outdoor access and tourism.”
Hunting- and fishing-oriented nonprofits responded with rare near-unanimity:
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) called the plan “a fraudulent scheme to swindle American citizens out of our shared legacy,” urging members to flood congressional offices with opposition letters.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) decried the “arbitrary acreage target” and reminded lawmakers that once lands are divested, “they are gone for good.”
More than 44 conservation groups signed a letter last week urging the Senate to strike the language entirely.
Patrick Berry, BHA’s president, pointed out that the bill circumvents the bipartisan Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, which normally plows proceeds from any disposal back into conservation and public access—something the new proposal does not guarantee.
The land-sale mandate was revealed the same day Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz defended deep agency budget cuts before Senate appropriators:
A $900 million reduction to the National Park Service could shutter up to 350 of 433 units.
The Forest Service faces a $1.39 billion cut alongside an emergency order to ramp up logging on 112 million acres.
Burgum argued that selling “barren land next to highways” could both offset those cuts and relieve housing shortages. But critics note that famously “empty” tracts often harbor critical winter wildlife range, migration corridors, and prized hunting grounds—assets not easily quantified in federal ledgers.
House Republicans attempted a similar tactic this spring focused on Nevada and Utah, but stripped the idea after constituents rebelled. The Senate version is six times larger, yet landed with virtually no public process before its release.
Industry voices remain mixed. Home-builders’ groups welcome access to cheaper land, but Western county commissioners fear burdensome infrastructure costs once federal support disappears. Outdoor-gear manufacturers—many headquartered in Colorado—warn the bill could threaten the very landscapes that power their businesses.
Free: Complete Colorado 14ers Planner
Every peak. Every trailhead. Every detail: in one spreadsheet.
- All 58 peaks ranked beginner to expert
- Safety notes and seasonal windows for each
- Route difficulty, mileage, and prep tips
The Senate will begin amending the reconciliation package later this month. Because the bill sidesteps the filibuster, only 51 votes are needed for passage—meaning every senator’s stance could prove decisive.
For Coloradans who fish the high-country lakes of the Uncompahgre, ski hut-to-hut in the San Juans, or hunt elk on the Gunnison sage flats, the stakes could not be clearer: These lands form the backdrop of daily life and the backbone of a multibillion-dollar outdoor economy.
Expect more town-hall meetings, petition drives, and phone-bank campaigns as conservationists race the legislative clock. As TRCP’s Joel Pedersen put it: “Public lands are an inheritance, not a line item. We cannot sell them twice.”
How You Can Help!
Call or email your U.S. senators and representative; reference the reconciliation bill’s land-sale provision.
Sign action alerts from BHA, TRCP, and other conservation organizations.
Share reliable information—misconceptions abound about which lands are “unused” or “worthless.”
When you head outdoors, model Leave No Trace to reinforce the value of intact, healthy public lands.
The Next Summit will continue tracking the proposal and its implications for hikers, climbers, hunters, anglers, and everyone who treasures Colorado’s wild places.
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