Hi John,
Thanks to pressure from public lands advocates like you, House leaders yesterday removed a harmful provision from the federal budget bill that would have greenlit the sale or transfer of hundreds of thousands of acres of federal public land in the West.
That’s no small thing. Your action—alongside thousands of others—sent a clear message to lawmakers: our public lands are not for sale.
This is a reminder of what we can achieve together. As our CEO and President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser shared, “This decision affirms what we know to be true: public lands must remain protected, accessible, and available for all—now and for future generations.”
But the fight isn’t over. While the land sale provision was removed, the federal budget bill still includes concerning measures that rescind promised funding for critical conservation programs. And despite strong public support for safeguarding public lands, new threats continue to emerge. We must keep up the pressure to ensure public lands remain protected.
This is an unpredictable moment, and we don’t know what challenges will come out of Washington next. We’re not out of the woods yet. But one thing is clear: we must all step up to be good stewards of the parks and public lands we cherish. With your support, we can safeguard these irreplaceable landscapes for future generations. And right now, every donation will be matched to help defend public lands. That means your support will go twice as far to power this fight and defend these cherished landscapes.
Thank you for being part of this movement—and for everything you do to protect the places we love for future generations. |
Yours in conservation,
Kate Kelly
VP, Government Relations and Policy
Trust for Public Land |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement from Trust for Public Land CEO on U.S. House passage of the Budget Reconciliation Bill |
Denver, CO — The U.S. House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1) on Thursday by a narrow and mostly party-line vote of 215-214. The bill would rescind billions of dollars dedicated to conservation and climate resilience—including funding for land protection, the creation of parks and trails, schoolyard improvements, and efforts to help communities become more resilient to wildfire and extreme weather, including heat waves, drought and flooding. It would also direct and expand resource extraction activities on federal public lands, while reducing opportunities for public input, tribal engagement, and environmental review of potentially damaging projects.
Trust for Public Land CEO and President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser issued the following statement: |
“Americans love their public lands, national parks, and local parks. Few issues enjoy such broad, bipartisan support across age groups, income levels, and geographic regions as access to nature and the outdoors, including the protection of our national parks and public lands. Proposals to sell, transfer, or reduce investments in parks and public lands run counter to objective data and the will of the American people—with nearly 3 out of 4 Americans opposing the sale or closure of national public lands, and 9 out of 10 reporting they visited a local park at least once in the past year.
As a result, we commend the House for listening to the American people and removing the misguided provision to sell off public lands in the West. This decision affirms what we know to be true: public lands must remain protected, accessible, and available for all—now and for future generations.
We remain concerned about provisions in the bill, including those that rescind promised funding and cancel projects already under contract for many key conservation programs that could improve the lives of millions of Americans. This funding—including resources designated to conserve land, build parks, enhance community schoolyards, and advance trail projects—will help connect more people to the great outdoors.
As the Senate now considers this bill, we urge Congress to maintain, at a minimum, these critical investments that contribute to healthy communities and the growing outdoor recreation economies that supports jobs and local economies in both rural and urban communities.” |
A previous version of the bill had included provisions that would have sold off potentially more than 500 thousand acres of federal public land in Nevada and Utah. The legislation would revoke previously enacted funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, including: the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program; the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants; the Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Investing in Coastal Communities and Climate Resilience initiative. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. |
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