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On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released its proposed text for the budget reconciliation package that would require the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of national public lands.
Specifically, the bill requires the Interior secretary to identify up to 1.8 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land and 1.4 million acres of U.S. Forest Service land for sale to be used for housing development.
The land sale does not require any consultation with the American people, which is a major issue considering 82 percent of Americans prefer building more housing within or close to existing communities over selling off public lands to develop housing.
The bill text includes no affordability requirement, no maximum lot size, and would sell off public lands in every Western state except for Montana, where the state's U.S. senators have shown opposition to public land sell-offs.
“Senator Lee might think he can buy off the support of Montana’s congressional delegation by excluding Montana’s public lands, but these lands belong to every American,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. “Anyone who cares about hiking, hunting, fishing, or camping would lose access to the lands that they rely on for outdoor recreation.”
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If we [preserve public lands], we’ll be able to bequeath the legacy of democratically held land to our great-grandchildren from a generation that loves them and wants them to enjoy what is rightfully theirs.”
