The introduction of a legislative provision to require the sale of some federal lands has kicked off a contentious debate that has split conservative policy experts and drawn some bipartisan backlash.
Language included by Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would mandate the sale of roughly 3 million acres of land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service. That is less than one percent of the estates operated by BLM and FS.
The federal government owns and manages more than one-quarter of the total land area in the United States, or about 640 million acres.
According to a fact sheet from the Senate Energy Committee, the proposal would create a process for states or local governments to nominate land for federal disposal. They would then be given the right of first refusal to purchase that land.
National Parks, National Monuments, wilderness areas, and national recreation areas are all excluded from potential sale, as are parcels of land with existing rights, such as mining claims.
The American Conservation Coalition, a right-of-center environmental advocacy group, opposes the plan.
“While ACC would be open to targeted public lands sales as a policy avenue, it’s imperative that these policies do not compromise our ability to fulfill the original mission of public lands, which is for the use and benefit of the American people,” ACC CEO Danielle Franz told NR.
“Public land sales can and have been used to expand housing opportunities around urban areas,” she added. ACC prefers policies that invest in rural communities.
“Expanding broadband access and improving infrastructure could revitalize these areas and encourage young people to stay and build their families in these communities,” Franz continued.
Progressive leaders and organizations have also criticized the provision, including the Sierra Club, Senator Michael Bennett (D., Colorado), Earthjustice, and various Democratic representatives.
While some public lands were intended for public use, making them available for sale “isn’t a brand new proposal by any stretch of the imagination,” said John Shelton, the policy director of Advancing American Freedom, a nonprofit founded by former vice president Mike Pence.
He pointed to the 1862 Homestead Act, which allowed U.S. citizens to claim federal land, as an example of early legislation that privatized public land.
Shelton believes this legislation would not be harmful to conservation efforts, and noted that think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute and Niskanen have published in support of the HOUSES Act, an earlier version of the proposal.
The housing crisis “is largely a problem concentrated in western states,” but it affects housing costs nationwide, he said.
Lee has continued to defend the provision and clarified that additional changes are coming. His office did not respond to a request for comment from NR.