DENVER—An internal Interior department document obtained by Public Domain lays out the Trump administration’s plans to sell out and privatize national public lands.
With its stated goal to “restore American prosperity,” the draft plan reads like an industry wish list that prioritizes oil, gas, and coal production, with the goal of opening new lands to development. It specifically calls for prioritizing “Alaska and other Federal lands for mineral extraction,” along with the “release” of federal lands to state and local communities for housing development. It also identifies giving “heritage lands and sites to the states” as a key objective, a thinly veiled reference to the seizure and sale of public lands, and a not-so-subtle objective to “assess and right-size monuments,” confirmation of the administration’s intent to dismantle the boundaries and cut off public access to already protected national monuments.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“This draft plan confirms what we expected: the Trump administration sees public lands as nothing more than numbers on a balance sheet or products to be sold off and exploited to help pay for tax cuts for Elon Musk and Trump’s fellow billionaires. It resembles a business plan from a desperate CEO, not a framework to steward public lands for the benefit of all Americans.
“If this plan comes to fruition, it will lead to the loss of access to millions of acres of public lands. This is a direct attack on anyone who loves to recreate on our public lands, as well as a death knell for endangered and threatened species. In Trump’s America, public lands will be littered with pumpjacks, forests will be clear cut, and hiking trails will be paved over by suburban sprawl.”
Learn more:
SCOOP: Draft Strategic Plan for Trump’s Interior Department Would Boost Extractive Industries, Cut Protections – Public Domain
STATEMENT: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum abdicates, formally hands over power to DOGE – Center for Western Priorities
The devil is in the details when it comes to building affordable housing on public lands – Westwise
Feature image: Oil wells outside of Carlsbad, New Mexico by Simon Foot