DENVER—On Saturday night, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee withdrew his controversial provision to sell public lands for development following strong bipartisan opposition from Western legislators and the American public. Lee released a statement on X saying he “continues to believe the federal government owns too much land” and that he would continue to work with the Trump administration to “put underutilized federal land to work for American families.”
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“This is a huge win for public lands and everyone who loves them. Senator Lee’s ill-conceived plan to sell off public lands for private profit has backfired in a spectacular fashion, uniting the left and right in defense of public lands and illustrating the broad popularity of preserving our national heritage. The Trump administration and anti-public lands lawmakers should take note. Clearly, selling off public lands is opposed by the vast majority of voters across the political spectrum and across the country.
“While the removal of Lee’s language is a big improvement, the Senate budget bill still contains a number of attacks on our public lands—including a provision that would allow oil and gas companies to lock up over 200 million acres of public land through drilling leases with no public engagement, and open the door tooil and gas drilling across the Arctic. The budget reconciliation process is far from over, and we’ll continue fighting to protect the rights of all Americans to access public lands and have a say in how they are managed.”
Learn more:
A Public Lands Sell-Off Is Struck From the G.O.P. Policy Bill – New York Times
Lee pulls federal land sales from megabill – Politico
- Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is still ugly for public lands – Center for Western Priorities