Our public lands belong to all Americans, but access to these lands is under attack
President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and his DOGE operatives, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, along with a network of special interest groups and politicians, are attempting to remove protections and management for national public lands, shifting them to state, local, and private control and ownership. This would amount to a massive giveaway of public resources to benefit campaign donors and billionaires at the expense of families, outdoor enthusiasts, and taxpayers.
The land seizure movement is rooted in anti-federal government extremist ideologies that go against the American traditions of shared stewardship and enjoyment of public lands. These once fringe beliefs are finding their way into the mainstream following the 2016 armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, and the high-profile case against scofflaw rancher Ammon Bundy in Nevada, especially after courts dismissed criminal charges in the case in 2017.
Studies have shown that efforts to dispose of national public lands to states would reduce access for recreation, hunting, and fishing. Economic analyses demonstrate that states would have tremendous difficulty covering the costs of managing national public lands in their state. For example, according to a 2025 report by conservation and hunting advocacy groups, if Montana were to take over the responsibility of managing public lands currently overseen by federal agencies, it would cost a minimum of $7.9 billion over the next 20 years. If land seizure proponents are successful, Western taxpayers would also be saddled with the costly burden of wildfire prevention and cleanup after mining activities on public lands.
The majority of western voters (65%) oppose efforts to give control of national public lands to states, including taking over decision-making and assuming the costs. That includes 57% of Utah voters, despite Utah politicians’ persistent efforts to waste taxpayer money pursuing unsuccessful legal efforts to take control of national public lands. Despite consistent opposition across the West, a leaked draft Interior department strategic plan lays out the Trump administration’s plans to sell out and privatize national public lands, including national monuments. Similarly, President Trump’s 2026 budget request to Congress calls for disposing of National Park Service sites and eliminating protections for national monuments. President Trump and Secretary Burgum should take note that over 70% of Westerners oppose monument rollbacks.
Learn more:
2025 Conservation in the West Poll – Colorado College State of the Rockies Project
New Report: A Federal Land Transfer Could Cost Montanans $8 Billion – Montana Wildlife Federation
The National Monuments Disinformation Brigade – Center for Western Priorities
The 30×30 Disinformation Brigade – Center for Western Priorities
Going to Extremes: The Anti-government Extremism Behind the Growing Movement to Seize America’s Public Lands – Center for Western Priorities
The Wildfire Burden: Why Public Land Seizure Proposals Would Cost Western States Billions of Dollars – Center for Western Priorities
1: National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) (2019). “Federal Firefighting Costs (Suppression Only).”
2: Center for Western Priorities. (December 2, 2015). “The Mining Burden: states would shoulder significant costs of cleaning up abandoned mines if they take over American lands.”
3: Center for Western Priorities. (July 7, 2016). “Going to Extremes: the anti-government extremism behind the growing movement to seize America’s public lands.
4: State of the Rockies Project. (2019). Colorado College: “Conservation in the West Poll.”
5: State of the Rockies Project. (2017). Colorado College: “Conservation in the West Poll.”
6: State of the Rockies Project. (2015). Colorado College: “Conservation in the West Poll.”