Supporters of outdoor recreation scored a major victory Wednesday. For 2 weeks, public land advocates had sounded the alarm over a budget amendment from House Republicans that aimed to sell about half a million acres of federal land in Utah and Nevada.
Representatives Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Celeste Maloy (R-UT) added the controversial proposal on May 7, arguing that the land sell-off would help President Trump fund his budget. The move quickly drew the ire of both local representatives and a large coalition of outdoor brands and organizations.
Now, those same outdoor groups are applauding the efforts of Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who successfully spearheaded efforts to remove the provision late Wednesday evening. Zinke, who served as Trump’s Secretary of the Interior during the president’s first term, said it’s “folly” to sell public land to “get out of debt.”
“This was my San Juan Hill,” Zinke said in a news release Wednesday, referring to a key battle of the Spanish-American War. “I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands. Once the land is sold, we will never get it back. God isn’t creating more land. Public access, sportsmanship, grazing, tourism… our entire Montanan way of life is connected to our public lands.”
Zinke’s efforts were crucial, as no House Democrats voted to pass the reconciliation bill — which squeaked through by a single vote (215-214). The bill now heads to the Senate.
Threats to Land Access Remain
On Thursday, outdoor organizations were quick to praise Rep. Zinke as one of the only House Republicans to support Democrats’ efforts to prevent the sale of public lands. Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers both issued statements applauding the political victory. Approving land sell-offs to fund the federal budget would set a “dangerous precedent,” according to ORR.
“Over the last week, the entire outdoor recreation has been diligent about putting the word out,” ORR spokesperson Nicole Brown said Wednesday in an ORR meeting. “We have sent 80,000 letters to lawmakers over this. The outdoor recreation community is paying attention …This is a very unpopular thing for these lawmakers to be doing.”
However, both groups also said that the public land sell-off was merely the most egregious of several proposals that threaten Americans’ access to the outdoors. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which refers to Trump’s budget as it moves through the House, has several other provisions that still worry advocates for land access.
Those include:
- Reinstating Twin Metals’ mining leases in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, which would threaten the health of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
- Requiring oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next 10 years and reinstating previously canceled leases, exempted from judicial review, as well as rescinding previous environmental reviews
- Rescinding Bureau of Land Management (BLM) funding allocated for conservation, ecosystem, and habitat restoration projects
- Cutting $100 million from the Forest Legacy Program, which adds protections on rural, private “working forests” that support hunting and recreation access,
Moreover, Trump is planning even more cuts to the federal agencies that manage public lands. After massive layoffs, spending freezes, and other measures, the president’s budget now proposes another $1 billion cut to the National Park Service. Many of the nation’s parks still lack the majority of the seasonal staff that would normally be in place for the busy summer season.
“Most parks, including Yosemite, are lacking 50-70% of their seasonal staff,” Jesse Chakrin, executive director of The Fund for People in Parks, said in a Wednesday meeting of outdoor groups. “I live right outside Yosemite … I was cleaning bathrooms with my friends a few weeks ago.”
While the removal of language that would have allowed public land sell-offs marks a win for outdoor access advocates, the bill itself still faces an uncertain future. Senate Republicans have already signaled lackluster support for various provisions in the bill.
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