Utah Sen. Mike Lee Revises Bill In Favor of Public Lands

Prior to these changes, the bill's public lands provision mandated the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of USFS and BLM land across 11 western states. While the provision excluded the sale of most other federally protected lands such as National Parks, National Monuments, Wilderness Preservation Areas, and 'nearly every other protected designations,' swaths of misinformation and potential loopholes still sent many US citizens into a panic over their public lands throughout the last week. 

The provision's disposal of these public lands was created with the purpose of building more housing to remedy the high costs and low inventory housing dilemmas in the US. In the bill's initial presentation, Sen. Lee was adamant that land sold and developed would not be precious wilderness, but 'barren lands next to highways' with 'no recreational value.' Despite this statement, there was still significant fear about access to the outdoors and preservation of wilderness across the 11 involved states.

Over the last week, brands and conservation non-profits across the outdoor industry could be seen encouraging the public to contact their senators concerning the bill's public lands provision. On June 20, just nine days after the bill's publishing, Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, who had initially been in favor, voiced their opposition to the sale of public lands. Alongside Sen. Lee's revisions, the withdrawal of support by Senators Risch and Crapo stands as evidence of a bipartisan opposition to the sale and disposal of public lands. 

While Sen. Lee's decision can be seen as a win for public land access in the western US, the bill still contains several controversial items relating to government funding for conservation and environmental protections.

Massive budget cuts for the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and climate change related programs run by the USGS and NOAA are all still included in the bill and President Trumps proposed budget cuts for 2026.