This summer, environmentalist organizations, hunters, hikers, birders and MAGA supporters united on something they are all passionate about — land. They formed a massive grassroots effort to defeat a bill that would have allowed the federal government to sell millions of acres of public lands.
On June 28, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) withdrew his proposal to sell up to 2.1 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, in 11 states, including Oregon. Conservationists are now cautiously optimistic and prepared to protect public land from further infiltration.
It was one of the largest uprisings against a single piece of legislation that Aaron Kindle, director of sporting advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, said he’d seen in his lifetime.
Public land managed by the BLM belongs to all Americans, including present and future generations. The BLM manages one in every 10 acres of land in the United States, and about 30% of the nation’s minerals. Public land supports recreation, wildlife and wilderness protection and includes thousands of miles of national historic trails. Public land can also be used for timber harvesting, livestock foraging and mineral extraction.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, posted his reaction on X to Lee’s withdrawal of his proposal: “This is a huge win, and it’s the direct result of the grassroots effort,” Wyden wrote. “If you’ve made noise about this over the past few days and weeks, you have a lot to be proud of.”
Conservationists on all sides
Several thousand members of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers joined forces against the passing of the bill with National Wildlife Federation, Outdoor Alliance, The Wilderness Society, Oregon Wild and other public land advocates. They publicized the plan and flooded the phone lines with calls to elected officials.
A press release from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers on June 28 stated, “This win belongs to the hunters, anglers, and public landowners who stood up and said loud and clear: Our lands are not for sale,” said Patrick Berry, BHA President and CEO. “BHA members flooded the phone lines, sent emails, rallied their communities, and kept the pressure on until this provision was pulled. We didn’t just show up — we led the charge.”
Throughout the U.S., senators and representatives from both parties took these concerns seriously. According to Environment America, Republican Senators Tim Sheehy and Steve Daines from Montana, along with Mike Crapo and James Risch from Idaho said they would not sign the GOP megabill if this land sale proposal were included.
In addition to Democratic opposition, Republican Representatives Ryan Zinke (Montana), Mike Simpson (Idaho), Dan Newhouse (Washington), Cliff Bentz (Oregon) and David Valadao (California) voted it down.
Environment America is a national network of 30 state environmental groups and part of The Public Interest Network, supporting groups dedicated to social change. Ellen Montgomery, great outdoors campaign director for Environment America spoke to Street Roots about how the movement took off.
“I think in the West, people know that the Bureau of Land Management exists, and maybe you’ve seen a sign,” Montgomery said. “But when you go hiking or climbing or you go hunting or whatever, you just think of it as the place you go and it has whatever name it has. And you’re not thinking, oh, this is BLM land and it’s managed by the land management.”
The Wilderness Society and the Outdoor Alliance, an outdoor recreation conservation group, collaborated on a map that advocacy groups sent out through emails and social media. People could zoom in on places they know, making the potential sale personal.
“People looked at it and realized, ‘Oh, that’s where I hike,’” Montgomery said. “‘That’s where I ride my mountain bike. That’s where I take my dog for a walk in the morning. That’s where my friends and I had that epic camping trip.’ That’s basically when it went viral. And then it was no longer organizations sending out an urgent alert. It was people saying, ‘Did you know that they’re gonna sell off this waterfall? That’s what’s on the list.’”
Rob Plakke is a hunter and fisherman from Montana who lobbied against the bill. His words reflect the sentiment that many have about preserving public land.
“Today I enjoy hunting, fishing and hiking on public lands in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. Tomorrow I hope the next generation can do the same.”
‘The guise of a housing fix’
Senator Lee’s original proposal included eleven states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. It included National Forest System land until the Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against that part.
“Because of the strict restraints of the reconciliation process, I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families — not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests,” Senator Lee posted on X when he removed the entire proposal.
Lee’s proposal stated that the sale of BLM land would be within five miles of a populated area and sold for developers to build affordable housing. However, conservationists said the language in the proposal was vague, leaving the purchase of land vulnerable to buyers who would not protect it.
“To put this under the guise of a housing fix is really disingenuous,” Kindle said. “I’ve spent a good amount of time in the Owyhee area. If anybody knows anything about affordable housing, they know the best thing you can do is put it near infrastructure and transportation, people’s jobs. Not out in the hinterlands where people have to pay a lot to get sewer and electricity and transport themselves long distances to their jobs. And we also know that a lot of the BLM around these communities where it may actually work are some of the most high value lands there are. If you go around the hills around Bend, Oregon, that’s not cheap land. That’s not the kind of land where massive housing developments are typically done.”
Although the resounding upswell means public lands are not currently for sale, Lee appears to have future plans for his bill.
In a post on X, Lee said, “I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land — land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation. Under Democratic presidents, massive swaths of the West are being locked away from the people who live there, with no meaningful recourse. That has real consequences for Utahns — from raising taxes for schools and funding local search-and-rescue operations, to being able to build homes and sustain rural communities.”
He added: “I’m grateful to everyone who took the time to offer thoughtful feedback. Your voices helped strengthen this bill, and they will continue to shape the path forward.”
It’s not over; protecting land for the future
In 2020, President Trump signed The Great American Outdoors Act, or GAOA, into law to protect public lands. Lee opposed the act on the grounds that it was expensive and short-sighted.The GAOA provides funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act. It is set to expire in September.
A bipartisan effort is underway to reauthorize and continue to fund the Legacy Restoration Fund, part of the GAOA that addresses the backlog of maintenance for public lands. If funding for projects is cut, it will leave parks, wildlife refuges and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education in need of repairs and maintenance.
Another protection under threat is the 2001 Roadless Rule.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service states that the 2001 Roadless Rule establishes prohibitions on road construction and rebuilding. It prevents timber harvesting on 58.5 million acres of roadless areas on National Forest System lands. The intent of the Roadless Rule is to provide lasting protection for roadless areas within the National Forest System.
On June 23, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced during a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in New Mexico that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule. The USDA claims the Roadless Rule is outdated and rescinding it will make it possible to manage forests and prevent wildfires while boosting rural economies.
That would have a deep impact on the state of Oregon.
“The Roadless Rule covers nearly 2 million acres of federally owned land in Oregon and has protected vulnerable species of wildlife for decades,” Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement in response to Rollins’s announcement. “The Trump Administration’s decision to roll back long-standing protections for our public lands will have consequences for landscape resilience and related benefits like diverse ecosystems, clean water for communities, and recreational opportunities.”
Within the National Forest system are clean drinking water sources like Rough and Ready Creek, a tributary of the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, said in a statement that the Roadless Rule protects those places and said the Trump administration is taking the country backward by removing it.
On July 3, Trump signed an executive order to establish the Make America Beautiful Again Commission.
“Years of mismanagement, regulatory overreach, and neglect of routine maintenance require action, “ the executive order said, “Land-use restrictions have stripped hunters, fishers, hikers, and outdoorsmen of access to public lands that belong to them. These bureaucratic restrictions have undermined outdoor traditions and threatened conservation funding. The National Park Service and the United States Forest Service face more than $23 billion and $10.8 billion in deferred maintenance, respectively, leaving roads, trails, and historic landmarks in disrepair. Despite these challenges, our nation has proven that conservation and economic growth go hand in hand.”
Looming budget cuts throw this idea into question.
According to the Center for American Progress, or CAP, the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget would cut nearly $4 billion from national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness and recreation areas. Along with more than $1.2 billion cut from the National Park Service, this would impact maintenance, research, land conservation and more.
Land advocates see these developments as a reminder to stay vigilant.
“If we keep voting for those who do not value public lands, then we’ll keep having to fight this fight,” Plakke said. “Bottom line for this most recent battle, though, was numbers won.”
Oregon Wild led efforts in Oregon to defeat Lee’s bill to sell public land. Arran Robertson, Oregon Wild’s communications director, sees the defeat of the bill as a win but looks ahead cautiously.
“I’ve never seen something pulling from so many political corners coming together,” Robertson said. “If he tries again there’s now this movement and we are ready for him.”
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This article appears in July 16, 2025.