A budget plan from Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee proposes selling over 2 million acres of federal land to states or other entities, renewing a long-standing goal among Western conservatives to transfer control of federal lands to local authorities. This effort comes after a similar plan was rejected in the House.
Lee, who leads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, included the land sale directive in a draft of the GOP’s broad tax cut package unveiled Wednesday.
The proposal has exposed divisions among Republicans—some support large-scale transfers of federal property to encourage development and raise funds, while others strongly oppose it.
The lands eligible for sale span 11 Western states from Alaska to New Mexico, though Montana was excluded after opposition from its lawmakers.
Montana Senator Steve Daines expressed his opposition to public land sales but welcomed his state’s exemption. On the other hand, Senator Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on the energy committee, warned that the plan would deny people access to fishing, hunting, and camping areas important to Western economies. He also questioned whether the sales would effectively lead to more housing.
Most public lands lie in Western states, with some like Utah and Nevada seeing the government owning the majority of land. While this protects the environment, it also limits growth opportunities.
Lee’s proposal does not specify which parcels would be sold but instructs the Interior and Agriculture secretaries to transfer or sell between 0.5% and 0.75% of holdings managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management—roughly 2.1 to 3.2 million acres.
According to Lee, the sales would avoid national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas, focusing instead on “isolated parcels” suitable for housing or infrastructure. He argued that federal management has failed and that local control would be more effective.
Montana Representative Ryan Zinke, former interior secretary under President Donald Trump and a key figure in removing land sales from the House bill, maintains his firm opposition to any large-scale land sales legislation.
Under the plan, states or other groups would nominate parcels for sale, and federal officials would need to consult with governors, local leaders, and Native American tribes before proceeding.
Conservation organizations have strongly criticized the proposal, warning it could set a dangerous precedent for handing over treasured public lands to developers. Michael Carroll from The Wilderness Society called it a betrayal of future generations and people across political lines, accusing the plan of prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthy.
Housing advocates caution that federal land isn’t always suitable for affordable housing, noting some parcels targeted under previous proposals were far from urban centers.
Last year, Utah Republican officials filed a lawsuit to claim large portions of federal land in the state, a move rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Twelve other states supported Utah’s effort.
