by Sharon Selvaggio for the Mazama Conservation Committee
Mazamas, we need your help. As Americans we collectively own nearly a third of the country. These lands, mostly located in the West, are the landscapes where as Mazamas we explore, test ourselves, stand in awe of nature’s power and beauty, and form lasting friendships.
Federal public lands are now slated to be privatized and developed under a provision in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, anticipated for votes in Congress prior to July 4.
While pressure from opponents caused the architect of the public lands provision (Senator Mike Lee of Utah) to shrink the proposal on June 25, dropping Forest Service lands, the fight is not over. In fact Lee stated “we’re just getting started.” Like a multi-headed hydra, this measure just keeps coming back to life.
In its current incarnation, an estimated 1.2 million acres would be subject to “disposal” to the highest bidder within five years under this bill. We don’t know exactly where because Lee won’t publish a map, but they could be places cherished by YOU. One example close to home includes the north and east borders of Smith Rock.
The bill, if passed, would initiate the largest public land sale in our history. Perhaps it’s not coincidental that the Big Beautiful Bill has also been characterized as the largest transfer of wealth from the working class to the wealthy of any bill in our history — and the land sales will help pay for the tax cuts that the bill is really all about.
Lee claims the sale would help solve America’s housing crisis by providing public land sales within 5 miles of undefined “population centers.” Curiously though, there are no requirements that such housing be affordable, or that the public have a chance to weigh in, for instance to decide if the loss of close-in hiking trails is worth the new housing. Anyone could nominate a parcel, but the highest bidder will win the land. In all likelihood, mansions and golf courses, rather than affordable homes, will be the result.
And although some areas, like National Parks and now Forest Service lands, are off limits, the administration is signaling its desire to eliminate National Monuments, so some of our most precious lands could be soon up for sale. Moreover, the proposal does not even acknowledge Tribal treaty rights for much of the off-reservation land. And if we allow this to proceed once, it could happen again. Public land, one of the cornerstones of our American heritage, could get chipped away again and again and again.
Land sales are not the only devastating part of the Big Beautiful Bill. Lee’s language also reverses key reforms to mining that were made in recent years. Essentially this will mandate quarterly oil and gas lease sales, opening 200 million acres of BLM land to mining leases at $1.50/ claim — whether they are needed or not. This provision has not received much attention but also represents a dire threat to the recreation, cultural resources, scenic beauty, and the other mostly non-monetary values of our public lands.
We stand a chance of sending this ill-conceived proposal to the grave where it belongs. We only have a short time to stop it. This is not a partisan issue, this is an American issue. Please call your Senators and Representatives TODAY at the Capitol switchboard at (202)-224-3121. Tell your electeds how much you love our public lands. Ask them to stand against public land sales in the bill.
And if you are on social media, post your favorite place with the hashtag #PublicLands, tag @mazamas1894, tell your story, and ask all your friends to stand up against public land sales. We got this!