In the middle of the night—literally at midnight—lawmakers voted to approve a last-minute amendment to sell off public lands in Nevada and Utah. The amendment was introduced without notice, barely discussed, and passed without opportunity for public comment or review. Ultimately, every Republican except Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO) voted for this amendment, and every Republican and one Democrat, Rep. Adam Gray (D-CA), voted to advance the final reconciliation package, including the sell off amendment.
The land sales affect parcels managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, many of which are near or overlap recreation resources, including mountain biking, backpacking, climbing, and paddling in southern Utah. In Nevada, even local representatives and Clark County officials opposed the amendment, but their concerns were ignored. These lands deserve careful, transparent review—not a fire sale to offset tax cuts.
Maybe even worse, the reconciliation bill still includes language that allows industry to pay to bypass judicial review of NEPA documents, undermining environmental protections and public oversight.
As our VP of Policy and Government Relations, Louis Geltman, said, “In all sincerity, this reconciliation bill is the worst thing we’ve ever seen that actually has a legitimate shot of passing.”
If you haven’t yet, please take two minutes to write your lawmakers and tell them public lands are not a piggy bank for government spending. We encourage you to write your lawmakers in your own words. The way this was done—behind closed doors, in the middle of the night—is unacceptable.
We may not be able to stop every harmful provision, but with enough pressure, we can get land sell-offs and NEPA rollbacks out of this bill.
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Instant Message HERE!