Dark of Night Maneuver to Sell Off Public Lands is a Lose-Lose-Lose Proposition for Wildlife, Taxpayers, Rural Communities

A recent late-night vote in the House Natural Resources Committee threatens to strip Americans of access to thousands of acres of cherished public lands. The proposal mandates the sale or transfer of large swaths of public land—a move that would harm wildlife, clean air and water, outdoor recreation, grazers, rural communities, and taxpayers alike. This misguided effort would permanently revoke public access to hunting, fishing, and recreation on these lands and waters; divert critical funding away from improving public lands; and exclude citizens from land management decisions that directly affect them. Once sold, these lands will be lost to the public forever.

“Rushing through a late-night vote to force the sale or transfer of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands is unacceptable,” said John Bradley, executive director of the North Dakota Wildlife Federation. “For decades, Congress has honored a fair, transparent process for considering land sales—one that gives local communities and national stakeholders a voice. This proposal breaks that trust in three ways: it ignores the long-standing principle that public lands should stay in public hands; it shuts the public out of decisions about the lands they own; and it takes money away from improving public lands and access when sales do occur. This is a broken promise to every American who values our outdoor heritage.”

Selling off America’s public lands is a bad proposition all around—for people, for wildlife, and for the future of our outdoor heritage.