TRCP Opposes Mandatory Sale of Public Lands in Senate Budget Reconciliation Proposal
Senate draft would fast-track disposal of up to 3 million acres across the West
Today, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership expresses serious concern with a provision in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s reconciliation proposal that would mandate the sale of public land in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming under the pretense of affordable housing.
“Hunters and anglers have made it clear that reconciliation is not the appropriate vehicle for public land sales,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “The Senate proposal sets an arbitrary acreage target and calls for the disposal of up to six times more land than was proposed in early versions of the House budget reconciliation bill. If passed, sportsmen and women would lose access to large tracts of public land.”
While the House version put forward land sales to approximately 500,000 acres in Utah and Nevada, the Senate proposal would accelerate land disposals across 11 western states, mandating that not less than 2 million acres and not more than 3 million acres be sold. There have been no public processes that led to the conclusion that this acreage of land sales is needed to support affordable housing. Late last week, 44 hunting, fishing, and conservation organizations sent a letter to Senate leadership urging them to keep public lands sales out of the reconciliation bill.
“TRCP stands ready to work with lawmakers to address the needs of local communities to create affordable housing, but reconciliation is not the process for that kind of deliberative, transparent decision-making,” said Pedersen. “Once public lands are sold, they are gone for good. We urge the Senate to remove this provision from the bill.”
9 Responses to “TRCP Opposes Mandatory Sale of Public Lands in Senate Budget Reconciliation Proposal”
All sale of public land should be a hard no! Once it’s sold and gone it will be developed and will be lost to outdoor recreation forever. The suits in Washington are only looking at dollars and not supporting what Americans outdoorsmen want which also co- aligns with the general public. All of Washington needs to be fired and start completely over!
The Productive Public Lands Act (PPLA) introduced by Senator Jeff Hurd is more appropriately named the Plunder Public Lands Act. It would eliminate public input regarding BLM land matters and allow greed driven decisions regarding mineral, fossil fuel, and geo thermal energy extractions.
Public Land Transfer to states for sale had been a plank in every GOP national platform since Reagan. Trump did not allow a 2024 GOP platform, it would interfere with Project 2025. Not about funding or budgets, driven by the longstanding GOP belief that there should be no public land. So the GOP has cut funding for all public land agencies at every opportunity, leaving them underfunded and undermaintained. DOGE is their current tool. UT senator Mike Lee (UT) is the strongest advocate for PLT, UT has hated any presence by the feds since LDS was told to end polygamy if they wanted to become a state. None of these are honest or valid reasons to reduce the American public lands legacy. Nor is Trump’s coming effort to reduce or eliminate National Monuments, under the authority of his inept and illegal Dept. of Injustice. If you voted for GOP, you contributed to this assault on our American public lands legacy. Tell your GOP senators NO to PLT.
Mike Lee is an embarrassment for the state of Utah. He’s hell bent on selling public lands no matter what the people want. As a Nevada resident I’m sick of him putting Nevada land on the sale block. He’s not this states representative. He’s must be stopped as he continues to try to sell our land to reward politicians for their inept handling of their duties to live within the budget.
This is a continuation of the Republican’s Project 2025 plan to SELL OFF PUBLIC LANDS IN AMERICA. And do NOT buy the Republicans excuse for the land sale. The SALE OF THE LAND is the ultimate goal and the Project 2025 Republicans will use any excuse to make it happen. And once it has been sold access will end as will the assault on the creatures that live on these lands. Every person in America who cares about our PUBLIC LANDS should be outraged. Spread the message of this attack far and wide into all of your networks. And make sure that the Project 2025 Republicans who support this land sale hear from their constituents and every American.
Please do not sell any public lands! once sold, they would never be retrieved for the use of the public. Protect our public lands and do not be coaxed into selling off a single acre of our land!
Selling PUBLIC lands is a desperation move. These idiots in congress think they should have the right to sell public property owned by ALL Americans, but they should all be embarrassed (and resign their office) to even consider it. It’s NOT theirs to sell. I’m am so damn tired of these political lunatics, and their plundering/exploiting of our American heritage. Fire the whole damn lot of them, starting at the top!
One of the core functions of VPA-HIP is its ability to support private landowners in implementing habitat restoration projects
The thrill of a crisp morning hunt or casting a line in a quiet stream often depends on something many don’t think about: access. For hunters and anglers across the country, that access increasingly comes from private lands— 70 percent of this nation’s lands, exclusive of Alaska, are in private ownership. As a result, a majority of this country’s hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities are on private land. It also means that a majority of this nation’s wildlife habitat improvement and enhancement projects sit in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and other private landowners. That’s where the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) comes in.
What Is VPA-HIP?
The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, once commonly known as “open fields,” is the only federal program dedicated to creating public access on private lands.
Championed by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s founder, Jim Range, VPA-HIP helps states and Tribes create innovative ways of incentivizing private landowners to open their lands to the public for wildlife-dependent recreation. It is the only federal tool aimed at increasing recreational access on private lands, yet it is not nearly the most well-known of Farm Bill conservation programs.
But it doesn’t stop at access, VPA-HIP also incentivizes landowners to restore and enhance habitat, making it a win-win for wildlife and the people who enjoy it.
While access is the headline, one of the core functions of VPA-HIP is its ability to support private landowners in implementing habitat restoration projects.
VPA-HIP encourages habitat restoration and stewardship on enrolled lands, helping private landowners improve conditions for wildlife while offering recreational opportunities to the public.
Let’s look at some examples of how VPA-HIP creates or enhances wildlife habitat:
Landowners enrolled in the Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP) report that assistance with habitat improvement is their number one reason for signing up. IRAP creates hunting opportunities for deer, turkey, upland bird, and waterfowl hunters on private lands in Illinois. In exchange, enrolled landowners receive a free habitat management plan, custom built for their property by Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists. Landowners who implement these plans receive bonus payments for habitat improvements, incentivizing better habitat for both game and non-game species.
After flood damage along the Rio Grande River, the Santa Clara Pueblo used VPA-HIP funding to construct off channel ponds and make habitat improvements for fishing opportunities, restoring and improving public fishing access in Santa Clara Canyon.
On top of incentivizing access, the Wisconsin VPA-HIP provides financial assistance to landowners who create or enhance habitat through practices like prescribed burning, planting native grasses and forbs, or removing invasive species like honeysuckle, buckthorn, and multiflora rose.
Arkansas is a top destination for waterfowl hunters, and rice fields are a crucial food source for wintering waterfowl. Through the Arkansas Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement (WRICE), farmers receive payments to leave rice stubble intact, rather than tilling fields in the fall, and flood these same fields during the migration. This creates incredible waterfowl habitat and hunting opportunities.
Through the Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP), Iowa DNR biologists work with landowners to create a habitat management plan for their property and provide incentive payments when those habitat improvements are completed. In exchange, landowners allow public hunting access.
Hunters and Anglers Reap the Rewards
Whether you’re glassing for elk or calling in spring gobblers, healthy habitat is essential. Through VPA-HIP:
More land becomes accessible for hunting and fishing.
Game populations improve as habitat quality increases.
Outdoor traditions are preserved for future generations.
The Bottom Line
The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program is more than an access program—it’s a key piece of modern conservation. By bringing together landowners, hunters, anglers, and conservationists, VPA-HIP helps restore critical habitats and expand outdoor opportunities across the country.
With renewed investment and continued bipartisan support, this program is poised to make an even bigger impact on the landscapes, wildlife, and sporting traditions we all care about.
Want to support programs like VPA-HIP? Urge your lawmakers to support this critical program in the next Farm Bill so that more landowners can create access, open landlocked public lands, and enhance wildlife habitat. Click HERE to take action today.
Hispanic Leaders Bring the Southwest to Washington, D.C.
The TRCP organized a spring advocacy trip to demonstrate the power of unity, outdoor traditions, and a bipartisan approach to conservation.
This spring, the heart of the Southwest made its way to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., as Hispanic leaders united to speak up for the lands and waters that shape their culture, outdoor traditions, and futures. As part of HECHO’s (Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors) 2025 spring advocacy trip, members of the Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council (HCLC) brought their voices and stories directly to lawmakers, urging protection and conservation of public lands.
From the vibrant canyons of Arizona to the sacred rivers of New Mexico, the Southwest is home to some of the nation’s most treasured public lands. For the Hispanic leaders who made the journey to D.C., these lands are more than scenic beauty—they’re economic drivers and places of personal and communal connection. Hunting and fishing on these lands not only sustains time-honored traditions but also supports local economies and fosters the next generation of conservation and stewardship.
The advocacy trip amplified these outdoor traditions, with participants ranging from business owners and elected officials to conservationists and community advocates. Their unified message? Public lands must remain public, accessible, and protected.
In conversations with members of Congress and key decision-makers, the HCLC emphasized the importance of protecting areas like the Grand Canyon watershed, addressing forest health and catastrophic wildfire, funding for proactive management of federal lands, and protecting critical water resources in the region. In addition, both TRCP and HCLC members also touched on the importance of maintaining robust federal funding to address ongoing drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin, including investments in fish and wildlife habitat restoration efforts that build resilience to shrinking water supplies.
The TRCP and HCLC highlighted support for the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act and the need to increase the pace and scale of active forest management approaches that also benefit fish and wildlife valued by hunters and anglers. These issues are not partisan—they are universal, touching on clean water, natural disaster mitigation, recreation, cultural preservation, and economic sustainability.
One recurring theme throughout the trip was the need for balance—between use and conservation, between progress and preservation. As one participant shared, “I’m not against using our public lands… but we have to monitor that to where we don’t deplete our resources.” The goal isn’t to halt development, but to ensure it doesn’t come at the cost of future generations.
From forest management and fire prevention to watershed protection and outdoor recreation, the issues discussed were grounded in the everyday realities of communities that rely on these lands.
Perhaps the most powerful element of the trip was the unity among the participants. Despite different roles, regions, and backgrounds, the group stood together with a shared sense of purpose and pride. As one leader expressed, “We need to stand up proud as Hispanos… This is part of us. It’s querencia, a deep love and connection to the land.”
The HECHO 2025 spring advocacy trip was a testament to the power of representation and grass tops leadership. These leaders shared their personal stories, cultural ties, and community priorities directly with policymakers—demonstrating the power of unity, outdoor traditions, and bipartisan approach to conservation.
Learn more about TRCP’s commitment to habitat and clean water here
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
Tracking the Budget Bill: What Hunters and Anglers Need to Know
An overview of the budget reconciliation bill and its implications for public lands, access, and conservation.
On Wednesday night, the House passed—by a 215-214 vote—the budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1) that would advance President Trump’s fiscal and domestic policy agenda. For months, Congressional Republicans have been developing the package to implement the party’s agenda, with an emphasis on cutting government spending and generating additional revenue to reauthorize and extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, along with defense and immigration related spending. Now heading to the Senate, the bill is titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
As hunters, anglers, and conservationists cheer the decision by lawmakers to remove an amendment to the House budget reconciliation bill that would have sold off some public lands in Nevada and Utah, it’s important to note that this massive reconciliation bill also contains several other provisions added by the House Committee on Natural Resources that could impact fish and wildlife habitat and public access.
Here’s what you need to know about what stayed in, and what fell out of the Natural Resources portion of the House reconciliation bill:
An amendment successfully added to the bill during the HNRC markup would have authorized the sale of about 500,000 acres of federal public land across Nevada and Utah. Proponents of the amendment argue that the measure was needed to generate revenue and facilitate housing and local infrastructure development. By pursuing this through budget reconciliation, these lands would have been sold without a transparent public process and funds generated would not have been reinvested in conservation and access.
Hunters and anglers spoke up and made it clear to members of Congress that reconciliation is not the proper place for land sale discussions. Several House Republicans, including Montana Representatives Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing and Idaho Representative Mike Simpson, vocally opposed language that would sell or swap large scale swaths of public lands.
Prior to moving to a floor vote, House leadership and HNRC leadership removed the amendment from the bill, lifting any sale of public land from the House bill. The move is a major win for the hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation community, and TRPC will stay vigilant to get in front of any potential land sale provisions that could emerge from the Senate. Meanwhile, we will continue to work with members of Congress to develop long-term solutions to land management challenges faced in Western communities
Removed: Forced Development of the Ambler Industrial Road in Alaska’s Brooks Range
In addition to removing provisions that would sell public land, House leadership removed the section of the bill that would have forced development of the proposed Ambler Industrial Road in Alaska’s Brooks Range.
The Ambler Road would cut directly across hundreds of miles of our nation’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds. The fish and wildlife resources in this vast region – including one of the largest remaining caribou herds in North America and world-renowned sheefish fisheries – support 66 rural communities as well as a collective of guides, outfitters, transporters, air taxi services, and other small businesses. The proposed 211-mile Ambler Industrial Road would require nearly 3,000 stream crossings and span 11 major rivers, threatening fisheries, subsistence resources, and the region’s outdoor economy.
By pursuing the Ambler Road permit through budget reconciliation, this impactful decision could have advanced without a transparent public process. In every opportunity for public comment on the proposed Ambler Industrial Road, the hunting and fishing community has stood up and spoken out against this project that risks the wild and remote qualities of the Brooks Range. The TRCP is a member of the Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range, a coalition of 65 groups and brands including impacted local businesses and 19,400 individuals engaged in maintaining a wild Brooks Range. We are encouraged by the removal of this provision from the House-passed bill and will remain engaged to prevent and oppose any efforts to insert similar language in the Senate reconciliation package.
Still in play: Boundary Waters Mining Leases
A provision of the Committee-approved bill would reinstate leases for Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of the Chilean corporation, Antofagasta PLC, to conduct copper-nickel sulfide mining activities directly upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Superior National Forest, threatening fish, wildlife, and water quality in the country’s most visited wilderness area.
Each year, thousands of hunters and anglers visit the Boundary Waters, which contains over 2,000 pristine, interconnected lakes and supports large populations of loons, moose, walleye, trout, deer, ruffed grouse, fishers, beavers, sturgeon, and more. However, these species, this ecosystem, and the local economy are put at risk by sulfide mining drainage that increases acidity and leaches toxic metals in the watershed, endangering water quality and aquatic life.
This provision was retained in the House-passed H.R. 1. TRCP will work to see that it is removed from the final bill, most likely in the Senate where it could be removed by the Senate parliamentarian under the Byrd Rule.
Removed: Roll Back of BLM Resource Management Plans
House leadership also removed policy language that would have prohibited the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from implementing, administering, or enforcing the following public land Resource Management Plans (RMPs):
Rock Springs Field Office, Wyoming
Buffalo Field Office, Wyoming
Miles City Field Office, Montana
North Dakota
Colorado River Valley Field Office and Grand Junction Field Office, Colorado
These plans are the product of extensive public engagement, and in some cases, state and locally driven negotiations among the variety of interests that are supported by multiple-use BLM lands. They also in some cases are updating management plans that are decades old.
The TRCP is encouraged by the removal of this proposal and further emphasizes that the Bureau of Land Management has many administrative tools available to improve implementation of completed land use plans and has the discretion to surgically amend or revise those plans, which is preferrable to sweeping legislative action.
What’s Next?
Now heading to the Senate, the bill is titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The Senate may opt to draft their own competing reconciliation bill. If so, the two products would eventually need to be combined via conference or be passed again through both chambers. The TRCP is closely monitoring this bill and will ensure that hunters and anglers have a seat at the table to speak for conservation and access. We remain committed to helping hunters and anglers understand and engage in the process to maintain fish and wildlife habitat, and public access.
What Can You Do?
In the face of gridlock, conservation is, and should be, a shared priority regardless of party affiliation or ideology. TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on budget reconciliation as well as emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
Hunters and anglers have always been the unsung heroes of conservation in America, quietly paying it forward every time we buy a license, a box of ammo, or a tank of boat fuel. We know you’re not satisfied with simply going hunting or fishing and then going home—so go the extra distance. You can take action on the conservation issues that matter right now.Click here to get started.
TRCP Applauds Removal of Public Land Sales from the Budget Reconciliation Bill
Organization objects to the large-scale transfer or sale of public lands and thanks lawmakers for listening to hunt-fish values
Today, hunters, anglers, conservationists, and all Americans who value our nation’s public lands cheer the decision to remove an amendment from the House budget reconciliation bill that would have sold off some public lands in Nevada and Utah without public input or consideration for impacts to public access.
Several House and Senate Republicans, including Montana Representatives Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing and Idaho Representative Mike Simpson, have vocally opposed any language that would sell or swap large-scale swaths of public lands. Some proponents of public land sales during this process have asserted that the sale of public lands is necessary to develop more affordable housing in Western communities. The TRCP agrees that there is room for discussion around how to facilitate small, purposeful exchanges and disposals that may facilitate affordable housing or other uses that are in the public interest. However, by pursuing this through budget reconciliation, these lands would have been sold without a transparent public process and funds generated would not have been reinvested in conservation and access. There are well-established criteria and processes for disposing of public lands, and the removal of the amendment reaffirms that budget reconciliation legislation is not the proper venue for such decisions.
“The TRCP is encouraged to see provisions removed from the House budget reconciliation bill that would sell off public lands. Hunters and anglers stepped into the arena to make their voices heard, and members of Congress listened—thank you,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “In particular, we thank Congressmen Zinke, Downing, and Simpson for their strident advocacy on behalf of America’s hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreationists. We also appreciate the efforts of the House Natural Resources Committee and House leadership on their role in an outcome that maintains the public’s ability to weigh in on actions affecting our public lands. We remain committed to working with lawmakers to resolve challenges with public lands management and to find solutions that are in the public interest.”
In addition to removing provisions that would sell off public land, House leadership also removed the section of the bill that would have forced development of the proposed Ambler Industrial Road in Alaska’s Brooks Range, which would cut directly across hundreds of miles of our nation’s most wild and remote hunting and fishing grounds. By pursuing the Ambler Industrial Road permit in budget reconciliation, this impactful decision could have advanced without a transparent public process. In every opportunity for public comment on the proposed Ambler Industrial Road, the hunting and fishing community has stood up and spoken out against this project that risks the wild and remote qualities of the Brooks Range. The TRCP is a member of the Hunters & Anglers for the Brooks Range, a coalition of 65 groups and brands including impacted local businesses and 19,400 individuals engaged in maintaining a wild Brooks Range.
America’s 640 million acres of national public lands—including our National Forests and Bureau of Land Management lands—are the setting for irreplaceable hunting and fishing access to millions of Americans. Many of the best trout and salmon rivers originate on federal lands, and these public landscapes provide intact habitat that is essential for the long-term survival of big game species. Federally managed public lands are the backbone of America’s outdoor recreation industry, which contributed $639.5 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2023.
There are many complex challenges to managing millions of acres of federal public lands for multiple uses that result in areas of disagreement. Collaboration, as it has been for decades, is the way toward successful and lasting multiple-use management for industries, wildlife, and public hunting and fishing access. TRCP is committed to being a part of that better way forward. When we unite, we win.
Learn more about the risks of public land sales HERE.
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to further our commitment to conservation. $4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue our efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.
Staggering Threat to Americanism as we know it….
All sale of public land should be a hard no! Once it’s sold and gone it will be developed and will be lost to outdoor recreation forever. The suits in Washington are only looking at dollars and not supporting what Americans outdoorsmen want which also co- aligns with the general public. All of Washington needs to be fired and start completely over!
The Productive Public Lands Act (PPLA) introduced by Senator Jeff Hurd is more appropriately named the Plunder Public Lands Act. It would eliminate public input regarding BLM land matters and allow greed driven decisions regarding mineral, fossil fuel, and geo thermal energy extractions.
Public Land Transfer to states for sale had been a plank in every GOP national platform since Reagan. Trump did not allow a 2024 GOP platform, it would interfere with Project 2025. Not about funding or budgets, driven by the longstanding GOP belief that there should be no public land. So the GOP has cut funding for all public land agencies at every opportunity, leaving them underfunded and undermaintained. DOGE is their current tool. UT senator Mike Lee (UT) is the strongest advocate for PLT, UT has hated any presence by the feds since LDS was told to end polygamy if they wanted to become a state. None of these are honest or valid reasons to reduce the American public lands legacy. Nor is Trump’s coming effort to reduce or eliminate National Monuments, under the authority of his inept and illegal Dept. of Injustice. If you voted for GOP, you contributed to this assault on our American public lands legacy. Tell your GOP senators NO to PLT.
Mike Lee is an embarrassment for the state of Utah. He’s hell bent on selling public lands no matter what the people want. As a Nevada resident I’m sick of him putting Nevada land on the sale block. He’s not this states representative. He’s must be stopped as he continues to try to sell our land to reward politicians for their inept handling of their duties to live within the budget.
This is a continuation of the Republican’s Project 2025 plan to SELL OFF PUBLIC LANDS IN AMERICA. And do NOT buy the Republicans excuse for the land sale. The SALE OF THE LAND is the ultimate goal and the Project 2025 Republicans will use any excuse to make it happen. And once it has been sold access will end as will the assault on the creatures that live on these lands. Every person in America who cares about our PUBLIC LANDS should be outraged. Spread the message of this attack far and wide into all of your networks. And make sure that the Project 2025 Republicans who support this land sale hear from their constituents and every American.
I strongly oppose ANY legislation that sells off a single acre of OUR/MY public land.
Please do not sell any public lands! once sold, they would never be retrieved for the use of the public. Protect our public lands and do not be coaxed into selling off a single acre of our land!
Selling PUBLIC lands is a desperation move. These idiots in congress think they should have the right to sell public property owned by ALL Americans, but they should all be embarrassed (and resign their office) to even consider it. It’s NOT theirs to sell. I’m am so damn tired of these political lunatics, and their plundering/exploiting of our American heritage. Fire the whole damn lot of them, starting at the top!