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:

Related: What Is Budget Reconciliation? Click HERE to learn more.

Removed: Public Land Sales in NV and UT

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.