250+ Million Acres of Public Land Could Be Sold Under New Budget Bill

[Bill]

I’m all in favor of logging, mining and drilling with the least damage possible. but not in favor of selling it off that’s for sure.

 

[Foggy47]

I agree with keeping ownership on much of this land. What can be an issue to me is the "preservationists" that want no change, ever, to the land that could hold so many benefits to our people. I think we do need to exploit some of these things. They were put there for us to use....but we need to do so wisely. That is not impossible.

I think we all know that land and habitat can be made better via management......so what is different in federally owned land?

 

[Skeeter]

I hope this is the correct place to share this, and I hope we can have a respectful and thoughtful conversation about this.

The Senate's updated version of the budget reconciliation bill (or Big Beautiful Bill) proposes increasing leasing of public land to logging and oil and gas development as well as selling protected public land. I'm sure there is going to be an array of opinions on this, but as a group of likeminded outdoorsmen, I think this is something we should all be aware of. Our elected officials are proposing a massive land and resource transfer from from the American masses to a select group of corporate elite. These lands were protected with bipartisan support over many decades, and I feel should remain in the hands of the American public.

I've been fortunate to spend time hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, etc. in many of these places, both on the East Coast and throughout the American West. I deeply love this nation and feel incredibly fortunate to be born here. Access to vast, beautiful, diverse and unadultered lands is one of the many things I love about this nation. Political affiliation aside, I desperately hope to see these lands remain protected for the enjoyment of the generations to come.

This map visualizes the 250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in the Senate budget reconciliation package.

View attachment 79028

Regardless of which side of the coin you land on this matter, consider reaching out to your senator to voice your opinion.

I think the title of the thread is a bit misleading. There may be over 250 million acres that qualify as eligible to be sold under the Senate proposal, but the proposal also limits the percentage of federal land that could be sold to between 0.5% to 0.75%. This creates a maximum of around 3.2 million acres that could be sold under the bill.
According to a quick Google search, approximately 40% of the land in the USA is owned by some level of government, 28% by the federal government alone. How much public land do we need? Is that really a responsibile use of resources?

 

[T-Max]

I think the title of the thread is a bit misleading. There may be over 250 million acres that qualify as eligible to be sold under the Senate proposal, but the proposal also limits the percentage of federal land that could be sold to between 0.5% to 0.75%. This creates a maximum of around 3.2 million acres that could be sold under the bill.
According to a quick Google search, approximately 40% of the land in the USA is owned by some level of government, 28% by the federal government alone. How much public land do we need? Is that really a responsibile use of resources?

Are we expecting politicians to exercise restraint once they figure out a way to sell off public land? It will all be gone soon if they pull this off. And when you say the “government” owns the land, that is actually me and you and my wife and my kids and my buddies and my great aunt and Ron Desantis and Oprah and…… It would be strange if the current setup worked for over 100 years and suddenly it all has to cease now. Sen. Lee is bought and paid for. Bank on that.


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[T-Max]

Here is my biggest thing (and I mentioned it earlier), there is a clear process for the disposal of public land laid out in law. This attempt to do it through budget reconciliation is a clear attempt to circumvent that law. Plain and simple. Lee couldn’t pull it off legally so he did what politicians do. Disgusting, and everyone who votes for it is equally disgusting.


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[b116757]

Guys I would like to know what percentage of total land in our county should be private and what percentage should be publicly owned what should those percentages look like what’s the balance? 75% private 25% public? 25% private 75% public? 50% each? What do you guys think is the proper percentage for each?

 

[Skeeter]

Are we expecting politicians to exercise restraint once they figure out a way to sell off public land? It will all be gone soon if they pull this off. And when you say the “government” owns the land, that is actually me and you and my wife and my kids and my buddies and my great aunt and Ron Desantis and Oprah and…… It would be strange if the current setup worked for over 100 years and suddenly it all has to cease now. Sen. Lee is bought and paid for. Bank on that.


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I certainly don't agree with every clause of the proposal, but do feel that the title of the thread is inaccurate.
Public land is not the same as private land, so public land is not my land, or your land, or your great aunt's, etc. The government allows you to use government land as long as you follow their rules. On my land, I will cut down a tree or plow under an area whenever I choose. There are some restrictions, most of which are attempts to keep me from infringing on the rights of another, so it's not perfect, but not even close to the same thing as public land.
I'm not advocating for eliminating all public land but when the government owns 40 percent, we've gone too far.

 

[Newbie]

Are we expecting politicians to exercise restraint once they figure out a way to sell off public land? It will all be gone soon if they pull this off. And when you say the “government” owns the land, that is actually me and you and my wife and my kids and my buddies and my great aunt and Ron Desantis and Oprah and…… It would be strange if the current setup worked for over 100 years and suddenly it all has to cease now. Sen. Lee is bought and paid for. Bank on that.


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This exactly my concern. I’m not opposed to utilizing a select dedicated portion of land for extracting natural resources responsibly. But the way the bill was written, there’s a loophole that makes up to 250million acres eligible. Of course the bill doesn’t state they’re going to sell 250mil acres… but they didn’t write a loophole into the bill by accident.

Also, I can’t trust that it is done within reason or responsibly. I agree with Foggy & if it’s done right & in select areas it makes sense. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we are stripping funding for EPA and other environmental and conservation agencies. I don’t have faith that if it’s done right now, that I will be done responsibly.

Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. Big corp is in bed with all our “representatives” & the incentives are not in the interests of the general public anymore.