Tell Congress: Don’t Sell Off Public Lands!
Congress is eyeing a national public lands fire sale — to fund tax breaks for billionaires.
You read that right. Lawmakers in Washington D.C. are considering selling off our public lands — the forests, deserts, mountains, and trails we all share — just to bankroll massive tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
In early May, Congressional House Republicans on the Natural Resources committee quietly pushed through a last-minute amendment to sell off thousands of acres of your public lands in Nevada and Utah. No public input. No debate. No explanation. And no analysis, so it wasn’t even clear how much land they were talking about.
The amendment, slipped in by Reps. Mark Amodei (NV) and Celeste Maloy (UT), requires the Interior Department to sell off national public land in Nevada and Utah. While original reporting suggested the bill would only target 11,000 acres, further analysis suggests the amendment could target 500,000 acres in total — or more.
We can’t let this happen.
Selling off public lands to the highest bidder means more clearcuts, more drilling, more locked gates — and fewer places for us and future generations to hike, camp, fish, and find peace in nature. These lands provide clean air, clean water, critical wildlife habitat, and support outdoor economies across the country. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
This is one of the most serious threats to public lands in decades.
As if selling off hundreds of thousands of acres of national public lands isn’t enough, this bill also slashes environmental protections, lowers fees for oil and gas drilling, and lets companies buy their way to fast-tracked permits with zero public accountability. It’s a polluter wishlist wrapped in a budget bill—and Republicans on the committee passed it with no shame.
While the Republican members sat in silence, refusing to engage in any debate, Oregon was fortunate to have Rep. Maxine Dexter present and forcefully speaking out against this anti-environment, anti-public lands, and anti-public health agenda being passed by the committee.
Oregon’s representatives on the committee, Dexter as well as Rep. Val Hoyle, both voted against selling off public lands. But Rep. Cliff Bentz voted for it—even though the lands are in another state, and that state’s own representative opposed the sale. In congressional circles, that’s not just controversial—it’s considered bad form.
Let’s be clear: while this amendment currently targets lands in Nevada and Utah, it opens the door to the wholesale privatization of public lands anywhere in the country. This is a test balloon. If we let it fly, they’ll be coming for more.
Tell Congress loud and clear: Our public lands are NOT for sale.
They belong to all of us — not just the wealthy and well-connected.
