Senator Lee Pulls Public Land Sale Provision From BBB: ‘WE DID IT’; ‘The Land’s Still Ours’; ‘Don’t Be Distracted’

US Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) tweeted this evening that he had “made the decision to withdraw the federal land sales provision” from the so-called Big Beautiful Bill before the US Senate.

It’s a HUGE HUGE HUGE win for public land and a defeat – perhaps only temporarily – for an idea that theoretically could have opened the flood gates for disposing of more and more BLM and Forest Service land during future budget negotiations.

I want to extend a HUGE hat tip to all the hunters, anglers, hikers, campers, wildlife watchers, Republicans, Independents, Democrats, red states, purple states, blue states – to everyone who looked at his proposal, looked at The Wilderness Society’s and other maps of public lands, looked where their deer camp was, their chukar and quail hunting grounds, looked at all that BLM and USFS land where fish and wildlife and people are free to roam and the land can just be the land and said NO DICE to his idea.

THANK YOU!

“Every now and then, the good guys win,” posted MeatEater on social media. “One battle down. More to come. For now, the land’s still ours. Breathe it in.”

“WE DID IT,” Backcountry Hunters and Anglers posted on Facebook.

“After weeks of pressure from hunters, anglers, and public land owners across the country, Senator Mike Lee just announced he’s removing the proposal that would’ve forced the sale of up to 1.2 million acres of public land.“

“This victory belongs to the thousands of you who called, emailed, rallied, and refused to back down. Because of you, our public lands are still in public hands.“

“But this isn’t the end. We know these threats will come again—and we’ll be ready.“

“Thank you to Senators Steve Daines, Tim Sheehy, Jim Risch, and Mike Crapo for opposing this language. And thank you Senator Martin Heinrich for being a public lands champion.“

“Thank you to Representative Ryan Zinke for your consistent leadership, and Representatives Mike Simpson, Dan Newhouse, Cliff Bentz, and David Valadao for showing that this public land sale crossed a line in the sand.“

BHA was one of many organizations and people urging supporters to call their Congressmen and voice their opinions. They stated that on June 25, “Flood the Lines” day, their members sent 33,148 messages, a figure they termed “a record-breaking outpouring.”

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its members were also busy: “Thanks to 27,000+ advocates who used RMEF’s portal to speak up and protect our public lands. Your voice made a difference. THANK YOU!” the Missoula-based organization tweeted.

In declaring Senator Lee’s provision dead in a headline, Outdoor Life provided a snapshot of why Lee had to pull it: “Facing overwhelming opposition from all Democrats and a growing number in his own party, Senator Mike Lee just withdrew his proposal to sell millions of acres of public land.”

Tweeted Eric Barker at the Lewiston Tribune: “Sen. Mike Lee threw in the towel Sat. on his effort to sell federal land. His effort to mandate the disposal of millions of acres of public land sparked a broad backlash that united people who are sometimes on different sides of natural resource debates.”

Initially, Senator Lee pushed out a bill that looked to dispose of 2 to 3 million acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management holdings, a sharp expansion from a previous plan that reared its ugly head in the US House this spring and looked at selling off only half a million acres.

As impacts to hunting grounds and wildlife habitat became apparent, thanks to Wilderness Society mapping, Idaho and Montana senators said nope. When the Senate parliamentarian said his proposal wouldn’t fly, Lee dialed it back to 600,000 to 1.2 million acres of BLM land – which Randy Newberg termed “still a pile of dog sh*t, it’s just a different pile of dog sh*t” – then revised definitions in it before ultimately pulling it.

Reported Politico, “It removes a major headache for GOP leadership in both chambers as they look to get their megabill tax cut and spending bill to President Trump’s desk by July 4.

Trout Unlimited’s Chris Wood had both praise and a warning: “Americans’ love of public lands is the most nonpartisan issue in the country. Public lands are the cornerstone of our conservation legacy, uniting us with the last best places this country has to offer. We thank the members of Congress who have joined hundreds of thousands of outdoorsmen and women in opposing widespread public land selloffs in reconciliation. This is certainly not the first attempt to privatize or transfer our public lands, and it won’t be the last—we must stay vigilant and defend the places we love to fish, hike, hunt, and explore.”

The Sierra Club was also out fast with a statement: “From the moment Mike Lee first introduced this proposal, Americans across the political spectrum have made it clear they oppose selling off the natural heritage of our public lands to fund tax cuts for billionaires – not now, not ever. This is a victory for everyone who hikes, hunts, explores, and cherishes these places, but it’s not the end of the threats to our public lands. Donald Trump and his allies in Congress have made it clear they will use every tool at their disposal to give away our public lands to billionaires and corporate polluters, whether it’s Mike Lee’s fire sale, leasing them to Big Oil CEOs for pennies on the dollar, or gutting the permitting and oversight process for industrial development. This fight isn’t over, and we are going to keep working to keep the ‘public’ in public lands.”

Added Joel Pedersen, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership president and CEO, in a press release just into my inbox: “Public lands are a cornerstone of our national heritage, our outdoor traditions, and the economies of countless communities across the country. We’re deeply grateful to Senators Sheehy, Daines, Crapo, and Risch for their leadership and all the lawmakers – including Senator Heinrich – who helped ensure this short-sighted proposal was removed. The removal of public land sales from the budget bill is more than a legislative correction—it’s a reminder of the power of collective advocacy. This outcome affirms our long-held belief: when we unite, we win.”

Preach, brother.

The map folks at The Wilderness Society also deserve a huge hand for outlining exactly what USFS and BLM lands were at stake when the budget provision was unveiled just two weeks ago and updating the map as the bill’s language changed.

“Americans from all corners spoke out in unprecedented numbers, showing that our public lands are common ground, uniting us in the fight to protect them. Every member of Congress who listened and stood up to protect access to our favorite trails, fishing holes and camp sites deserves thanks. Future generations are counting on them to remain vigilant against any more attempts to sell off our public lands—including the threats that we know are coming from the administration,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society.

Indeed, as the victory sank in, there was the realization that the fight was far from over. Circling a portion of Senator Lee’s message that the Utah man would work with President Trump “to put underutilized federal land to work,” Ryan Busse, who ran for governor of Montana last year and lost, posted, “Don’t be distracted. Here’s how you know Trump and Burgum are going to make another run at selling our land.”

” … (T)o those already plotting to go after our public lands another way: Don’t. Unless you like losing,” tweeted US Senator Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico).

Added Benji Backer, who heads up Nature is Nonpartisan and who has been very active on X against selling public lands, “VICTORY. Beyond proud of what we all did. This moment showed us that conservation of our environment is an American value, not a partisan one.”