Utah Senator Mike Lee's plan to sell our public lands has been hobbled by widespread public outrage, but it's far from dead. Even after the Senate Parliamentarian yanked it from the budget bill on grounds that it violates a procedural law known as the Byrd Rule, Lee is defending his sell-off ideas on X while promoting a revised and slightly scaled-back version of the plan.
This time he's doubling down on his widely challenged claim that selling off federal lands in the West would help ease the nation's housing crisis. He says he'll remove Forest Service land from the plan and "reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill." He'll use your public lands to establish so-called "Freedom Zones," he said on X. And he'll target public lands "within 5 miles of population centers." In a revised version of the bill obtained by Field & Stream, Lee still mandates the sale of more than 1 million acres of public land in the same 11 western states mentioned in the first version.
"It' still a pile of dog s**t, just a slightly different pile of dog s**t," said Fresh Tracks host and prominent public land advocate Randy Newberg in a recent Instagram post explaining Lee's amended land grab. "He doesn't get it. He thinks we're going to give up. We're not going to give up."
Today has been dubbed Flood the Lines Day by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. The hunting and public lands advocacy group is encouraging all of its members to call, email, and generally "raise hell" with their Senators all day long. But that's just one way to make your voice heard. Below are 10 other options. The budget bill could be voted on by July 4 if not sooner, so now is the time to speak out.
1. Visit the TRCP's Public Lands Access Page
2. Record a Video and Send it to Your Senators Via HOWL for Wildlife
3. Send a Letter of Opposition Via the National Deer Association
4. Contact Your Senators using the RMEF Action Portal
5. Join This Online Rally Tomorrow—June 26
6. Sign Up for the National Wildlife Federation's "Halt the Heist" Campaign
7. Use the Outdoor Alliance Action Portal
8. Contact Senators via the Sportsmen's Alliance
9. Contact your state Senators at 202-224-3121
It's most effective to be polite. Tell them what public lands mean to you, and explain how selling even one acre in a budget bill circumvents legally-required public input. Tell them it will set a precedent whereby public lands will be sold during budget negotiations year after year.
10. Reach Out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Thune is a Senator from South Dakota, and he has the authority to sideline Lee's sell-off proposal once and for all. The number above will direct you to Thune's office if you follow the operator prompts.
