Sale would target lands in Washington and Beaver counties
About 11,000 acres of public land in Utah and Nevada could be up for sale following a last-minute amendment approved by the House National Resources Committee. The amendment will be “tucked into the larger budget reconciliation bill,” which House Republicans anticipate passing in a single vote, according to the Deseret News.
In Utah, the saleable public lands fall within Washington and Beaver counties.
“Washington County and Beaver County are landlocked and growing quickly but cannot function because of endless red tape on federal lands,” said Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, who introduced the amendment. “At their request, I introduced an amendment to convey, at fair market value, targeted land — land needed by local governments for infrastructure.”
Utah is comprised of about 63% public land; however, the lands included in the amendment make up “only a third of a percentage of federal lands in the state,” according to Maloy.
Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei co-introduced the amendment.
Those in favor of the public lands sale say it would “help to reduce the national deficit and pay off the nation’s debt.”
However, Democrats have pushed back against the proposal along with multiple outdoor groups, arguing that selling public lands would only “pay for billionaires’ tax cuts.”
“Rep. Maloy is hell-bent on selling off and privatizing public lands — attempting to do so in the dark of night, hoping her actions wouldn’t be noticed. She was dead wrong,” said Travis Hammill, D.C. director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, in a statement. “This plan was cooked up behind closed doors, and Utahns and Americans aren’t going to let her get away with this.”
The amendment was announced at the same time as the bipartisan Public Lands Caucus was publicized, according to the Deseret News. Its purpose is to protect and preserve public lands, and will be co-chaired by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont.
“There’s a lot of frustration down in the West. I understand that,” Zinke said. “But I prefer the management scheme. And I give an example as a hotel — if you don’t like the management of a hotel, don’t sell the hotel. Change the management. That’s where I sit on that position.”
While the public lands amendment is currently included in the larger bill, it could be removed if there’s enough pushback from western Republicans. Stay tuned to GOHUNT for further updates.
