Permitting Bill Could Enable Trump Administration’s New Public Lands Sell-Off Plan 

Washington, D.C. —

The release of the Trump Administration’s official strategic plan for the Department of the Interior this week revealed its intention to “decrease the size of the federal estate” by offering public lands for sale. Under current law, such a plan would be difficult to implement – but the Bipartisan Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) now before the Senate includes rollbacks that would make it easier for Trump’s Interior Department to accomplish this goal. If enacted into law, BAAJA would make it harder for the public to learn about, or stop, the sale of public lands.

In response, Drew Caputo, Vice President of Litigation for Lands, Wildlife and Oceans at Earthjustice released the following statement:

“Our public lands belong to every American, but the Trump administration wants to sell them to the highest bidder. Public lands should be protected, not privatized. Unfortunately, the permitting bill now before the Senate would make it much easier for the Trump administration to proceed with its plans to sell off America’s natural bounty. Senators should just say no to this terrible idea.”

Background 

BAAJA, the permitting bill now before the Senate, would greatly erode protections under the National Environmental Policy Act, seriously impairing the public’s ability to challenge the Trump administration’s proposed land sales. Selling public lands is highly unpopular among the American public. An effort by Senate Republicans led by Sen. Mike Lee, a cosponsor of BAAJA, to include public lands selloffs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was defeated last year, following significant pushback from Americans across the political spectrum.

Interior’s land sell-off plan has already sparked opposition from conservation groups and even Republican U.S. Senators from Montana, who said they weren’t consulted. A story about conservationists’ opposition that appeared in Source New Mexico noted that Sen. Martin Heinrich, also a cosponsor of BAAJA, reacted to Interior’s announcement by saying: “Public lands belong in public hands.” There is broad support for this idea. Just this week, a new veterans’ initiative to defend public lands was unveiled.

The Interior Department’s strategic plan offers few clues as to how much land could be sold. While the plan suggests lands would be offered for purchase by states, localities, and Tribes, there is nothing guaranteeing they would not be immediately sold to developers in turn – as many states are legally bound to generate revenue from lands, which could force them into land sales. The strategic plan also indicates Interior’s vision for projects on public lands that are not sold off: oil-and-gas drilling, mining, and AI data centers. BAAJA would also make it difficult to reverse these kinds of projects once they have won approval by federal agencies.

The fate of public lands may have played a factor in last week’s midterm elections; according to an analysis from the Center for Western Priorities, “85 percent of voters across Mountain West states see issues involving public lands, waters, and wildlife as a motivating factor in supporting an elected official.”

Earthjustice, the nation’s premier nonprofit environmental law organization, is in court now with dozens of lawsuits seeking to prevent federal lands from being destroyed by mining, logging, or drilling.