A controversial effort to sell off millions of acres of public land has been halted, at least temporarily.
On Monday, the U.S. Senate Parliamentarian struck down Utah Senator Mike Lee’s proposal to sell public lands as part of the sweeping “Big Beautiful Bill,” a Trump-era legislative package currently moving through budget reconciliation. The decision effectively removes the public land sale provision from the bill unless 60 senators vote to overturn the ruling, an unlikely scenario given bipartisan opposition.
Lee’s plan would have made up to 3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service land available for sale. Though framed as a solution to housing shortages, the measure drew heavy criticism from across the political spectrum, including conservationists, hunters, developers, and some fellow Republicans.
Here in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, areas like the Cache Creek drainage, parts of the Gros Ventre, and Wyoming Range could have been put on the auction block.
Despite the ruling, Lee isn’t backing down. On social media, he wrote: “We’re just getting started,” and has floated a narrower version of the bill that would exclude Forest Service land and limit sales to BLM tracts within 5 miles of existing population centers.
Whether that revised proposal will pass muster with the parliamentarian or the Senate at large remains to be seen.
As the Big Beautiful Bill advances, Wyoming’s senators remain in support, but local stakeholders in Jackson Hole and across the region are watching closely. For now, the message is clear:
Public lands are not for sale, at least not without a serious fight.
📌 What Was At Stake?
- Up to 3 million acres of public land, including parts of Jackson Hole, Cache Creek, and the Gros Ventre
- Proposal framed as a housing fix, but critics labeled it a “public land grab”
- Blocked due to lack of budget relevance in reconciliation process
📌 What’s Next?
- Lee may resubmit a revised bill
- The Big Beautiful Bill still advancing under budget reconciliation
- Land sale provisions currently off the table unless overridden by 60 votes
AntlersArch founder and the voice behind Teton Tattle.
