The Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness west of Safford.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that a plan to sell millions of acres of federal lands has been struck from the Senate’s big spending package, though Utah Sen. Mike Lee said he would keep trying.
Environmental groups Monday urged the Western Governors’ Association to publicly oppose the sale of public lands.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and other groups sent a letter to the organization, which includes governors from Western states and territories who are stakeholders in decisions around federal public lands, urging its members to safeguard federally managed lands across 11 western states that would be eligible for auction under a provision in the proposed Senate budget reconciliation bill.
The provision, introduced by Sen. Lee, mandated the sale of 3 million acres of public lands over the course of five years and about 250 million, managed between the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, were eligible to be privatized.
Montana is the only Western state exempt from the provision, which would allow governors to nominate specific parcels for auction to the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture.
Environmental groups argued that this would have bypassed public processes like environmental review, tribal consultation and public input.
Senator Lee took to X, formerly known as twitter, on Monday night and said he would revamp the bill, removing Forest Service land, significantly reducing the amount of Bureau of Land Management land for sale and protecting the interests of farmers, ranchers recreational users.
He also said that he would, "Establish FREEDOM ZONES to ensure these lands benefit AMERICAN FAMILIES."
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