Public lands belong to all Americans. Trump shouldn’t decide which to sell | Editorial

America’s public lands received a temporary reprieve when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that Republicans may not sell off millions of acres as part of their budget reconciliation bill. That’s not the end of it, though. Public lands remain at risk.

The original proposal would have made up to 250 million acres in 11 western states, including Washington and Oregon, eligible for sale. National monuments, wilderness areas and some other special lands were exempt, but most U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management holdings were on the block.

In fairness, some opponents have overstated the immediate threat. Only 2-3 million acres would have been sold over five years. That’s a modest 1% of all that land.

Supporters of the sales said they wanted to target holdings close to urban areas for housing development. Washington and many other Western states are experiencing a housing crunch. Increasing the supply of land could ease inflationary pressure, especially if devoted to desperately-needed affordable housing. Converting the lands to private ownership also would add them to local property tax rolls, bolstering local government finances.

Near the Tri-Cities, acreage on the south slopes of the Horse Heaven Hills and around Juniper Dunes would have been at risk, albeit likely a low risk given that they are remote and not particularly suitable for development.

The real problem with the proposal is its lack of sufficient guardrails. It would trust a wholly untrustworthy administration to oversee the sales.

President Donald Trump’s disdain for public lands is well documented. He has sought to undo national monuments and to slash funding for national parks. Most recently, the White House moved to rescind rules that prevent road building and logging on about 58 million acres of federal forest and wildlands.

Given that record, it’s easy to imagine Trump forgoing modest sales for affordable housing in favor of auctioning prime lands for millionaire ranches and resource exploitation.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, originated the sales plan and says he will try to get it through in a reduced form. Republicans need it to remain in the budget reconciliation bill – also known as the One Big, Beautiful Bill – because they can pass that with 50 votes in the Senate (plus a tie-breaker by Vice President J.D. Vance).

If they must pass as a standalone bill, it would be subject to filibuster and require 60 votes. That’s nigh-impossible when Democrats broadly oppose the sales.

“We will be here to the last minute, making sure that they do not succeed in putting this into a bill, and if they do, we will be there with an amendment fighting it tooth and nail on the floor,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told the Washington State Standard.

While Cantwell and her fellow Western Democrats should fight the land grab as currently proposed, they also remain open to more carefully crafted alternatives that don’t trust the Trump administration to do right by ordinary Americans.

The federal government owns stray parcels that might be worth selling off. For example, the BLM has more than a dozen small plots in Benton County east of Bombing Range Road. It owns another 40 acres south of Finley surrounded by agricultural land.

Perhaps those have potential for development or other local use. That’s something the BLM could discuss with the community and the state, then take to Congress if everyone is in agreement. Similar conversations could take place across the West.

There’s nothing wrong with thoughtfully selling targeted parcels near communities after public scrutiny and with congressional oversight.

Public lands belong to all Americans and are held in trust for future generations. They generate revenue directly through things such as grazing leases and sustainable timber harvests. They also generate indirect revenue from recreational value and the spending that comes with it.

They are critical habitat for endangered species and places to which people can escape from the rush of daily life. They deserve better than a fire sale intended to raise money to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

This story was originally published June 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.