The U.S. Senate narrowly defeated an amendment that would block the sale of public lands/NPS file, Kait Thomas

The U.S. Senate, by a slim three-vote margin, is fine with public lands being sold off to reduce the federal government, according to conservation groups.

During a late-night session Friday, the chamber saw 51 senators vote against an amendment to the U.S. House of Representatives' spending bill that would have blocked the sale of public lands to reduce the federal deficit. According to The Wilderness Society, "some Republican leaders have openly entertained selling off public lands to fund tax cuts for millionaires and corporations."

All but two Republicans —Senator Daines and Senator Sheehy, both of Montana — voted against the anti-sell-off amendment, which was proposed by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, and six other Senate Democrats.

“Public lands belong to all of us,” said Heinrich, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “Under the Republicans’ agenda, wealthy out-of-state landowners will be able to turn our most beloved and sacred public lands into their private resorts. Not on our watch. This is about protecting access to the places we know and love for our kids, grandkids, and generations to come.”  

“Westerners know our forests, national parks, and public lands are priceless,” said Hickenlooper. “Some Republicans want to sell them off to bankroll tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. Our public lands are not — and should not be — for sale.”

“Public lands belong to all Americans, not wealthy donors and corporate executives," said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society. "Selling off these places to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy should have been dead on arrival, and it’s shameful that the Senate has failed to stand up against that idea. We applaud the senators who voted to support public lands, and we call on them to convince their colleagues to reject any final budget bill that includes the sell-off of public lands.

"This vote is a wake-up call, and part of a concerning larger campaign being waged against public lands at every level of government, including mass firings of land managers and executive orders that demand more drilling and mining," she added. "It appears their ultimate goal is to destroy our conservation heritage, totally contrary to what Americans actually value. People want continued access to our public lands and expect them to be protected for wildlife and future generations, not sold off to the highest bidder.” 

In Utah, Trais Hammill of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the state's two senators, Mike Lee and John Curtis, are "way out of touch with everyday Utahns. Public lands are a core part of Utah’s identity, economy, and way of life.”

Talk of selling off public lands to afford President Donald Trump's budget plans began with Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee back in January. Under the rules package that committee adopted for the current Congress, legislation calling for disposal of lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, or National Park Service would not require any dollar value to be attached to the lands. Such moves "shall not be considered as providing new budget authority, decreasing revenues, increasing mandatory spending, or increasing outlays." 

According to The Wilderness Society, under this rule the "Congressional Budget Office, which provides lawmakers with data so they can make budget decisions, would effectively consider public lands to have no monetary value, making wholesale sell-off of lands much simpler."

Last fall the state of Utah asked the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to file a lawsuit directly to the court challenging the BLM's holding of millions of acres of land in the state. The high court declined to consider the request.

Near the end of March more than 300 elected officials from Colorado to California signed off on a letter urging Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and members of Congress to protect public lands from being sold off, sullied by energy development or mining, climate-change impacts, and efforts to water down the Antiquities Act.