"U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah single-handedly appears to have produced what just might be the most unified, and broadly dispersed, opposition to anti-conservation legislation ever considered by Congress.
From organizations such as The Wilderness Society and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to the outdoor recreation industry and hundreds of state and local officials, Lee's proposal to sell millions of acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to help fund President Trump's tax cut package has fomented national and local outrage.
Among the locations that could be considered for sale if the legislation became law are national forests near Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite national parks; the North Fork of the Shoshone River just east of Yellowstone National Park that is a key migratory corridor for elk; the Mount Leidy Highlands northeast of Grand Teton National Park that is an area popular with snowmobilers and cross-country skiers; parts of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington state; Borah Peak in Idaho, the state's tallest mountain; and parts of Utah's San Rafael Swell, an area so scenic that in the 1930s state officials wanted it designated as a national park.
Lee, who chairs the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, crafted the measure not long after the House of Representatives dropped from its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill legislation an amendment sponsored by GOP Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celese Maloy of Utah that would have allowed for public lands sales in four Nevada counties and one in Utah — including lands near Zion National Park."
Kurt Repanshek reports for National Parks Traveler June 22, 2025.
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