On June 11, the Senate released the text of a major spending package that includes language forcing the sale of nearly 3 million acres of public lands over the next five years — all to help fund tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest individuals.

This bill, officially called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” is advancing through Congress via the reconciliation process. This process allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes. A few weeks ago, the House passed its version of the bill, which originally included a sell-off of 500,000 acres of public land. Thanks to widespread public outrage, House leadership removed that provision. Unfortunately, the Senate’s version is even more extreme.

It requries the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sell at least 0.5%—and up to 0.75%—of all National Forest and BLM lands across 11 Western states. It gives the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture broad discretion to decide which lands to sell, including areas nominated by “any interested party.” That means state and local governments could easily lose open bidding wars to wealthy commercial interests or foreign governments.

What’s more, the bill fails to grant sovereign Tribal Nations the right of first refusal to bid on lands—even for lands that are part of their traditional homelands or contain sacred sites.

While designated Wilderness areas, other federally protected lands, and those with valid existing rights (like active mining claims) are exempt, the vast majority of Forest Service and BLM lands up for grabs. There are no meaningful safeguards on what happens to these lands in the long run once they’re sold. You can review the bill text here (the lands section starts on page 30).  

Outdoor Alliance created a map showing all of the public land on the chopping block, and it is mind boggling. Chances are high that your go-to ski zones (not to mention your favorite summer trails) would be eligible for sale if this proposal advances.