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At the last minute, an amendment forcing federal agencies to sell public lands got dropped from President Trump's tax and spending bill. Utah Senator Mike Lee is expected to reintroduce the controversial measure soon. He says the federal government owns too much land and at least some of it should be used to build housing. And that's teeing up a fight, as NPR's Kirk Siegler reports.
KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: In places like the Wood River Valley in Idaho, it's common to hear the phrase, public land drives the economy. Skiers, hikers, bikers and off-road vehicle riders are drawn here from around the world.
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SIEGLER: In the river-carved canyons beneath the canopy of cottonwood and evergreen fir trees, there are miles of trails on U.S. Forest Service land, like Lake Creek, where Angenie McCleary is standing.
ANGENIE MCCLEARY: A lot of people say, I came to Sun Valley for a winter and I stayed for the summer, and I'm still here. And it's because of the beautiful lands that we have.
SIEGLER: McCleary chairs the Blaine County Commission. Her county is also home to some of the priciest real estate in the West. And she's having a hard time believing those who say they want to sell federal land around here to build affordable housing.
MCCLEARY: I think it's much more likely that it would go into private hands for private development.
SIEGLER: McCleary says more workforce housing is badly needed in town and around the ski resort, not 10 or more miles outside it, like the lands that were identified for possible sale in Senator Mike Lee's amendment.
MCCLEARY: I think it's a cover from just wanting to attack our public lands. It's trying to feed into a real issue in America and a real issue in Blaine County, which is housing.
SIEGLER: Blaine County is an anomalous blue dot in red Idaho. This fight is a rare bipartisan issue right now. Both Republican senators in Idaho and next door in Montana were a no on Lee's amendment to sell off public lands. His office didn't respond to an interview request.
Hiking with her dog, Dylan Rhoades (ph) says she and her friends posted to social media and called their congressman daily.
DYLAN RHOADES: I am always outside. I think it is the most insane thing to even consider.
SIEGLER: Over the years, there have been federal land sales or land swaps or transfers to local governments for infrastructure projects. It's just that they've been really small and not part of a big, hyperpartisan bill, says Derek Monson with the Utah conservative think tank the Sutherland Institute. And he supports selling some land, but thinks maybe how they went about it was wrong.
DEREK MONSON: You put it in reconciliation, which is a kind of artificially accelerated process for the purpose of forcing votes, where it's been billed as the Trump administration agenda bill. Then I think people aren't wanting to give that side a win.
SIEGLER: Just last fall, the Biden administration sold small amounts of Bureau of Land Management land on the cheap at the edge of Las Vegas for badly needed, affordable housing. Monson points out there was no uproar. He thinks a standalone bill will be more palatable.
MONSON: It will allow us to maybe, hopefully - I guess this is my hope - have some more reasonable conversation about public lands that lie directly adjacent to cities or sometimes within city boundaries, and what the highest-value uses of those lands are.
SIEGLER: This is an ages-old controversy in the West, where the federal government often controls half or more of all the land in many states. Monson expects Lee will reintroduce his plan as actual legislation so it can be debated. Selling federal land and real estate is a stated goal of President Trump's. Here's Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaking to Western governors last month.
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BROOKE ROLLINS: Half of the land in the West is owned by the federal government. Is that really the right solution for the American people?
SIEGLER: It's widely seen as settled case law that the U.S. government, and not states or private industry, is the rightful owner of federal land here. And under the Constitution, only Congress has the authority to pass laws selling federal land. Which is why Blaine County, Idaho, Commissioner Angenie McCleary is so worried right now. Her county's economy depends on access to public lands. And she says the push to sell them follows the lead of President Trump's DOGE, which cut 30% of the jobs at the local Forest Service Ranger District already.
MCCLEARY: I think this is an attempt to erode all of federal lands. I think there's a desire to sell off much more for many purposes.
SIEGLER: Blaine County recently joined two dozen other local governments in Western states, from Utah to California, passing resolutions opposing any sales of federal land.
Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Boise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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