Public land in Oregon at risk, part of proposal for ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
KPTV
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – If passed, a budget reconciliation proposal, introduced by Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, would put 3.2 million acres of public land up for sale across 11 states, including Oregon.
Lee’s proposal would help offset tax cuts and other expenses in the Trump Administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The states included in Lee’s proposal include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
“Public lands belong to all of us,” said Quinn Read, Executive Director of the environmental advocacy group, Oregon Wild.
3.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service-managed land across those 11 states would go up for sale to the highest bidder if Lee’s proposal is passed. That could include publicly owned hiking trails and campgrounds in Oregon.
“We’re looking at the steady erosion of land and natural resources that benefit all of us and provide critical services to all of us from clean water, clean air, habitat for wildlife, recreational opportunities for families,” Read said. “There’s so much at stake here.”
While Lee’s proposal does list the states that would be impacted, it doesn’t list exactly where or how much land from each state would be for sale.
“…That’s what’s kind of problematic,” Read said. “We don’t know. [Oregon] could have 100,000 acres, or it could be 3.1 million acres. It could be anything in that range.”
According to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Lee’s proposal has a long list of goals, including:
“Repealing billions in unspent Green New Deal Handouts”
“Generating over $15 billion in federal revenue” through leading oil, gas, coal, and geothermal production
Unlocking federal land for affordable housing
Read said she’s aware that this proposal is framed as a housing initiative. However, she said that by building homes in Oregon forests, communities may be at risk of wildfires.
“We’re also talking about lands that are at high risk for wildfires,” she said. “If we put communities, if we build housing developments there, we’re putting people in the direct path of wildfire.”
Read also said when it comes to public lands, they should stay as they are: Public.
“These lands belong to all of you,” she said. “They belong to all of us, and it’s important for us to stand up to them if we want to keep public lands in public hands.”
FOX 12 reached out to Lee’s offices in Salt Lake City and Washington, DC, for a comment on this story. We have not yet received a response.