After Intense Bipartisan Backlash, Public Lands Remain in Public Hands...for Now

Jul 3

On June 28, 2025, Utah Senator Mike Lee withdrew his American public land sell-off plan, which would have sold and privatized millions of acres of public land across 11 western states. This decision is a huge bipartisan win for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and shows the incredible uniting power of our public lands

Senator Lee’s plan posed an immediate threat to our public lands and set a dangerous precedent for the future sale of even more public lands. Once large pieces of our national lands are sold to the highest bidder and developed, the public will never again have access to these lands for outdoor recreation, ranching, hunting, clean water, fishing, and the family traditions treasured by millions of Americans. Not to mention the loss of habitat for healthy fish and wildlife populations we all treasure.

Thanks to thousands of GYC advocates and people across the country, we made it clear that our public lands are not, and never will be, for sale. People from every walk of life and political perspective stood up for public lands and made their voice heard. Because of you, we stopped this assault on our national public lands.

We thank Montana Senators Tim Sheehy and Steve Daines and Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch for listening to Montanans, Idahoans, and countless other Americans and presenting a unifying voice against Senator Lee’s sell-off provision. Representatives Ryan Zinke from Montana and Mike Simpson from Idaho also played crucial roles on the House side.

However, it’s clear the fight to keep public lands in public hands is not over. Senator Lee is already talking about introducing new proposals to sell public lands. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition will diligently monitor threats to public lands and call on Americans to take action against these short-sighted and misguided proposals.

Sign our petition to show your opposition to the sale of public lands and you’ll also receive important calls to action on any emerging sell-off provisions.

sign the petition

We cannot do this work without you—thank you for your support!