Demands

#1

No (more) public land sell-offs

We’ve repeatedly told our elected officials – no fire sales of public lands.

Don’t transfer them to states so they can sell them to balance state budgets. We understand that there are legitimate tools for small appropriate sales and exchanges that benefit the public and help rural communities. Leaders should use them with proper intent.

Here are legitimate examples:

Land Exchanges to Close Checkerboard: FLPMA has been used to consolidate the "checkerboard" of alternating public and private ownership created by historic railroad grants, helping create better-managed public lands.
Sabinoso Wilderness Land Exchange: A 2017 FLPMA land exchange eliminated an ownership patchwork that had limited management and public access. (BHA statement)

#2

No giveaways

Stop giving our shared resources away to foreign companies and billionaires. Public lands should serve the public, not private profits.

Boundary Waters CRA overturned a 20 year mining withdrawal that protected the headwaters of the Boundary Waters. Who benefits? A Chilean mining conglomerate.
The shrinking of Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monuments opens these previously exempted federal lands to oil, gas, mining and logging leases.

#3

No backroom deals

Make decisions based upon public comment and input versus backroom deals with lobbyists and corporations.

The Roadless Rule was established in 2001 after extensive public input. Now, the USDA is on track to rescind the Roadless Rule (despite 99% of public comments in favor of retaining the rule), rolling back protections for millions of acres of our National Forests.
In Big Bend National Park, DHS waived dozens of environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, to allow for border barrier construction.
The 2024 BLM Public Lands Rule, which put conservation on equal footing with resource extraction, was rescinded despite 98% of comments in favor of retaining the rule.