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Gizmodo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Even MAGA Is Pissed Off About Tech Bros' Dream of Bulldozing Federal Lands to Create New Cities
In recent years, a cadre of tech billionaires have become obsessed with a deeply unconventional idea: the creation of new, privately owned cities. Dubbed the 'Freedom Cities' movement, backers say they'd like to create new special development zones in the U.S. that would allow such cities to be built. In these zones, private investors could write their own laws and set up their own governance structures. According to this project's backers, such communities would be corporately controlled and wouldn't involve a traditional bureaucracy. Of course, to do all this, developers will need a lot of land. The 'Freedom City' movement found its legislative champion in the form of Mike Lee, a deeply out-of-touch, politically unhinged Senator from Utah. In recent months, Lee introduced a provision to Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' that would have brought tech billionaires' dream one step closer to reality: Lee's bill text would have offered up 1.2 million acres of federal land to be sold off by the Bureau of Land Management and then developed for the purposes of 'affordable housing' and other private interests. Much of that land, some of which sits adjacent to some of the nation's most popular national parks, would have been sourced from 11 Western states. Perhaps aware of how unpopular his proposals were, Lee was attempting to cram through the policy without any sort of public comment. American Progress notes that Lee's bill required 'some consultation with local government, governors, and Tribes' but otherwise offered 'no opportunity for public input.' However, Lee's effort has officially floundered. Over the weekend, the Senator pulled his provision from the Trump megabill due to ongoing opposition within Congress—including from conservative lawmakers in Western states. Those lawmakers, including Republicans from Montana, Idaho, Washington, California, and Oregon, were planning to torpedo Trump's whole bill if Lee's provision remained inside of it. 'We cannot accept the sale of federal lands that Sen. Lee seeks,' the legislators wrote in a letter sent last week. Rather than be the reason that Trump's omnibus legislation floundered, Lee put his tail between his legs and withdrew the provision on Saturday. 'Over the past several weeks, I've spent a lot of time listening to members of the community, local leaders and stakeholders across the country,' Lee wrote on X on Saturday. 'While there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation — and in some cases, outright lies — about my bill, many people brought forward sincere concerns.' For the moment, millions of Americans can breath a collective sigh of relief. The National Parks Conservation Association has said that the bill, had it gone through, would have opened up federal lands directly adjacent to national parks for development—a policy that could have resulted in luxury housing or hotels being built right next to iconic vistas like Zion National Park. Almost nobody wanted this thing to happen. In addition to concerns from Lee's fellow lawmakers, a recent poll by Colorado College found that, of several thousand people surveyed who live in Western states, a vast majority of them support protections for public lands, and are more interested in conservation efforts than they are in development. Indeed, even Trump voters have come out to decry the proposal. 'Strong majorities of Western voters – including self-identified 'MAGA' voters – support policies that focus on the protection and conservation of public lands and oppose policies that would open public lands up to drilling, mining, or other development,' the pollsters found. Viral MAGA influencers—many of whom happen to live in rural communities—had been openly badmouthing Lee's plan to privatize public lands. Indeed, one Trump-voting hunter and gun rights YouTuber, Cameron Hanes, has been posting long, detailed videos slamming Lee's bill. 'It's all BS what he says,' Hanes says in one video, claiming that Lee has been spreading 'misinformation' about who is criticizing the bill. Hanes notes that it's 'actually both sides of the aisle—it's left and right' that hate the proposal. Hanes additionally urged his followers to 'please call [Congress] and make us impossible to ignore.' He added: 'The collective voice of the average American is our only hope.' It isn't hard to see why people like Hanes were so critical of Lee's proposal, as American Progress has noted that 'well-loved recreation spots, popular areas for hunting and fishing, prime wildlife habitat, and even sacred or historic sites' could have potentially been privatized under the bill. Despite aggressive disinterest from a majority of Americans, the lobby to create tech billionaires' network of libertarian dystopias is still in place, and efforts to deregulate and ultimately develop public lands are still ongoing. That's concerning, given this is clearly a government that doesn't care much for the environment. Indeed, the Trump administration recently opened up tens of millions of acres in national forests to potential logging. It just goes to show, you can't keep a bad idea down (as long as the idea belongs to a billionaire).
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doug Burgum comes out swinging
Stewart HuntingtonICT Interior Secretary Doug Burgum began his tenure this week with a string of orders he said would 'unlock America's full potential in energy dominance and economic development.' The former North Dakota governor signed six secretarial edicts Monday, Feb. 3, that closely align with President Donald Trump's vision for America and claim to establish the nation's leadership in extracting critical minerals and 'eliminate harmful, coercive climate policies' established during the Biden administration. SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. Burgum also promised a sweeping review of department policies including 'maximizing the development and production of the natural resources located on both federal and State lands within Alaska.' His order explicitly ended Biden administration guidelines on development of Alaskan lands. Burgum also ordered immediate enforcement of directives issued by Trump that end certain Biden era bans on offshore energy development. The secretary directed that Interior staff 'take all actions available to expedite the leasing … for oil and gas exploration and production' within the formerly protected ocean areas known as the Outer Continental Shelf. That order drew criticism from conservationists. 'I'm from an island. I think about ocean conservation all day,' said Angelo Villagomez, a senior fellow at American Progress, where he focuses on Indigenous-led conservation. 'There are only five Marine national monuments around the country and they account for 99 percent of the protected ocean in our country. I'm very concerned that Burgum's order … is going to open up some of this country's most important ocean areas to industry.' Burgum's directives also opened the door to redrawing the boundaries of national monuments created – under the Antiquities Act – by previous presidents to protect unique landscapes and cultural resources. Among the sites most at risk are Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, where state officials fought against their creation. Grand Staircase-Escalante holds large coal reserves, and the Bears Ears area has uranium. Trump reduced the size of the two monuments during his first term, calling them a "massive land grab." He also lifted fishing restrictions within a sprawling marine monument off the New England Coast. Biden later restored protections for all three sites. Whether Trump has the authority to change the boundaries of existing monuments is unclear and part of a pending legal case. Burgum directed Interior staff to draw up detailed plans to implement his orders within 15 days, kicking off his tenure at the Interior Department, which oversees more than 500 million acres of public lands, including more than 400 national parks and 560 national wildlife refuges. "We are committed to working collaboratively to unlock America's full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America's natural resources and innovation," Burgum said Monday in a statement. Underlying his actions is the Trump administration's contention that the U.S. is experiencing a "national energy emergency" at a time when domestic oil production is at record levels. Groups representing the oil industry praised Burgum's orders. "American energy leadership is back," said National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito. But the declaration of an energy emergency has drawn pushback from Democrats and environmentalists. "If they are going to say there's some energy emergency that overrides the Antiquities Act, they are going to get laughed out of court," said Aaron Weiss with the Center for Western Priorities. Litigation challenging Trump's previous monument reductions was still pending when Biden reversed them and has never been settled, Weiss said. The Associated Press contributed to this report Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
