Latest news with #federallands
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Long-thwarted efforts to sell public lands see new life under Trump
Cattle gather around a watering hole on federal land near Monticello, Utah. Utah is among several Western states seeking to reduce federal land ownership. (Photo by Utah News Dispatch) Public outcry was swift and forceful after a U.S. House committee last month hastily approved an amendment directing the federal government to sell off more than half a million acres of public land. A few days later, lawmakers advanced the larger bill — a sweeping list of President Donald Trump's priorities — but stripped the federal lands provision. Yet leaders on both sides of the issue say the battle over selling off federal lands is likely just heating up. Some conservatives in Western states have complained for decades that the feds control too much of the land within their borders. They see a long-awaited opportunity in a Trump administration that's sympathetic to their cause. Public lands advocates are bracing for more attempts to turn land over to states, industry groups and developers. 'The threat level is red alert,' said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental nonprofit. 'Some of these states have been champing at the bit for decades to privatize. They're certainly not going to let this opportunity pass without an aggressive effort.' In Western states, where most federally owned lands are located, some leaders view these lands as a treasured inheritance — places reserved for all Americans and critical for wildlife, tourism and outdoor recreation. Others feel that too much of the land in their states is controlled by officials in Washington, D.C., leaving it off-limits for development and curtailing its economic value. Some of these states have been champing at the bit for decades to privatize. They're certainly not going to let this opportunity pass without an aggressive effort. – Randi Spivak, public lands policy director with the Center for Biological Diversity Trump officials and allies have embraced the latter view. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has repeatedly called federal lands America's 'balance sheet,' describing them as untapped assets worth trillions of dollars. He has launched an effort to identify federal lands suitable for housing development. Other proposals have centered around using land sales to pay for tax breaks or to finance Trump's proposed government-run fund that could invest in stocks or real estate. For some state leaders, the newfound interest at the federal level to turn public lands into cash — along with Trump's cuts to land management agency staff — aligns with a long-standing movement to reduce federal ownership. 'I look at it as an opportunity to say, 'Hey, turn it over to the state,'' said Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, a Republican. Utah leaders have made the most forceful push to challenge federal land ownership. The state filed a legal challenge last year seeking to take control of more than 18 million acres of 'unappropriated' lands — parcels held by the federal government without a specific designation such as a national park or monument. That effort hit a roadblock earlier this year when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. But with Trump in the White House, state leaders may pivot from challenging the feds in court to seeking their cooperation. 'We would love if the federal government just turned it over to us and said, 'Here, manage these lands,'' Schultz said. 'That's an option as well. Those are discussions that are happening. Everything is on the table.' Schultz declined to say which federal officials have been involved in discussions about transferring lands to the state. Some lawmakers in Wyoming backed a state resolution this year — which ultimately failed — calling on Congress to hand over all federal lands except for Yellowstone National Park. Idaho lawmakers passed a measure calling on the feds to turn over a wildlife refuge to the state. And Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, has called for a 'systematic release' of federal land in the state. But public lands also have many supporters in Western states, including some prominent Republican members of Congress, such as Reps. Mike Simpson of Idaho and Ryan Zinke of Montana. Zinke was Interior secretary for two years during the first Trump administration. John Leshy, who served as solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Clinton administration, said proposals to dispose of federal lands tend to be stymied by fierce public backlash. 'Federal lands are really popular,' he said. 'It's political poison [to sell off public land]. It's a different West now. Public attitudes have changed.' Leshy also noted that livestock ranchers especially benefit from discounted lease rates offered by the federal government. The most recent clash over the future of federal lands was the amendment sponsored by a pair of congressional Republicans last month. The measure would have directed the Bureau of Land Management to sell more than 500,000 acres of land in Nevada and Utah. Local governments would have been able to buy the land at market value, with no restrictions on how they used it. Backers said the sale would bring in revenue to cover Trump's proposed tax cuts, while allowing local governments to build much-needed housing on the parcels. Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee said he will try to revive the measure as the Senate considers the bill this month, E&E News reported. Trump wants to log more trees. He'll need states' help. In Nevada, where 85% of land is owned by the federal government, some leaders say their communities are hemmed in by a checkerboard of public lands that constrain development. The city of Fernley, which is growing rapidly, would have acquired 12,000 acres under the proposal. 'We need housing,' said Benjamin Marchant, Fernley's city manager. 'The city can't plan roads and water lines, sewer lines and gas lines, when you have federal land between two parcels that want to develop. This will bring a practical and helpful consolidation of all these lands into one developable area.' Nevada leaders have long worked on proposals to transfer some federal lands to local governments and allow for increased growth. But some lawmakers say the latest push bypassed that collaborative process — and failed to include safeguards that the money raised from the sale of the lands would be reinvested into conserving public lands elsewhere. 'It was a complete betrayal of everything we've worked on in this state,' said Assemblymember Howard Watts, a Democrat. 'This amendment is trying to sell off half a million acres of Nevada's public lands in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. This is not going to address our housing problem. These lands are positioned to be sold off for other forms of development and extraction.' Similar debates are happening in Utah. In southwestern Utah's Washington County, local officials say the disposal of federally controlled land could help alleviate the region's housing crisis and increasingly strained infrastructure. The county is experiencing rapid population growth — in 2022, St. George, the county seat, was the fastest-growing metro area in America. County and city leaders hoped the amendment would have helped them manage the growth. The measure would have disposed of roughly 11,500 acres of federally controlled land in Utah, selling it at market value to local governments. The proposal received pushback from all sides, including environmentalists, hunting and fishing groups, House Democrats and even conservatives. '[The amendment] is consistent with how U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Burgum thinks about federal public lands, as simply assets on a ledger to be sold off,' said Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, an environmental nonprofit. ' … It's just antithetical to how Westerners think about the federal public lands that make up so much of our landscape.' Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow, a Republican, said a lot of the opposition was misguided. The county would have acquired almost half of the land earmarked for disposal, and Snow said much of that would have been used to widen existing roads and construct new ones that are bordered by Bureau of Land Management property. 'These were not pristine wilderness lands. Some of the environmental groups tried to make it sound like we're selling off Zion National Park, and that's not even close to true,' Snow said. 'If we can just not have to deal with the federal government every time we want to chip seal a road or improve an intersection, that would be really nice. Because we have to ask 'Mother, may I?' for everything out here.' Local leaders say federal parcels could help ease housing pressures as well. Snow said transferring parcels to the city or county is one of the only ways to stop the area from becoming wildly expensive. 'We're running out of room real quick,' he said. ' … There is still private land to develop, but they're going to charge an absolute premium.' The amendment that was stripped from the House bill was widely criticized for not having any restrictions on what could be done with the land. 'There was no language whatsoever that would require Washington County or St. George to do anything with these lands. They could lease them for development. They could sell them outright,' said Bloch. In Utah, lawmakers have created a state Department of Land Management — essentially a placeholder agency that would be funded and staffed only if their effort to assume control of large swaths of federal land succeeds. Schultz, the House speaker, said the state is committed to keeping the lands in the public domain, reopening roads and campgrounds closed by the feds. Western states' budgets, industries rely on federal lands. So does wildlife. 'We'd just take over the job from the federal government,' he said. 'It is something that the state absolutely would do, and we'd do it more efficiently, more effectively and we'd have better outcomes.' Schultz said the state could bring in the revenues needed to manage the land by raising lease prices for oil and gas operations on parcels currently managed for drilling. But some public lands advocates say that's not realistic. The federal Bureau of Land Management employed more than 950 people in the state as of 2024, and feds also assume the expensive task of wildfire management on their lands. 'If you look at the history of what Utah has done with their lands, they've sold more than half of them,' said Devin O'Dea, Western policy and conservation manager with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. 'We're certainly of the perspective that states could not handle the economic costs of managing these lands. Their hand would be forced; they would have to sell these lands in order to deal with those costs.' John Robison, Idaho Conservation League public lands and wildlife director, said Simpson — the Idaho congressman — and the state's two senators have all won praise from constituents for their work on public lands compromises. 'Savvy Idaho politicians know that public lands are popular,' he said. But other state leaders insist their governments are better equipped to manage the lands. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican, was among the officials who signed an amicus brief in support of Utah's lawsuit against the feds. 'We live here, we work here, and we are far better stewards of our forests and resources than federal bureaucrats in Washington,' Labrador said in a statement. ' … If Idaho owned this land, we could lease it for timber, grazing, and mining — just like the federal government does — but reinvest that revenue right here in Idaho.' Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@ , Idaho Capital Sun reporter Clark Corbin can be reached at ccorbin@ and Utah News Dispatch reporter Kyle Dunphey can be reached at kdunphey@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump on Mt. Rushmore? Former CIA Advisor Says It's Not As Far-Fetched As It Sounds
Historic $150 trillion mineral endowment may become the cornerstone of Trump's economic legacy WASHINGTON, May 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Could Donald Trump's face one day be carved into Mt. Rushmore? According to a former White House advisor, it's not as far-fetched as it may sound. 'Donald Trump could become a national hero… one of the most powerful Presidents in memory,' says Jim Rickards, a former CIA and U.S. Treasury advisor. 'I won't be surprised if his face gets chiseled into Mt. Rushmore.' Rickards isn't referring to campaign slogans or foreign policy—but to a $150 trillion 'national inheritance' that has remained hidden for generations beneath federal lands. Thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, he says, that wealth is finally being unlocked. 'It's enough to make every single family in America millionaires,' Rickards explains. 'Enough to pay off the national debt, four times over. This 'trust fund' is not a pile of money to be equally distributed… It's not part of a government program or handout,' Rickards explains. A Legacy Hidden in the Land According to Rickards, the opportunity stems from a provision embedded in Title 30 of the U.S. Code, which he says formed the legal basis for a mineral-rich 'national trust fund' over 160 years ago. 'Despite giving away 10% of all land in the United States… the government retained the most valuable part. For 163 years, it's held on to it.' 'This isn't cash or bonds or gold—it's physical resources buried beneath our feet.' For decades, that wealth was inaccessible—choked off by federal regulations enforced through a legal doctrine known as Chevron. The Supreme Court's Quiet Reversal Changes Everything Rickards says the 2024 repeal of the Chevron Doctrine by the Trump-appointed Supreme Court has now shifted the balance—limiting federal agency power and reopening access to the country's mineral wealth. 'They gave agencies like the EPA 'kill shot' power,' Rickards says. 'We have massive mineral wealth here… but the government got in the way.' 'Now… for the first time in half a century—we can go get them.' With the red tape cleared, Rickards says Trump is laying the foundation for a generational economic shift—one rooted in domestic resource development rather than foreign dependence. About Jim Rickards Jim Rickards is an economist, attorney, and former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. Over the course of his career, he helped co-create the Petrodollar Accord, played a key role in the Iran Hostage Crisis resolution, and has advised senior government officials on financial crises and national security matters. Today, Rickards serves as the publisher of Strategic Intelligence, a monthly briefing on critical political and economic developments shaping America's future. Media Contact:Derek WarrenPublic Relations ManagerParadigm Press GroupEmail: dwarren@
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Republicans remove language in Trump budget bill to sell public lands in Utah
WASHINGTON — Republicans stripped language to sell off about 11,000 acres of public lands in Utah to help pay for President Donald Trump's massive tax package in a last-minute alteration to the budget framework released on Wednesday night. The change was revealed in Republicans' manager's amendment, a procedural tool to make key changes to provisions in the bill before it reaches the floor. The amendment was negotiated among rank-and-file Republicans, House GOP leaders, and Trump himself over the last few weeks in order to get all corners of the party on board to advance the president's agenda. In the manager's amendment that was published just after 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Republican leaders removed language from the budget resolution to greenlight public land sales in Utah and Nevada totaling more than 211,000 acres across the two states. The original amendment was led by Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, who drafted the provision upon request from officials in Washington and Beaver counties, who would've facilitated the sale. 'Washington County and Beaver County are landlocked and growing quickly but cannot function because of endless red tape on federal lands,' Maloy told the Deseret News earlier this month. 'At their request, I introduced an amendment to convey, at fair market value, targeted land — land needed by local governments for infrastructure.' About 63% of Utah's land is owned by the federal government, the most of any state in the country aside from Nevada. The lands that would have been sold make up 'only a third of one percent of federal lands in the state,' according to Maloy. Maloy told the Deseret News she was informed the language would be stripped from the final bill before it was released. The proposal was met with pushback from some Republicans who have historically opposed public land sales, such as Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., the co-chairman of the newly created Public Lands Caucus. 'There's a lot of frustration down in the West. I understand that,' Zinke said in response to the amendment earlier this month. 'But I prefer the management scheme. And I give an example as a hotel — if you don't like the management of a hotel, don't sell the hotel. Change the management. That's where I sit on that position.'
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Sustainable Switch: Trump targets wind and solar cuts
This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change, diversity, and human rights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here. Hello! The Trump administration and its climate change law rollbacks are back as the focus of today's newsletter. This time, the Trump team took steps to rescind a Biden-era regulation that lowered fees for renewable energy projects on federal lands, saying the rule unfairly favored development of wind and solar facilities. The rule, which was finalized in 2024, formalized a roughly 80% cut in project fees for wind and solar energy developments on federal lands. Developers had complained for years that they were too high to draw investment. The Interior Department said that the White House would review the planned rescission before it was formally proposed and opened to public comment. The move aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's goal to undo regulations introduced by his predecessor, Joe Biden, that were aimed at expanding clean energy and addressing climate change. Shortening approvals for oil and gas The renewables rollbacks come as the Trump administration announced a plan to shrink the time it takes to review potential land parcels on federal lands for oil and gas development by about half, to six months, the Interior Department said. 'This policy puts us on a fast track to Energy Dominance — opening up more federal land for responsible development, cutting review times nearly in half, and sending a clear message that the United States is serious about job creation, low energy costs, and putting American energy first," Adam Suess, the Interior Department's acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a statement. The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management said the parcel reviews, which consider whether oil and gas leasing is aligned with regional land use plans, will be conducted at the same time as congressionally mandated environmental reviews. The acceleration of energy permitting processes on federal lands has prompted concerns from environmental groups, who argue that the policies may prioritize corporate interests over public health and environmental protection. Pushing back Some industry groups are pushing back against the various environmental cutbacks by the Trump administration. Trade group Advanced Energy United, which represents a range of clean energy, transmission, technology and transportation companies including NRG, Sunrun, Enel and Microsoft, launched a national ad campaign targeting lawmakers in five states whose districts benefit from investments spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act. The House Ways and Means committee proposed the phase-out or cancellation of several lucrative subsidies from Biden's signature climate law, the IRA. On the block are several related to wind and solar power, hydrogen, and other technologies meant to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The ads, which specify how much a congressional district has received in IRA-generated private sector and manufacturing investments, will run until a final budget bill passes in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson wants the bill passed by May 26. AEU did not divulge total spending on the ads, but called it a "six-digit" campaign. ESG Lens Consumers have voted with their wallets – Target has faced financial setbacks since scrapping its diversity, equity and inclusion program that included a goal to increase the number of Black employees by 20% over three years. A Target spokesperson said the new approach "is all about driving business results by increasing relevance with U.S. consumers and making Target a destination for talent." Click here for an in-depth Reuters feature about DEI programs in U.S. corporations. Today's Sustainable Switch was edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.
Reuters
13-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US to speed up oil and gas land parcel reviews for federal leasing
May 13 (Reuters) - The Trump administration will shrink the time it takes to review potential land parcels on federal lands for oil and gas development by about half, to six months, the Interior Department said on Tuesday. The move to streamline the oil and gas leasing process aligns with President Donald Trump's energy dominance agenda, which aims to increase domestic fossil fuel supplies, reduce fuel prices, and bolster national security. 'This policy puts us on a fast track to Energy Dominance—opening up more federal land for responsible development, cutting review times nearly in half, and sending a clear message that the United States is serious about job creation, low energy costs, and putting American energy first," Adam Suess, the Interior Department's acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a statement. The policy change is the latest effort by Trump's administration to shorten approval times for energy projects on federal lands. The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management said the parcel reviews, which consider whether oil and gas leasing is aligned with regional land use plans, will be conducted at the same time as congressionally-mandated environmental reviews. The acceleration of energy permitting processes on federal lands has prompted concerns from environmental groups, who argue that the policies may prioritize corporate interests over public health and environmental protection.
