IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A bill contains a controversial proposal that could result in millions of acres of public land being sold to private buyers. That includes public land currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service in Idaho and Wyoming.
The bill is spearheaded by United States senator Mike Lee. The legislator from Utah has amended the language in the bill to mandate the sale of millions of acres of public land to, according to multiple wilderness alliances, pay for tax-cuts for the ultra-wealthy.
The bill is not without it’s opposition. John Robinson, the Public Lands and Wildlife Director of the Idaho Conservation League says “keep public land in public hands.”
“This is part of a massive budget reconciliation bill… There are 2 million acres in Idaho that could be permanently sold off,” says Robison. “We don’t know which of these acres could be selected, but this sets a horrible precedent that would lead to permanent losses of access and of our heritage.”
Robison believes that there will be “NO TRESPASSING” signs and locked gates on trailheads if the bill passes.
According to The Wilderness Society, 250 million acres of land in total will be able to be purchased. They say the land that is up for grabs includes “recreation areas, wilderness study areas, inventoried roadless areas, critical wildlife habitat and big game migration corridors.”
Here’s a link to an interactive map, showing in detail the parcels of public land that go up for sale if the bill passes in it’s current form. It shows 1,200 acres of Forest Service land to the south of Pocatello, a 90,000 acre parcel of BLM property to the north of Blackfoot and to the west of Idaho Falls, and a 21,000 chunk of BLM land to the north of Ashton, all of which could be privatized.
