It surprises most people outside the American West to learn that fully one-third of the nation’s land mass is owned by the federal government.
Setting aside the lengthy and complex constitutional, statutory, and historical process that got us to this point and whether, on a grand scale, we should change that ownership pattern, one question worthy of concern given current events is whether, on a case-by-case basis, we should dispose of or sell any of that federal land? Specifically at issue are the 245 million acres of land — 10% of the nation’s land — overseen by the Bureau of Land Management from within the Department of the Interior.
serve important public objectives, including but not limited to, expansion of communities and economic development Surprisingly, in late February, Rep. Ryan Zinke , secretary of the interior under former President Donald Trump, introduced bipartisan legislation to restrict the federal government’s authority to dispose of its lands, “
Days after Zinke’s announcement, Gov. Joe Lombardo struck the opposite tone with a letter to President Joe Biden demanding the Biden administration “release” federal land to permit more housing development in a state where 85% of the land is owned by the federal government . Over two and a half decades, SNPLMA generated over $4 billion in revenue for conservation and public service projects and permitted privately owned land to sustain homes, schools, and businesses. Nonetheless, logjams remain.