BILLINGS — The battle over public lands is intensifying as President Donald Trump's proposed budget, referred to as the "One, Big Beautiful" bill, faces scrutiny from wilderness advocates.
Watch advocates make their case in the video below:
A significant concern is the reintroduction of language authorizing federal public land sales, which was initially removed from the budget just hours before the House Budget Committee approved the package. Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, has indicated plans to reintegrate such provisions into the bill, causing alarm among public land advocates, including former Bureau of Land Management Montana director Mike Penfold.
“Once that public land is gone. It is gone forever. We never have it back,” Penfold said on Wednesday. “These guys who want to take this public land away from us, take that heritage away from us, know that the rich people in this country are the ones who would benefit from it. It's not going to be the people who use it right now, it's going to be somebody else. So this is a mistake.”
During a Wednesday Senate and Natural Resources Committee hearing, senators questioned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about which states might be affected by the proposed sales. Burgum named Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, and Utah as states with considerable federal land.
While Montana Republican U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy support the budget bill, they have sidestepped questions about whether they would endorse the bill should it include provisions for public land sales.
MTN News requested interviews with both senators but was given prepared statements.
“There’s no question that public lands belong in public hands. That’s not just a slogan, it’s a way of life and one thing most Montanans agree on regardless of party. I will always fight to protect our right to hunt, fish, and recreate on our public lands,” Sheehy said.
Sheehy told a Scripps News reporter in Washington, D.C., that Montana's delegation is against any sell off of public lands.
"I think the whole Montana delegation is very clear that we don't want to see that. We don't want to see public lands sold off. However, you know, it sounds like there's some amendments potentially being proposed, so we haven't seen that yet, but we'll see what comes out of it," he said.
He then added, "I mean, as far as Montana goes, I mean, all of us are hard 'no'. We don't want any of that in Montana, 100%, full stop. No question."
A spokesperson for Daines has sent conflicting statements in the last week. On June 5, the senator's spokesperson said, “Sen. Steve Daines is in talks with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee to minimize or prevent public land sales in the Republicans' tax cut, energy and national security megabill.”
On June 11, that same spokesperson told MTN News, “Senator Daines is against the sale of public lands and is making his strong concerns clear to his colleagues.”
During the committee hearing, Daines did not mention the sale of federal public lands. Instead, he spoke about delisting grizzlies and Montana energy.
Burgum confirmed ongoing discussions regarding the potential sale of up to 2 million acres of public land, which he argues would create affordable housing.
Critics warn that such sales could set a dangerous precedent. Penfold cautioned that any movement toward privatizing public lands could lead to further encroachments.
“You know, it's going to be coming here. Once they get their foot in the door they will never stop," Penfold said. "It's the biggest public asset that exists and they can't wait to get their hands on it.”
