A Simple Guide To The Great Public Land Heist

Types of public land, the threats they face, and what you can do about each

The purpose of the Republican Party is to steal from the poor and give to the rich. With that party in control of all branches of government, they’re enacting their most extreme attack on the commons ever by pursuing a multi-faceted attempt to sell-off, privatize, or simply destroy America’s public lands. Here, I make it as simple as possible to understand the breadth of that effort.

I’m going to break this out by types of public land, explaining what each is, its importance to the economy (which should give you an idea of why greedy people want to get their hands on these assets), and all the ways in which each type of land is currently under attack. I’m also including links to previous coverage and external learning material, as well as details of what you can do to fight to keep our nation’s natural heritage unimpaired.

Beyond the economic value, why do public lands matter? They’re the reservoir from which the entire country draws its clean air, clean water, and abundant biodiversity. And they’re the places where we recreate outdoors, which offers Americans a uniquely egalitarian opportunity to experience and benefit from nature.

National Parks

The National Park Service is responsible for managing 433 sites spanning 85 million acres. These include 63 “national parks,” and also historic sites, battlefields and more. Famous parks like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone represents the crown jewels of our public lands system. In 2024, 331.9 million people visited national park sites, a number which the Trump administration tried to suppress. NPS operates under the preservation model, protecting its natural assets at all costs.

Current Budget: $3.6 billion. $3 billion from taxpayers (0.04 percent of the federal budget), with the rest made up by entrances fees and a fraction of the revenue generated by offshore oil and gas drilling.

Economic Impact: $55.6 billion. Every dollar invested in NPS generates $18.53 for the economy.

Who’s Attacking Them How: The Trump Administration has targeted already-depleted NPS staffing levels with reductions-in-force, early retirements, and now an effort to encourage visitors to report rangers who stray from politically-approved messaging. Obama’s NPS Director warns that this is a deliberate effort to break the park service, in an effort to build public sentiment for sell-offs and privatized operations.

What You Can Do: Protest. With enough public pressure, Trump always chickens out. Should a trial privatization of operations take place, deny potential vendors legal, social, and regulatory certainty.

National Forests

A division of the USDA, the United States Forest Service operates 154 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands, altogether spanning 193 million acres. USFS operates under the principals of multiple use and sustained yield in order to apply the conservation model to the areas it manages, in which extraction is balanced with the environment and recreation in order to manage use of our nation’s natural resources so that they are able to continue unabated for the future generations.

Current Budget: $8.9 billion.

Economic Impact: $15 billion in visitor spending, $288 billion in forest products, 950,000+ jobs. Every dollar invested in the Forest Service generates at least $34 for the economy. Note that USFS does not generate a total economic impact number, so I’m just adding visitor spending and forest products, the actual total, and the value created for taxpayers, is likely much higher.

Who’s Attacking Them How: National Forests are being threatened in multiple ways.

• Senate Budget Reconciliation: Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Steve Daines (R-Montana) have written a budget amendment that would mandate the sale of about one million acres of national forest land, while authorizing the sale of 94.5 million more.

• Logging: An order by agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins opens up 112 million acres of national forest to logging and road construction, performed in such a manner as to increase risk and severity of wildfire.

• Habitat: Changes to the Endangered Species Act by the administration redefine “harm” to exclude impacts to habitat, facilitating logging and other extraction in sensitive areas.

• Wildfire: Trump just issued an executive order directing USDA (which manages the Forest Service) and DOI (which manages BLM and national parks) 90 days to combine all firefighting operations, in what appears to be an effort to enrich Montana Senator Tim Sheehy. Such a short timeline, coming at the beginning of fire season, with zero forward planning will throw firefighting efforts into chaos.

• Staffing: USFS has lost 3,400 staff to the Trump administration’s reductions in force so far this year. That includes people who support and assist firefighting.

• Consolidation: USDA plans to reduce its region count from 10 to as few as three. This would move management away from the forests, and further reduce staffing.

What You Can Do: On budget reconciliation, call your Senator and urge them to vote no when the amendment comes up for a floor vote. For the rest, work to put Democrats in charge of both Congress and local governments in the 2026 mid-terms. Vote out bad actors like Mike Lee, Steve Daines, Tim Sheehy, Ryan Zinke, et al.

Bureau of Land Management

An agency within DOI, the BLM manages 247.3 million acres, mostly in the west. Like USFS, it operates under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield in order to achieve conservation. Significant mineral, oil, and gas extraction operations take place on BLM land, in addition to recreation.

Current Budget: $1.3 billion

Economic Impact: $262 billion. Every dollar taxpayers invest in the BLM nets $201 for the economy, which is extraordinary.

Who’s Attacking Them How: The Bureau of Land Management is threatened on multiple fronts.

• Legal Actions: The lawsuit led by Utah and joined by some other GOP-led western states last year was rejected by SCOTUS, but is still being considered in lower courts. It challenges the outright constitutionality of federal land ownership.

• Senate Budget Reconciliation: The Lee-Daines amendment would mandate the sale of up to 1.8 million acres of BLM land and authorize the sale of over 164 million.

• Permitting: NEPA reviews are being ignored, extraction permitting is being prioritized over all else, and rates have been dropped.

• Staffing: BLM has lost about 800 staff to DOGE layoffs.

What You Can Do: Call your Senator about the land sell-off. Enact political change in the 2026 mid-terms. Deny companies taking advantage of illegally-expedited permitting legal, social, and regulatory certainty.

National Wildlife Refuges

568 wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management areas span 96 million acres of land and 760 million acres of marine environment, managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Populations of migratory birds, fish, and other wildlife are heavily reliant on wildlife refuges for their continued survival.

Current Budget: $1.9 billion

Economic Activity Generated: $394 billion. Every dollar invested in USFWS nets $207 for the economy.

Who’s Attacking Them How: DOGE firings have reduced staffing at USFWS by 20 percent so far this year. The budget reconciliation package mandates drilling in the country’s largest wildlife refuge (hastening the extinction of the polar bear), and Idaho is trying to sell-off wildlife refuges within its borders.

What You Can Do: It’s been lost in all the hubbub about land sales, but the budget reconciliation package is also a disaster for management of wildlife refuges. Call your representatives and tell them hands off.

National Recreation Areas

The United States Army Corps of Engineers operates more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states, providing water and land-based recreation opportunities and campgrounds. 90 percent of those are located near urban centers, making access to these places uniquely accessible to many Americans.

Current Budget: $293 million

Economic Impact: $14.5 billion in annual visitor spending alone.

Who’s Attacking Them How: DOGE budget and staffing cuts have forced USACE to rollout full and partial closers at dozens of sites nationwide. This has led to severe economic impacts in local communities reliant on visitor spending.

What You Can Do: Vote Democrats into power in the mid-terms, then call your representatives and senators to tell them to impeach and convict.

Bureau of Reclamation

BOR manages water resources, mostly as part of large dam projects out west. It’s our nation’s largest supplier of water, serving over 31 million customers and farmland that produces 60 percent of the country’s vegetable crops. BOR also partners with other agencies to manage hundreds of recreation areas including famous destinations like Like Powell.

Current Budget: $1.4 billion

Economic Impact: $72.9 billion and 618,000 jobs.

Who’s Attacking Them How: DOGE laid off 25 percent of BOR staff, threatening the safety of dam operations. Hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts may be enacted by Congress, reducing the ability for BOR to maintain its facilities or expand and modernize its infrastructure.

What You Can Do: Convince friends and neighbors that, no matter their political beliefs, eliminating our nation’s access to drinking water in order to give billionaires a tax cut is a bad idea.

National Monuments

Our 138 national monuments are managed primarily by the park service, as well as the other agencies mentioned above, using their existing budgets. Presidents create national monuments on land already managed by the federal government in order to protect areas of unique natural, historic, or scientific interest under imminent threat. The authorization to do that is provided by the Antiquities Act of 1906.

Who’s Attacking Them How: Last week, the Department of Justice issued an opinion claiming that Trump has the authority to eliminate any national monument he please by simple declaration. He’s expected to do just that for several major monuments in coming weeks. Separately, Chief Justice John Roberts indicated in 2021 that he’s looking for the right case to enable SCOTUS to eliminate or significantly curtail the Antiquities Act. Any action on monuments by Trump will likely lead that case, and could represent an existential threat to the outright existence of national monuments, and the ability for future presidents to create more.

What You Can Do: Talk to friends and neighbors, change their minds, and let’s never elect these villains again.

Art: NPS

Want to do something to fight attempts to steal public land, dismantle national parks, and destroy the environment? Want to go further outdoors while better enjoying the experience? Upgrading to a paid subscription helps independent journalism change minds, and buys personal access to Wes, who will use his experience and his extensive network of subject matter experts to guide your gear purchases, help plan your trips, and save you money. You can read more about what Wes is doing on Substack at this link.