38 Comments
User's avatar
Patricia Federle's avatar

Safe for a moment….NEVER let down your guard

Expand full comment
Cyndi Sidles's avatar

Especially not with this guy. Thank you Wes for keeping us informed.

Mike Lee won’t quit, he’s always been about Utah federal lands, he’ll keep pecking, we’ll keep defending. It’s our land, and we aren’t selling!

Expand full comment
Barbie Burke's avatar

I totally agree with you on this point. This whole administration is so evil that unfortunately, anything is possible.

Expand full comment
James steere's avatar

Wes ! Thank you so much for being all over this important topic. One for the good guys ! Even the evil M Lee could not ignore the powerful voice of the People. Even the Evil M Lee could not overcome his conscience to keep promoting this despicable plan to dramatically alter the landscape for the worse, perpetrated by the despicable D Trump. Our voices will be heard if we stay on it ! One day our revolt will reach to the top and even the stain on America of D Trump can be banished forever !!!

Expand full comment
MT's avatar

I fought so hard to get this public land sale stopped and I feel vindicated, for the moment, that all of my hard work has brought us some safety for a while. I don't know how many phone calls I made and how many letters I wrote but I spoke to every Senator in every state that was affected by this land sale many times! Republicans and Democrats alike! No one wanted it except Senator Mike Lee, and he wanted it not for what he said it was for, which he was trying to pass it off as housing when it wasn't. It was being sold to corporations for the highest dollar so that they could drill or mine or in general destroy all that natural beauty all for money! I just don't understand why people think that some things aren't worth selling off! Senator Mike Lee loves Trump and will do anything for Trump and Trump wanted these lands sold. I know that somehow or other his pockets were going to get lined with money from the sales so I don't fully trust that the public lands are safe, but they are safe for now and I am extremely grateful for that!!!

Expand full comment
Lance Holst's avatar

Nice to see this crazy proposal go down in flames. Thanks for staying on this Wes.

I hope this is a permanent stain on Mike Lee’s self-righteous, Constitution-thumping legacy.

I still can’t believe anyone would propose selling off public lands.

Expand full comment
MT's avatar

You don't know Mike Lee!

Expand full comment
Jill Kershaw's avatar

Yay for this!

According to Wikipedia, Sen Lee is an Eagle Scout - and a scout is “Conservation Minded.”

He should have never proposed selling public lands. Shame on Sen Lee.

Expand full comment
MT's avatar

I wouldn't believe everything in Wikipedia about Senator Mike Lee. He is a MAGA Republican from Utah, and I have tried to get him removed from the Senate before. But he's attached to Trump and Trump used that. While Mike has been trying for years to get BLM land sold in Utah, he has failed. Moving up to selling over 250 million acres in all the western United States was a reach too far for the Senate Parliamentarian, thank God for her! So he cut the number of acres and tried to pass it off as land for housing, which isn't honest at all. The land was for corporations to buy, to drill, mine, and in general destroy. I called and wrote every Senator in every state affected, both Democrat and Republican. I don't know how many hours I spent writing and calling them and getting them to understand what was at stake. The National Parks and the Wilderness Society was on our side. And I'm relieved the sale has been pulled. But this isn't over. Mike Lee hates these lands in Utah and Trump wants land sold. Who knows what the real story is, but the lands are safe for now, and I am very grateful to all the Senators who were on the side of public lands staying public.

Expand full comment
Jill Kershaw's avatar

Thank you, MT, you are right about Wikipedia. I wanted verification; here’s an old, official source from the BSA that says Mike Lee is an Eagle Scout.

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/06/20/impressively-high-number-u-s-senators-eagle-scouts/

Mike Lee and all the other lawmakers that are Eagles took an oath to uphold the Scout Law and Scout Oath. Lee has failed to keep his oath.

MT, thank you for fighting the good fight. I am grateful for all the phone calls made and emails sent to keep public lands in public hands. Our collective battle continues.

Expand full comment
MT's avatar

I can't give up because Mike Lee is not going to give up. He will keep trying to sell those public lands even if they are only Utah public lands and I cannot let him do it! He's a despicable human being in my opinion and the fact that he and Trump are pals and Lee would do anything for Trump only makes it worse! Eagle eyes will always be on Senator Mike Lee until I can get him removed from office. No, he doesn't hold to any Oath, including his Oath of Office to protect the Constitution!

Expand full comment
Bonita Showalter's avatar

Thanks MT for all the hours you spent for this ..

Expand full comment
Eileen G's avatar

A liar wrapped in conservative clothing Mike Lee says he’s a conservative and yet these conservatives want their sticky little hands on anything they can grab from the public trust owned by all current and future generations of Americans. These public lands are not just for a privileged few to be sold and exploited to make money off of.

Expand full comment
Sage Phoenix's avatar

Go team Wes! A victory for our forests and your/our dedicated efforts ! This IS a huge win in exposing the big ugly and finding the monsters DO have cracks. Lets rally on..but not right now its time to celebrate out in Nature! Thank you again Wes for the HUGE anount of heart soul time energy and effort you pour into researching writing and podcasting - 🙂🙏👍

Expand full comment
Donna Bolls's avatar

Great news! As a volunteer with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation I treasure all our public lands. Thank you for all you do for conservation.

Expand full comment
Bill's avatar

Fantastic news. Credit to you and the other journalists who would not let this story be spun beyond what it was, a sell off to wealthy donors that made no appreciable impact on the debt or deficit.

Expand full comment
Deb's avatar

Thank you for your hard work keeping us informed and aware. Doing a little victory dance!

Expand full comment
Joe English's avatar

I am an Eagle Scout. Alot of them brutalized others in Scouting. Others who were more evil brought Scouting to its knees. The $30 billion??? settlement or something has led to sell off some pristine former Boy Scout camps.

BSA has mended its ways and I am glad I didn't send my Eagle award to hq in Texas. But I know many that did (justifiably). It's great being an Eagle Scout, but if you are going to hold Mike Lee accountable as an Eagle, it just doesn't seem like the right narrative.

Expand full comment
MT's avatar

I agree with you Joe. It isn't the right narrative. There's much more to it than that.

Expand full comment
Joe English's avatar

Thanks MT. You're most kind.

Expand full comment
MN-Julie's avatar

Thank you. You did a great job of staying on top of this moving target. I have to say that in his letter, Lee brings up the fact that foreign countries are purchasing American land (farms, ranches etc)--we might be interested in that topic too.

Expand full comment
Nancy Vernon's avatar

Who is trying to work on the issues related to corporate farms and ranches? It's share-cropping for the modern era.

Expand full comment
Patricia Federle's avatar

Well, the section of the billionaire bailout bill for the sale of oil and gas leases under public land takes care of some of what Lee wanted to do 🤬🤬🤬 The states listed were all the states that were included in the proposed sale of land.

Expand full comment
Sue Hansen's avatar

Yippee!!

Expand full comment
Maureen Carlson's avatar

Yes, we should be happy for this, but I note that he doesn’t preclude sale to corporate interests, and I can only imagine what American “families” might have an interest in buying…somehow I doubt it would be for affordable housing. A casino perhaps?

Expand full comment
Eileen G's avatar

The only “families” are the families of corporations that would pillage the resources for short-term gain, leaving destruction behind such as clearcut logging and destructive mining.

Expand full comment
Shelly Miller's avatar

I sent Lee Miller 2 emails. One was about the sale of public lands. The other was about his despicable response to the death of the Minnesota representative and her husband. I noted that I was not from Utah, however, I would remember his actions, if he ever ran for a national position.

Expand full comment
MT's avatar

Thank you for doing that Shelly. It helps me to have him know that others feel the same way that I do. I have told him that but I don't think he believes me so you're writing to him and saying so supports what I have told him and I thank you so much!

Expand full comment
Pat Federle's avatar

Oil and gas leases UNDER these lands is in the bill!!! Call your Senators today (Sunday) and leave a message to vote NO!! Or email them today!

Expand full comment
EDH's avatar

👏👏

Expand full comment