We won, the Budget Reconciliation bill won't include the sale of nearly 1.5 million acres of public land throughout Utah and Nevada, and it wouldn't have happened without the public's awesome pressure on our representatives. Public land advocates need to rightly enjoy this moment, as everyone came together as a collective, called their representatives, and told them that these lands need to be conserved and it worked.
They backed down. Honestly, I didn't think it'd happen, as the folks at the top who've been leading this charge, i.e. my own senator Mike Lee, seems to hate public lands more than he loves anything else. Which is odd given Utah derives so much revenue from those same public lands, but the world is full of idiotic contradictions.
But this fight isn't over, as that same Reconciliation Bill—by a single solitary vote—passed with a host of other provisions and amendments that will impact how we, the owners of our public land, will be able to utilize and recreate on them going forward. So, yes, we won the battle. But the war ain't over.
Speaking after the amendent was removed, our friends at Backcountry Hunters & Anglers' President and CEO Patrick Berry stated, "This is a landmark moment for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and every American who values our nation’s public lands legacy. When the BHA community shows up, speaks out, and takes action, we prove we can defy the odds and stop bad ideas before they become bad law."
BHA's Kaden McArthur, who RideApart's spoken to before, added, "We extend our deep appreciation to Representative Ryan Zinke and Representative Mike Simpson for publicly opposing language in the House budget reconciliation bill that would sell off and sell out our public lands legacy. As the Senate considers a budget reconciliation bill, hunters and anglers across the nation must continue the groundswell of opposition to public land sales so it is understood that this is a line in the sand that we will not allow to be crossed."
However, provisions within the Reconciliation Bill include things like allowing mineral extraction in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, something that "threatens the health of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness," as well oil and gas leasing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, basically defanging the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, and one of the more important things, "rescinding Bureau of Land Management funding allocated for conservation, ecosystem and habitat restoration projects."
All of this will likely now be fought over in the court systems by larger entities within the space. But as citizens of this country, not only can we support groups like BHA, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Act Now for Public Lands, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and countless others, we can put pressure on our elected representatives in the same manner as we did with the removal of public land sales. We can continue to call our representatives, here's the House's main switchboard: (202) 225-3121, or call (202) 224-3121 for the Senate, we can email our representatives here, and we can fax and show up to their offices both in your state or at the Capitol.
Again, remember to take the moment and celebrate everyone coming together on this. We can, as a community, fight this stuff. So long as we show up. So keep doing it. Keep showing up. And if you see my Senator, flip him off.
