Interior plan seeks to sell federal lands to local governments

The Trump administration has released a new five-year plan that aims to reduce the size of federal public lands. The Interior Department proposes selling or transferring property to states, tribes, and local governments. Officials say the move will allow the federal government to concentrate on lands they consider nationally significant. The plan covers the period from 2026 to 2030. It replaces a previous strategy last updated in 2022 under President Joe Biden.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s department oversees more than 750,000 square miles of land. This area is larger than Texas and California combined. The agency also manages vast underground mineral reserves. Most of these lands are located in Western states. In Nevada, for example, federal control covers nearly 80% of the state. The government currently regulates activities such as mining, drilling, grazing, and recreation on this land.

The new strategy calls for strategic land exchanges to support energy production. This aligns with the administration's pro-fossil fuel policies. The plan views public lands as assets to be used rather than set aside for preservation. Interior officials stated that a portion of any sale proceeds would return to the buyer for conservation elsewhere. However, they did not specify which lands could be sold or the scale of the potential transactions.

Lawmakers reacted quickly to the proposal. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from Montana, opposed the plan. Zinke served as Interior Secretary during Trump's first term. His office issued a statement saying he remains firmly opposed to selling or transferring public lands. He said he will vote against any related legislation before he leaves Congress at the end of the current term.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico, also pledged to fight the efforts. Heinrich is the ranking member of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. He said the lands belong to the American people, not private interests. He added that public lands belong in public hands. Uncertainty remains regarding whether Burgum can achieve these goals without congressional cooperation.

Previous attempts to sell federal land have faced opposition. Last year, Western lawmakers proposed selling vast tracts of land in Utah and Nevada. The goal was to generate revenue and ease growth pressures in booming cities. Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, suggested selling more than 2 million acres to states or other entities. Those efforts failed due to bipartisan opposition.

The Interior Department includes several key agencies. These include the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The department regulates many activities that state and local officials want to control. Future administrations will not be bound by this specific plan, but it sets the current priority for actions through 2030.