Plan to sell public land knocked out of the 'Big Beautiful Bill'

David Lightman, McClatchy Washington Bureau on Jun 29, 2025

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A last-ditch effort to allow sales of federal land – sales that could affect millions of California acres – was finally struck from the “Big, Beautiful Bill” this weekend.

The plan had drawn opposition from members of both parties, and the Senate parliamentarian last week had ruled a more ambitious plan didn’t belong in the budget bill.

But Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the chief supporter, tried again with a more modest approach.

This time, it was members of his own party who helped end the effort. Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Tim Sheehy, R-Montana were among those opposed.

“The entire Montana delegation has been united on this since Day One: public lands belong in public hands,” Sheehy said on X.

In the House, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, among others, also didn’t like the idea.

The provision was to be part of the tax cut and spending legislation that has been slowly moving through the Senate. Democrats put up procedural hurdles that have delayed the measure, and amendment votes are planned, but a final vote is expected Monday.

Republicans object

Kiley went to the House floor last week to express his concern. This weekend, upon learning the measure was dead, he said it was “a huge victory for our district and our state.”

At a news conference, he detailed the percentages of public lands in his district: Alpine County, 96%. Inyo County 92%, Mono County 94%, Plumas County, 90%, Sierra County 70%, Placer County 43% and El Dorado County, 43%.

Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, joined four other western House Republicans in saying while they supported the overall budget bill, “We cannot accept the sale of federal lands that Senator (Mike) Lee seeks,” The Hill reported.

The House passed the bill last month by one vote, and if the Senate passes its version this week, the House will vote on that measure.

Republicans can’t afford to lose another vote. Lee said in an X post that “While there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation, and in some cases outright lies, about my bill, many people brought forward sincere concerns.”

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Chico, understood.

“The problem Mike Lee’s facing over there is it came about quickly and there’s not enough time for people to understand it,” LaMalfa said. “If there’s more time to lay it out, he’d have more success with the farmers, the ranchers, the miners.”

The original proposal could have included several popular local sites and sites near Lake Tahoe.

Among them were South Lake Tahoe’s Kiva Beach, areas near Fallen Leaf Lake and a popular lookout point above Emerald Bay, as well as waterfront lands at bodies of water across the Sierra Nevada: Lake Clementine, Union Valley Reservoir, French Meadows Reservoir, Loon Lake, Salt Springs Reservoir, Sly Creek Reservoir and others.

Also potentially at risk of sale: Parts of the Cosumnes River Preserve, a wetland habitat and popular site for bird-watching near Galt, as well as huge amounts of federal land near Mono Lake and Mammoth Lakes. Areas around Yosemite National Park, Mount Shasta and Big Sur could also have been included..