Millions of Acres of Public Lands and Trails at Risk
What you can do to help
The Arizona Trail is one of many thru-hikes that will be impacted by public land sales.
A fast-moving proposal in the U.S. Senate threatens to open the door to one of the largest public land sales in modern history. Buried within the Senate’s recent budget bill, a provision would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to sell off at least public lands they manage in 11 Western states.
What started as an attempt to sell off 3.3 million acres of US Forest Service and BLM land has evolved into the sale of 600,000 and 1.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands over the next five years.
Sections of the PCT can potentially be sold off.
What’s at Stake
While national parks, designated wildernesses, and monuments are technically excluded from these proposed sales, the vast majority of multi-use public lands are not clearly protected. While parks and national wilderness areas may not be on the list of lands for sale, areas adjacent to those places may be eligible. For instance, U.S. Forest Service lands around Crater Lake National Park in Oregon are all eligible for sale. These also include iconic areas surrounding and intersecting trails like the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), Arizona Trail (AZT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT).
Language in the bill is alarmingly vague, leaving critical recreation corridors, wildlife habitats, and watershed areas vulnerable to sale without traditional oversight. No public hearings, no environmental reviews, and no opportunities for community input would be required before these sales are finalized, and the sales could happen as quickly as 60 days after the budget is approved.
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), stretching 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada, crosses BLM and Forest Service lands throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. While the physical trail tread might be spared, adjacent lands, resupply routes, access points, and campsites are eligible for sale under the bill’s loose parameters. See this detailed map showing the alarming amount of land along the PCT that would be listed for sale here.
Further south, the Arizona Trail (AZT), an 800-mile route from Mexico to Utah, passes through a patchwork of national forests and BLM lands. Arizona is one of the 11 states named in the bill, and with so many sections of the AZT bordering multi-use public lands, trailheads, campsites, and side trails could also be eligible for sale.
Along the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), where 160 miles of the route still follow roads and unprotected corridors, even minor land sales could dramatically alter future trail completion efforts and degrade the wild character thru-hikers prize. This map shows all the places on the CDT that would be up for sale, including massive sections in New Mexico and Wyoming and trail shared with the Colorado Trail.
The Tahoe Rim Trail, the San Diego Trans County Trail, Oregon Desert Trail, Blue Mountains Trail, Timberline Trail, and many, many more are impacted by this decision. In every case, the potential loss isn’t just to land but to clean air, healthy watersheds, wildlife habitat, rural tourism economies, and cultural heritage.
Large sections of the Oregon Desert Trail will be impacted by the public lands sales.
What Trail Lovers Can Do Right Now
This proposal is moving quickly through the budget reconciliation process, with Senate leadership aiming to finalize the budget before the July 4 recess. However, a recent ruling by the Senate Parliamentarian under the Byrd Rule has determined that this land sale provision is “extraneous” and inappropriate for inclusion in a budget bill.
“Data suggests that over 70% of Americans oppose selling out public lands and waters”
The Byrd Rule is a legislative tool used during the reconciliation process to block provisions unrelated to budgetary spending or revenue, preventing unrelated policy changes from being passed through a simple majority. While this ruling represents a key procedural victory for public lands advocates, it remains an active threat until the provision is formally removed from the budget bill text.
“History shows that public pressure works”
Along with the Byrd Rule pushback, history shows that public pressure works. In May, the House of Representatives proposed selling 500,000 acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada, but the proposal was removed after massive public outcry.
The original Senate proposed land sale provision was just announced on June 11, and since then, over 400,000 outdoor enthusiasts have contacted their Senators to ask them to vote against these land sales. New data suggests that over 70% of Americans oppose selling out public lands and waters, and Republican senators Jim Risch (R‑ID) and Mike Crapo (R‑ID) have recently publicly opposed the land sales due to public pressure.
Due to the mounting pressure, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) removed Forest Service land from the provision, but Bureau of Land Management lands remain.
Thru-hikers on the Continental Divide Trail in New Mexico, one of the targeted states.
Here’s how you can help
Contact your Senators today and tell them to reject the public lands disposal provision in the Senate budget bill. You can find your Senator’s contact information at congress.gov/members/find-your-member or use the email script provided by Outdoor Alliance.
Spread the word within your trail and hiking communities. Many people aren’t aware that multi-use public lands along trails like the PCT, AZT, and CDT could soon be for sale.
Our country’s public lands system and the trails that weave through it are a living inheritance, and we have the power to protect them.
Why you can trust us
Meg Carney is an award-winning outdoor and environmental writer with a passion for environmental advocacy. Meg has been following Budget Reconciliation closely to report on the impact on public lands.
She primarily covers topics within the outdoor industry ranging from the best new products and greenwashing to the scientific coverups of hazardous chemicals. Her work can be found in digital publications such as Field and Stream, Popular Mechanics, and GearJunkie, and her environmental journalism extends into podcast production with her original shows, Outdoor Minimalist and Forever Chemicals.
See more on Meg's author page.