With the 2024 election season underway and talk of transferring America’s public lands heating up as a campaign issue in Western states, it is critical that voters across the country who use these public lands understand the threat posed by the coalition of elected officials, nonprofit think tanks, corporations, wealthy donors and developers, and make an informed vote.
In 2020, the League of Women Voters adopted a national position on the transfer of federal public lands. The position was derived from a 2017 League of Women Voters of New Mexico study of the transfer of federal public lands written in response to legislation discussed in several Western states. Specifically, Utah passed legislation in 2012 demanding the transfer of selected federal public lands to the state. Although no transfers occurred as a result, League of Women Voters of New Mexico believed it was necessary to have a position that could be used for advocacy if or when such legislation was proposed in New Mexico.
The federal government owns 28% of land in the United States, which three different agencies managing it. There are numerous issues at the federal level in relation to land ownership, acquisition and the balance between protection and use. As a result, the League of Women Voters believes there is a significant risk that this issue may arise with little advance notice in any state with federal public lands. The proportion of lands held by the federal government varies significantly by state, with the largest shares in the West. However, the issue is one that could affect all states.
The League believes that federal public lands should benefit all Americans. The lands should remain under the jurisdiction of the federal government and be managed according to the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act. The League position also supports improvements in management and regulation.
Here’s what you need to know to make an informed vote this election season if you don’t want to lose ownership of and access to your federal public lands, whether it be for family vacations, camping, hiking, mountain biking, 4-wheel driving, hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, photography or just hanging out in the great outdoors.
America’s public lands currently belong to you, the American public, and are held in trust for you by your federal government. Under the Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power to turn your public lands over to states or private interests. That is why it is critical for you to ask those wishing to represent you in Congress where they stand on the issue of transferring federal public lands out of the public domain, where the mandate is for multiple use, and into state ownership, where the mandate is for revenue generation, including selling off those lands.
Once Congress transfers America’s public lands out of the federal public domain, you will no longer own them. “No Trespassing” signs will pop up like unwanted litter across the landscape, and public access will be denied.
No more fishing your favorite trout stream or taking your family to see dinosaur tracks, or exploring the magnificent canyons and red rocks of the Southwest. If this is happening now, imagine what happens when Congress transfers millions and millions of acres of your federal public lands into state and private ownership.
And make no mistake — that is the plan. And it is a well-funded plan.
Think of the management of federal public lands as federal stewardship rather than federal overreach. These lands are paid for by all Americans. In Utah, the cost to the state to replace federal funds to manage these lands would be over $400 million annually. If Utah were to take ownership of federal public lands within her state boundaries, Utah taxpayers would be responsible for replacing those funds, or the state would have to sell them. The same goes for any Western state that supports the transfer of federal public lands into state ownership, which many of them do.
Once federal public lands become state or private property, the American public will never get them back.
Carey Dabney is the coordinator of the Public Lands Project for the League of Women Voters of Southeast Utah. She is the lead author of the 2020 League of Women Voters of Utah Transfer of Public Lands Movement Educational Study.