America’s public lands belong to all of us. They are part of our shared heritage, protected for recreation, wildlife, clean water and future generations. Today, that legacy faces a coordinated and escalating threat — one that demands national attention.
At the center of this effort is Utah, where state leaders have spent decades advancing a well-funded campaign to wrest control of federal public lands and transfer them to state authority.
Utah’s most recent attempt came in the form of a lawsuit built on legal arguments repeatedly rejected by courts and constitutional scholars. Rather than allowing those claims to stand on their merits, the state paired the lawsuit with a taxpayer-funded public relations campaign branded “Stand for Our Land – Let Utah Manage Utah Land.” The campaign promotes misleading claims about Utah history, American history, the U.S. Constitution and federal land law — claims that confuse citizens and policymakers alike.
At the federal level, warning signs are multiplying. In early January, the U.S. House of Representatives quietly changed how public land transfers are scored, allowing them to be treated as “budget neutral.” While technical on its face, the change is significant: It lowers a key procedural barrier, making it easier for Congress to approve land transfers, sales or exchanges with far less scrutiny.
Then, on Feb. 3, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed Secretarial Order 3418, directing a sweeping review of lands withdrawn from fossil fuel and mining development, including national monuments. That same day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin creating a sovereign wealth fund.
Taken together, these actions raise troubling questions. A sovereign wealth fund requires enormous capital, and quickly. At the same time, public lands are increasingly framed as financial assets rather than public trust resources. That combination makes the idea of selling off or transferring public lands not only possible but also politically tempting.
Meanwhile, the federal agencies charged with managing these lands are being hollowed out. In early 2025, thousands of employees from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management were laid off. These agencies were already understaffed. Their ability to protect public lands, enforce environmental laws and manage development pressure is now in serious doubt.
Despite setbacks — including the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Utah’s lawsuit and the removal of a proposed land-sale amendment from a broader bill — Utah’s leaders have made clear they are not backing down. Instead, they are pursuing a multipronged strategy that includes renewed litigation, legislative maneuvering, aggressive lobbying of federal officials and continued public messaging campaigns funded by Utah taxpayers.
A central actor in this effort is the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, established in 2005 to “coordinate, promote, and implement Utah’s public land priorities.” Particularly troubling is the state’s public relations campaign. Launched in 2024 at a reported cost of $2 million, “Stand for Our Land” targeted both Utah residents and national audiences through newspapers, billboards, television, social media and direct outreach to policymakers in Washington, D.C.
The campaign rests on claims that do not withstand scrutiny: that federal land was “stolen” from Utah, that the Constitution prohibits federal land ownership without state consent, that public lands were promised to Utah at statehood, that Utah was denied equal footing with other states and that transferring these lands would somehow keep them “public.” Courts and legal experts have repeatedly rejected these arguments, yet they continue to be presented as fact.
Sen. Mike Lee has been one of the most visible national figures advancing this agenda, inserting land transfer provisions into federal legislation and promoting Utah’s narrative on Capitol Hill. He is not alone. A network of elected officials and allied interests continues to push policies that would ultimately transfer, privatize or sell off America’s public lands.
This is not a regional issue. When Congress considers bills or amendments that weaken public land protections, lawmakers from all 50 states must understand what is truly at stake.
America’s public lands are a defining part of who we are as a nation. They are not a budget line item, a political bargaining chip or a revenue source to be liquidated. If we fail to confront this coordinated effort now, America’s public lands will become private property.