A Republican push to sell public lands in the West is reigniting a political fight

BILLINGS Mont Congressional Republicans say their plan to sell potentially hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land will generate revenue and ease improvement pressures in booming Western cities Yet without clear details on how it will work skeptics worry it could be a giveaway for developers and mining companies and do little to ease the region s housing predicament Law passed by the House Natural Support Committee last week includes about acres hectares in Nevada and Utah to be sold or transferred to local governments or private entities The provision is part of a sweeping tax cut package and mirrors the Trump administration s view of the greater part masses lands as an asset to be used not set aside for preservation Who should control such sites has long been a burning source of disagreement in the West where about half the acreage is under federal control and cities that sprawl across open landscapes face rising demand for housing water and other necessities The GOP plan is rekindling the fight and generating strong blowback from Democrats and conservationists They see the measure as a precedent-setting move that would open the door to sales in other states We have grave concerns that this is the camel s nose under the tent mentioned Steve Bloch with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance If it can happen in Utah if it can happen in Nevada it s not going to stay here It s going to spread Several Republicans also signaled opposition setting up a political clash as the budget process moves forward Good news for fast-growing Nevada city The majority of land in the House provision is in Nevada including the counties that encompass Reno Las Vegas and the fast-growing city of Fernley according to maps disclosed by the measure s sponsors Republican Reps Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah Fernley City Manager Benjamin Marchant announced the opportunity to buy acres hectares of federal land at the edge of the society was good news The city size tripled since its incorporation in and is expected to double again over the next decade he revealed There is hope to emerge as a innovation hub but Fernley requirements space to grow Related Articles Federal judge grants injunction indefinitely bars Trump s use of Alien Enemies Act in Colorado Trump calls for Colorado clerk Tina Peters to be circulated from prison Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz prison Trump in a new interview says he doesn t know if he backs due process rights Trump s first days Steamrolling administration strong-arming allies and igniting exchange wars We can t even talk about projects when it s federal land Marchant reported We can t sell what we don t own and this is the first step Other parcels to be sold are farther from developed areas They include sites bordering Zion National Park and tribal lands such as the Paiute Indian Tribe reservation in Utah and the Pyramid Lake Paiute reservation in Nevada That means the tribe can t grow stated Mathilda Miller with Native Voters Alliance Nevada an advocacy group for the state s tribes that opposes the sales They can t reclaim the land that was stolen from their tribe and it brings evolution right up to their doorstep Roughly acres hectares in western Nevada s rural Pershing County could be sold to private companies with mining states or mining infrastructure according to Amodei s office The act also requires federal parcels in that area to be exchanged for an equal amount of nonfederal land Landlocked by federal holdings Multiple of the communities near sale locations share a common theme Their expansion is hemmed in by federal property which makes up of the land in Nevada and in Utah Selected states in the Midwest and East have or less federal land by comparison Populace parcels often are interspersed with private holdings in a checkerboard fashion that further complicates improvement efforts Housing advocates caution that federal land is not universally suitable for affordable housing Generally the farther away the land is from cities and towns the more infrastructure is required roads sewage masses transportation It s a costly way to go because of the infrastructure requirements because of the time it will take commented Vicki Been of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Initiative at New York University I m not saying that there s no place on federal lands that would make sense but one has to really look rigorously The Republican proposal seeks to identify suitable lands in coordination with local municipalities That has left certain concerned there aren t enough assurances that the land or enough land will end up going to affordable housing The devils in the details revealed Tara Rollins executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition It could just be a land grab There just requirements to be a lot of checks and balances A failed lawsuit to wrest control The wholesale transfer of federal lands to local or private entities is something plenty of western conservatives have long sought Republican authorities in Utah last year filed a lawsuit last seeking to take over huge swathes of federal land in the state but they were rejected by the U S Supreme Court Twelve other states backed Utah s bid There also are strong voices within the GOP against citizens land sales notably Montana lawmakers Rep Ryan Zinke who was interior secretary in Trump s first term and Sen Steve Daines Colorado Rep Jeff Hurd was the lone Republican on the Natural Tools Committee to vote against the lands provision The measure would sell about acres hectares of land in two Utah counties Maloy mentioned it avoids areas that should be conserved and would help ease demand for housing and water by creating space to build new homes and expand reservoir quota Smaller land sales are a common practice for the Interior Department s Bureau of Land Management Not all federal lands have the same value Maloy announced In both Democratic and Republican administrations for decades we ve been disposing of appropriate lands in a manner that s consistent with what I propose to do here Bedayn broadcasted from Denver and Daly from Washington D C Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot