Many in Wyoming are celebrating that a Republican-backed proposal to sell federal public land for housing development in 11 states is dead, for now.
Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) provision to the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that was floating in Congress garnered a lot of attention and public outcry over the last couple weeks.
“The people of Wyoming won,” said Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie).
Provenza helped organize a protest against the proposal last week, with about 500 people showing up at the state Capitol.
“There were people from all walks of life, from all different political backgrounds,” she said. “I mean, it was Wyomingism at its finest.”
Many in Wyoming were outraged that public lands could possibly be bought up and privatized by the wealthy.
But supporters of the proposal said the sales would’ve prioritized development of affordable housing.
Lee posted on X over the weekend that he’s backing off the issue for now, mostly because he wants to make sure foreign interests can’t buy the land.
But he said he still is working with Pres. Trump to find a way to sell some federal land for housing. That’s a concern for Provenza. Specifically, she worries the proposal could take shape down the road as a public lands swap, a process that already exists.
“I hope that all of our congressional and federal delegation took notes, and I hope that they understand that our public lands are not for sale now, not ever,” Provenza said.
Wyoming’s Congressional delegates showed support for the proposal. Rep. Harriet Hageman spoke at a June 19 Wyoming Legislature interim committee meeting, and told lawmakers the issue was being blown out of proportion. She said it would’ve targeted less used land, like empty lots in Las Vegas or even around Kemmerer.
“We need affordable housing there because of the development and what's going on, yet it's largely surrounded by BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands,” Hageman told state lawmakers. “This bill would target a 40-acre parcel so that you could develop it and provide affordable housing.”
But some speculated the language in the former proposal didn’t guarantee that would happen. Additionally, some Wyomingites said the public land that’s a little rougher around the edges, like those parcels outside of Kemmerer, are some of their favorites – not necessarily the big national parks or mountains.
“If you work in Wyoming 40 or 50 or 60 hours a week like a lot of people do, you might not be able to get to the snowcapped mountain tops on the weekend or after work to go take your family camping or go run your dog,” Nate Martin, who grew up in Rock Springs, said at the state Capitol rally last week. “But everybody can attest that just getting outside of town where it’s a little bit more open and a little bit more free can have a beautiful impact on you.”
The proposal was initially set to be part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but its first draft didn’t pass Senate rules. The Senate parliamentarian ruled it focused too much on the policy side of things and not enough on the budget. Lee softened the language to exclude U.S. Forest Service lands, limiting it to BLM, and it’s unclear if it would’ve been given the greenlight. Lee retracted the proposal before that determination could be made.
