Here is what to say – “I am _________ and my zip code is _________. Please protect America’s land and water from being parceled off for mining and mineral interests. The Reconciliation will destroy the last of America’s open space and water. [Then say why you don’t want the land, water, and your drinking water taken away from you] Thanks!”

11 million acres of Alaska are now available for fossil fuel and gas extraction immediately. 

Our oceans and the Gulf of Mexico will be brutalized by a rapid expansion of resource extraction. 

A reduction in land regulation will hurt communities and their drinking water in every state.

Before July 7, the U.S. Congress is likely to take action on proposed massive sales of federal public lands that, if approved and signed by the president, could have profound implications for our recreation-based tourism economies, and for the quality of our lives here in the Jobs First Region of the Eastern Sierra. And while all four U.S. Senators from the states of Montana and Idaho have come out against the public lands sales, the legislation remains very much alive, with votes being scheduled for later this week into next, and with the President seeking to sign the final bill by the Fourth of July.  Here is information that you may find useful, along with opportunities to engage should you be so inspired. Please note that no public funds have been used to create or ship this email.

Resources

• Here’s a link to the current text of the Senate legislation – the public lands text starts on PDF page 30 – which has been recently updated at the direction of the Parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate to clarify its nexus to “housing”.
• “Text released last week by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee would have mandated sales to be used “solely” for housing but also to “address associated community needs.” Such language would seemingly open the lands to a wide range of uses. But in a new draft, which could undergo more changes, lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service would now be used only for “the development of housing or to address associated infrastructure to support local housing needs.”
• Here are links to GIS Maps prepared by the Wilderness Society and the Outdoor Alliance that illustrate public lands in the Eastern Sierra that could be potentially designated for sale.
• Map produced by the Wilderness Society
• Map produced by the Outdoor Alliance
• The Mountain Pact – which “… educates, empowers, and mobilizes local elected officials in over 100 Western mountain communities with outdoor recreation-based economies to speak with a collective voice on federal climate, public lands, and outdoor recreation policy…” – shared their analysis of the legislation last night:
• “The bill forces the arbitrary sale of at least 2 million acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in 11 Western states over the next five years, and it gives the secretaries of the interior and agriculture broad discretion to choose which places should be sold off.
• “The bill sets up relatively under-resourced state and local governments to lose open bidding wars to well-heeled commercial interests. It also fails to give sovereign Tribal Nations the right of first refusal to bid on lands, even for areas that are a part of their traditional homelands or contain sacred sites.
• “The public lands sell-off provision masquerades as a way to provide more housing, but it lacks safeguards to ensure land is used for that purpose, and it sets up a system where lands could be sold or resold for non-housing uses after just 10 years. Research suggests that very little of the land managed by the BLM and USFS is actually suitable for housing.
• “The bill directs what is likely the largest single sale of national public lands in modern history to help cut taxes for the richest people in the country. It trades ordinary Americans’ access to outdoor recreation for a short-term payoff that disproportionately benefits the privileged and well-connected.
• “The bill’s process for selling off lands runs at breakneck speed, demanding the nomination of tracts within 30 days, then every 60 days until the arbitrary multi-million-acre goal is met, all without hearings, debate or public input.”

Opportunities

• Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is arranging a  “Flood the Lines” event coming up this Wednesday, June 25. to call US Senators throughout the country, including Senator Alex Padilla and Senator Adam Schiff.
• “The Senate wants to sell off up to 3.2 million acres of OUR public lands—lands that belong to the American people. This isn’t a housing solution. It’s a land grab. And on June 25, we’re standing united to stop it.”
• Senator Mike Lee from Utah, the principal sponsor of the legislation, posted on X last night: “Hunter Nation: You spoke, and I’m listening. I’ll be making changes in the coming days.”
• The Outdoor Alliance has partnered with Take Action to create  a super simple email tool to reach out with your thoughts and ideas to your congressional representatives.
• Call Congressman Kiley
• Washington DC Office: (202) 225-2523
• Rocklin CA Office: (916) 724-2574 
• Toll Free: 1 (888) 406-3855
  

That’s it for a Monday morning after a busy and subzero weekend (!) One season has ended, and another one has just gotten underway.

Best to you all – 

john