Idaho Sens. Risch and Crapo come out against public land-sale provision
Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo made statements Friday opposing the sale of more than 3 million acres of public land as part of the federal budget reconciliation bill.
The Republican senators had not previously spoken out on the controversial provision, proposed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would fold the land-sale into the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.'
'After reviewing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources reconciliation language, I do not support the proposed provision to sell public lands,' said Risch in a statement to the Idaho Statesman.
Crapo joined Risch in opposing the provision, according to an email statement from his communications director, Melanie Lawhorn, to the Statesman on Saturday. Crapo's opposition was earlier reported by The Lewiston Tribune.
The proposed 'mandatory disposal' of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land in Western states including Idaho hit the energy committee, chaired by Lee, on June 11. It came just weeks after a public land-sale provision was stripped from the House version of the spending bill, thanks to opposition from legislators including Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson.
If passed, Lee's provision would require BLM and Forest Service officials to publish a list of tracts of land nominated or considered for sale every 60 days. It would cap the amount of land that could be sold at 0.75% of each agency's land — up to 3.2 million acres, the Statesman previously reported. In Idaho, that could include eligible swaths of land in the Boise National Forest, such as along the South or Middle forks of the Boise River, or trails and peaks in the Sawtooth Mountains, according to a map compiled by The Wilderness Society based on the draft language of Lee's provision.
Lee said the legislation — which requires land sold be used for housing or 'associated community needs' — would make 'housing more affordable for hardworking American families,' according to a news release announcing the draft language.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean helped pass an emergency resolution at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting Thursday in Tampa, Florida, according to a post Thursday on X. The resolution, which McLean submitted, opposed Lee's proposal and public land sale considerations as part of the spending bill.
'Public lands must stay in public hands,' McLean said in her post.
The resolution highlighted that a similar provision was blocked in the House version of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' following 'bipartisan opposition,' including from Simpson.
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