Dirt, there’s plenty of economic drivers through public land so I would argue that’s a very shallow point that you’re making. The timber industry is fueled heavily in certain regions by the Forest Service, oil and gas leases on BLM, National parks bring in tons of revenue for the DOI and businesses under concession, so on and so on. Selling it to private land does NOT guarantee sustained economic activity.

Are you saying that public land is inherently Marxist?

I think that is what Marx is saying. There were no Marxist ideas in 1789. It is all scale. 10 percent federal land in the east still allows for a 90% private sector economy. 50 to 90 % Federal land in the west precludes local control and hinders a private sector economy and economic growth in general. Natural parks will never be sold. More National parks will likely be created though. National Parks where hunting and trapping will not probably be allowed. BTW there are many National Parks and Wildlife Refuges that are money losers.

It's claimed that the park systems generate around 55 billion dollars in economic activity around the parks nationwide I'm always leary of those kind of numbers. I'm sure some areas like Williams AZ probably wouldn't exist without the grand canyon but parks like the Smokies with everything around Gatlinburg, Cherokee, pigeon forge and Sevierville it's, the park is an afterthought .

Might not if been Marxism then but in ye olden days if you didn't have a title, or wealthy, you basically couldn't own land . It was more like the share cropper era.

In the three decades that I worked for the American public in both the BLM and US Forest Service the only commercial use of public land that paid its' way and made money for the public was the oil and gas industry. All other commercial uses were subsidized by and a net loss to the American taxpayer. US Congress members of both parties sold out the public to special interests a long time ago and continue to do so.

Is that the fault of public land or elected officials?

The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation, so land sales provided an important revenue stream. The Ordinance set up a survey system that eventually covered over three-quarters of the area of the continental United States.[1]

The 1785 ordinance laid the foundations of land policy until passage of the Homestead Act of 1862.

The Homestead Act was effectively ended in 1976 with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which stated that "public lands be retained in Federal ownership".
This act repealed the Homestead Act in the 48 contiguous states. However, homesteading was still allowed for another decade in Alaska, until 1986.

The last claim under this Act was made by Ken Deardorff for 80 acres of land on the Stony River in southwestern Alaska. He fulfilled all requirements of the homestead act.

Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964, the Wilderness Act designated all previously existing Wild Areas, Canoe Areas, and Wilderness Areas as Wilderness. At the time, these areas on national forests totaled 9.1 million acres and represented the entire National Wilderness Preservation System.

As of 2023, 806 wilderness areas have been designated, totaling 111,889,002 acres (45,279,873 ha; 452,798.73 km2; 174,826.566 sq mi), which comprise about 4.5% of the land area of the United States.[2][3]

Wilderness areas are subject to specific management restrictions; human activities are limited to non-motorized recreation (such as backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, etc.), scientific research, and other non-invasive activities.

Forever in the record books White17,

Congrats Ken!

Yes, that's pretty dang awesome Ken! I just googled it and it's everywhere online, National park service, youtube, facebook, heck even Ai knows. Now I can tell people that the last man to acquire a official homestead explained to me how to make a leaning pole set using long springs!

WOW !! LOL )))))))))))))))

Alot of drilling and production is on federal land

especially where there is a lot of federal land. funny how that works. how much of texas and north dakota production is on federal land? Waters don't count.

"In recent years, oil production on federal lands and waters has accounted for approximately 24% of total U.S. oil production, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).
This includes both onshore and offshore production, with offshore areas contributing a significant portion of this total."

"More than 99% of federal land in Alaska leased to oil and gas companies remains unused for production."

Most of texas is private number 1. Also has to be enough oil to produce to make a profit and not lose money when markets are up and down. number two
Half of it is infastructure the cost to provide power ,roads etc to.remote areas outweighs the profit alot of moveing parts to oil and gas production. Lots of federal land especially south east nm has all of the above in place

Go to west texas and tell me there isnt alot of oil production north and south of the NM state line public and private

I concur

X2

Mike Lee pulled the provision from the bill.

Great

They need to be buying more instead of selling

The federal agencies already buy and sell land regularly. They have real estate divisions.

My biggest issue with Lee’s provision is that it’s just a giant land giveaway and it opens the door to further massive sell-offs. If they decide to take a thoughtful approach, consider land swaps for improved access, migration corridors, improved recreation, fishing, trapping, hunting opportunities, etc, then my personal stance would be different.

Exactly! Couldn’t have said it better myself. Happy trapping! ScottW

Unfortunately, a thoughtful approach to anything is too much to expect from the federal government.