Trump administration plans land sales to states, tribes and local governments

Interior offers no details on which lands could be sold, or where

The Interior Department has presented a new five-year strategic plan that calls for selling federal public lands to states, tribes and local governments as part of an effort to “decrease the size of the federal estate.” Agency officials said the sales would allow the government to focus resources on “nationally significant” lands, but they offered no details on what lands could be sold, nor the scope or location of potential sales.

The plan also calls for strategic land transfers and exchanges to support greater energy production, a centerpiece of the administration’s pro-fossil fuel policies, according to the Associated Press. AP’s report characterized the plan as reflecting the Trump administration’s view of most public lands as assets to be used rather than set aside for preservation.

The department oversees more than 750,000 square miles (1.9 million square kilometers) of land — an area greater than Texas and California combined — along with vast underground mineral reserves. That puts Interior at the center of a contentious, decades-long debate over whether the government controls too much land. Most public lands are in Western states, where the government in some cases controls the vast majority of the land — protecting it from potential exploitation, but also hindering growth, according to AP.

Interior officials said that under the plan, a portion of any land sale proceeds would go back to the buyer for conservation purposes elsewhere.

Whether Interior Secretary Doug Burgum can achieve the administration’s goals without cooperation from Congress remains uncertain.

Some conservative lawmakers sought last year to sell vast tracts of federal land in Utah and Nevada, saying the sales could generate revenue and ease growth pressures in booming cities. Among the proposals, Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee suggested selling more than 2 million acres (8,000 square kilometers) to states or other entities. Those efforts failed amid bipartisan opposition.

The plan sets out a road map for the department’s priorities and actions between 2026 and 2030, and future administrations would not be bound by it. The agency’s strategic plan was last updated four years ago under former President Joe Biden.

The department regulates mining, drilling, grazing, recreation and other activities that many state and local officials want greater control over.

The Associated Press sent emails to Interior officials on Wednesday requesting comment and further details.