Parleys Canyon, Uintas could be opened for sale under Sen. Mike Lee’s federal land proposal

The Smith & Moorehouse reservoir located in Summit County is part of USFS Land that could be made available for sale as part of Sen. Mike Lee's provision that would mandate the sale millions of acres of land in Utah. Photo: Recreation.gov

Move would authorize sales of BLM and Forest Service land across the West, with major implications for Utah canyons, backcountry

PARK CITY, Utah — A budget amendment introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) could open the door to the largest sale of public lands in U.S. history, with major implications for Utah and locally, U.S. Forest Service land in Summit and Wasatch Counties. The measure, quietly inserted into a budget reconciliation package tied to Republican tax cuts, authorizes the sale of up to 258 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service lands across 10 Western states and Alaska.

In Utah alone, more than 18.7 million acres — nearly a third of the state — would be available for sale if the legislation passes. That includes 12.6 million acres of BLM land and 6.1 million acres of Forest Service land. The proposal excludes national parks, national monuments, and designated wilderness areas, but does not identify which specific parcels would be on the table.

The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests has nine Wilderness areas that are part of the 109 million-acre National Wilderness Preservation System, which would be protected.

The provision, first revealed in a draft amendment by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — which Lee now chairs — mandates the sale of at least 3.3 million acres of federal land to spur economic development. However, it grants the federal government broad authority to sell far more.

A video released by Lee’s office says the goal is to target “isolated” federal parcels suitable for housing or infrastructure development. States would be allowed to nominate parcels for sale, with the final decision made in consultation with governors, local officials, and impacted Native American tribes.

The proposal echoes Governor Cox’s January State of the State address, where he declared a clear imperative: “We must build.”

In Utah, that could mean significant land sales in ecologically and recreationally sensitive areas. According to public land maps, vulnerable parcels could include:

• Hundreds of acres south of I-80 in Parleys Canyon, and adjacent land stretching toward Mill Creek
• Thousands of acres in the Uinta Mountains, east of Oakley, Samak and Woodland. The High Uintas Wilderness Area would be exempt from the bill.
• High alpine areas of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, including the Albion Basin near Alta Ski Resort
• Much of Mill Creek Canyon, a popular recreation area east of Salt Lake City

The amendment initially included a provision that would have exempted grazing lands from the sale, but that clause was removed in the most recent draft.

Democrats and conservationists strongly oppose it, as do some Republican moderates and environmental advocates, who argue it risks irreversible loss of public lands, according to a Washington Post report. Supporters, including Lee, argue that divesting isolated and underutilized parcels can support local growth and reduce federal land management burdens.

Nationally, the proposed 258 million acres represent more than 40% of all federally owned land in the U.S., which totals around 640 million acres.

The draft proposal is embedded in a sweeping GOP budget reconciliation package (known colloquially as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”), which skirts the Senate filibuster—requiring only a simple majority—meaning it could pass the Senate even with narrow GOP control.