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Posted on 06/27/2025 7:04:22 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
Don’t Sell Off Our American Birthright
By Johnny Morris and Collin O’Mara
June 27, 2025
America's public lands embody a revolutionary promise. Rejecting the European model that reserved the best lands and wildlife for the crown, our nation established that our majestic natural treasures⁶ would be the birthright of every American. These lands are not only central to our identity—the places we hunt, fish, and recreate across generations—they also serve as the foundation of America’s outdoor recreation economy, which supports more than five million jobs and contributes mightily to our US economy.
A recent proposal in the Senate’s budget reconciliation package threatens to begin liquidating this natural inheritance of every American. The provision would force the disposal of more than a million acres of federal land across the West. While this is not an assault on our iconic national parks, wildlife refuges, and other designated lands, it does target the lands of the Bureau of Land Management where tens of millions of Americans hunt, fish, and hike. Importantly, these same public lands that are proposed to be sold also provide vital public access for sportsmen and women to other adjoining public lands. This is a bad deal for taxpayers, a threat to our way of life!
It just doesn’t make fiscal sense to liquidate capital assets that generate a compounding $1.1 trillion return annually for a one-time payment of what is, in the grand scheme of things, a relatively small amount of money. That’s not just selling the family farm; it's selling it for a fraction of a single year’s harvest. To be clear, we are not opposed to all land transfers. There are instances where land swaps or targeted sales make sense to meet specific community and housing needs, improve management, expand access, or enhance ecological connectivity. Responsible governance, however, demands an orderly and transparent process. We already have proven, long-established frameworks for this.
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 created a transparent, public process to ensure any land disposal serves the national interest.
The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA), which was improved with bipartisan support during the first Trump Administration, established a smart, market-based system where proceeds from the sale of parcels are reinvested into acquiring high-priority conservation lands and creating new access for sportsmen and women. We should make these laws work better, rather than circumventing them. The reconciliation proposal abandons these safeguards, using a procedural shortcut to bypass public input and silence the voices of local communities. Worse, it raids the dedicated conservation fund created by FLTFA, diverting nearly all of the sale proceeds to the general Treasury and breaking the conservation covenant that guarantees a net-gain for conservation, wildlife, and public access. All of us at Bass Pro Shops and the National Wildlife Federation are proud to remain steadfast in our commitment to stand united with the sportsmen and women we are blessed to serve. This is why we have been working with a broad and unprecedented coalition that has risen in opposition. Nearly every major hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation, and conservation organization in the country— representing tens of millions of sportsmen and women—have formally urged the Senate to reject this provision.
We stand united that our focus should be on the restoration and improved management of our public lands “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”—not selling them to the highest bidder! Heeding this call, the House of Representatives, under the leadership of former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Rep. Mike Simpson, wisely rejected a similar provision. The Senate should do the same.
The choice is clear: Uphold President Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy of wise stewardship or erode our nation’s outdoor heritage. Let’s not sell off our American birthright.
Mr. Morris is a noted conservationist and the founder and Lead Outfitter of Bass Pro Shops. Mr. O’Mara is president and CEO of the seven million members strong National Wildlife Federation.
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Thank you very much and God bless you.
It seems mike lee is a big proponent of selling off the land...
which would likely get bought by hedge funds and equity firms, not individuals...
who would then lock it up for themselves or developement.
I would like more lands open up for use, but not for sale like this.
“This e-mail upset me to no end. “
Calm down. Bad for your heart.
You would not believe how many calls and mailers I get weekly to sell my lots and my own home.
Vultures.
Theodore Roosevelt had his own private ranch in North Dakota of considerable acres. He was wise in preserving some of the most unique places like Yellowstone as a national park but having the government lock up resources and curtail wise usage of vast swaths of our western states was never part of his plan.
Biil Gates and his globalist cabal and the chicoms will ALL love this action...
We no longer go to Cabelas ....too expensive.
Where does that come from and is that for real? And for whom does it generate this? Are they saying it is revenue to the Federal government?
From a family of hunters. Cabelas was always a mainstay in our home growing up. And LL Bean.
> I would like more lands open up for use, but not for sale like this. <
Bingo. If the land is truly something special (a national treasure), rent out the mineral and logging rights. And demand good stewardship. But do not sell it.
Cabellas ceased being Cabela’s when BassProShop bought them. Sad day.
$25 county tax on guns in Cook County, IL. I warned the dumb bastards at Cabelaas when they decided to open a store there. They didn’t listen. 10 minutes away...no tax.
That is why this is happening.
I agree with your take on the issue.
Chill yourself
I’ve bought used guns from them, never new guns. Their new gun mark-up is too high.
CC
“I would like more lands open up for use, but not for sale like this.”
Reauthorize the Homestead Act that allowed individuals to settle on defined plots of surplus government land. If they lived on it, and improved it, they could acquire title to it.
Make the land grants small, limit them to individuals, require the individuals to live on the property for a defined period of time, and require improvements to be made. Also require American citizenship. Possibly also include a minimum number of years before the land can be sold. These restrictions will keep out the foreign companies, hedge funds and billionaires like Bill Gates.
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/great-american-outdoors-group/summary?id=D000110860
On the parent company of Bass Pro and Cabelas.
Note that Heels Up got more money than Trump.
I like the FLTFA approach and agree with what Bass Pro is doing here.
Nonsense. With a little investment we can turn Yellowstone into the theme park it was always meant to be. I’m talking bison rides and a moose roundup sure to thrill. With a black bear petting zoo on the side.
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