I’d rather not auction off Federal Lands for one main reason - foreign dollars and foreign ownership of large tracts of American land. The average American wouldn’t stand a chance in an auction.
It’s between the devil and the deep blue sea. Maybe such auctions could focus upon American buyers, but that would be a limited supply of dollars. Why can’t America be as prickly about things that Chinese buy here, as China is about things that Americans buy there? China makes sure that Americans can’t purchase the rug out from under its control in China.