Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson is putting his foot down when it comes to the federal government selling public lands.
This week, Simpson joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in cosponsoring the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, which would block the sale of most federally-owned lands.
Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke (R) has sponsored the legislation both this congressional session and the previous session, along with Reps. Troy Downing (R-MT) and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM).
The proposal would ban the sale of most federal public lands, while still allowing some transactions for smaller parcels.
“Thank you to Rep. Simpson for making it clear that our cherished public lands are not for sale now and never will be,” said Conservation Voters for Idaho executive director Alexis Pickering.
CVI joined the Idaho Conservation League and the Idaho chapter of the Wilderness Society in cheering Simpson’s decision.
Some congressional Republicans have floated the idea of selling public lands through the budgeting process.
E&E News reports both chairmen of the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee have offered up the plans, but no hard decisions have been made.
“They’ve had multiple folks on the record state that they are looking at our federal and national public lands as a means to get some quick cash,” Pickering said in a phone interview Thursday.
Utah unsuccessfully sued to take ownership of 18.5 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in January, but Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said his state is considering its options moving forward.
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador (R) filed a brief supporting Utah’s case. Other state lawmakers and political candidates here have also floated the idea of taking these lands back from the feds, saying they belong to Idaho.
“Even though these lands exist within Idaho, that does not mean they’re Idaho lands. They never were,” Pickering said.
Dumping these lands into private hands, she said, would affect everything from hunting and fishing to the economy.
“That means that that impacts our ability to feed our families, right? It impacts our ability to get that fresh air, it impacts our tourism.”
Pickering encouraged the rest of Idaho’s delegation to join Simpson as the congressional session moves forward.
Copyright 2025 Boise State Public Radio
