Report: Sen. Mike Lee to return public land sale to ‘big, beautiful bill’

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has indicated he intends to re-add a provision in President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” budget bill that would approve the sale of thousands of acres of federally managed public lands in southern Utah and Nevada.

The sale proposal was originally introduced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-2) and Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV-2) before it was stripped from the final version that passed the House of Representatives in late May.

When asked by a POLITICO reporter if he intended to put the provisions back into the bill when the Senate begins retooling it, Sen. Lee, who was on his way to a procedural vote, responded in short, “Yes.”

ABC4 has reached out to the offices of both Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis to confirm independently and has yet to hear back. This story will be updated with any new information.

Critics of the proposal respond

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), a nonprofit organization focused on defending Utah’s red rock wilderness, originally opposed the original sell-off and celebrated the removal of the provision when the bill passed the House. Now, the non-profit is criticizing Sen. Lee, saying his “oft-stated hatred of public lands makes him a true outlier in the Senate.”

“His apparent intention to include a public lands sell-off provision in the Budget Bill, which was fiercely opposed in the House, is wildly out of step with what Americans have made clear that they want to see: federal public lands remaining in public hands,” said Travis Hammill, DC Director for SUWA. “These are the places people recreate with their families, they are places to hunt and fish, and they are held in trust for the American people to enjoy for generations to come.”

In his statement, Hammill said SUWA, its members, and partners were committed to beating the effort to approve the sale of public lands.

What would the lands be used for if sold?

In a statement previously provided to ABC4.com, St. George City said any federal lands purchased would be used for “a variety of purposes,” such as protecting well sites near the Gunock Reservoir and securing land for potential expansions of the St. George Regional Water Reclamation Facility and the St. George Regional Airport.

Officials also indicated that a small percentage of the land would be used for the construction of affordable housing.

“We appreciate and support any legislative activity that would help open up federal lands to affordable housing development and give municipalities another avenue through which they can increase the supply of more affordable housing,” Washington City Legislative Affairs Director Jordan Hess told ABC4.com.

Renisha Mall contributed to this report.