Sunday Cast: Selling the Ground Beneath Us

---

This piece is part of Sunday Cast, a weekly op-ed published in Casts That Care—our daily fly fishing newsletter. Each subscription helps support fly fishing charities, with 50% of fees donated every month, Join Us Here!

Read more. Think deeper. Fish better.

---

 By Kevin Wolfe | Casts That Care

A Bill with Big Consequences

This summer, a new bill in the U.S. Senate is quietly setting the stage for what could be one of the largest sales of public land in modern history. Framed as a solution to the housing crisis and a fix for federal inefficiencies, the proposal would force federal agencies to identify millions of acres of land to sell off—whether or not the public actually wants it gone.

It’s not the first time the idea has surfaced. Versions of the bill have been introduced, denied, reintroduced, and renamed—making it confusing and hard for the public to track. It was previously shut down in the House, but now it’s back in motion in the Senate.

The Housing Mirage

On paper, it sounds like a reasonable strategy: sell off underused or "inefficient" public land to raise revenue and free up space for housing. But in reality, it opens the door to a cascade of unintended consequences. And the kicker? Much of the land they want to sell isn’t anywhere near where housing is actually needed.

Proponents say the land will help fix the affordable housing shortage. But only a tiny fraction—less than 2%—of federal land managed by the Forest Service or BLM sits near urban centers where people are struggling to find places to live. The vast majority of the parcels being considered are remote, arid, fire-prone, or ecologically sensitive.

This isn’t housing land. It’s hunting land. It’s trout stream land. It’s the kind of land that, once sold, doesn’t come back.

Catch-22 Conservation

The bill pushes agencies to sell land that’s difficult to manage or far from existing infrastructure. But that very remoteness is often why those places still have wild value. They’re home to elk migrations, native trout, and quiet trailheads. Selling them off may seem pragmatic on paper, but it undermines the long-term public value that’s harder to quantify in dollars.

Even worse, once it’s sold—it’s gone for good. There’s no mechanism in the bill for reacquisition. No off-ramp. Just a one-way trip to privatization.

The Public with No Path

In many cases, the lands up for sale don’t even have public access roads—meaning the average hiker, angler, or hunter might not even know they were public in the first place. But once they’re gone, that access is permanently sealed off.

Some parcels might seem small or insignificant. But across the West, tiny checkerboard sections of public land often hold the key to stream corridors, seasonal wildlife habitat, and recreation routes. Lose them, and you lose the entire puzzle.

A Fast Track to Nowhere

The bill would force federal agencies to identify lands for sale every 60 days, with no requirement for public hearings or stakeholder input. That’s not reform—it’s a fire sale. Local communities, tribes, and conservation groups get a consultation—but no veto.

That includes tribal lands, some of which hold cultural or ancestral significance. The bill doesn’t require tribal approval—just a courtesy conversation. And then the sale goes forward.

Affordable for Whom?

Even in the rare instances where land is sold near towns, past examples show the outcome isn’t always affordable housing. It’s often bought by developers or investors for luxury homes, private hunting properties, or short-term rentals. So we’re solving a housing crisis… by selling remote land… to buyers who build $3 million second homes.

The Bottom Line

Selling public land might seem efficient. But the costs—ecological, recreational, cultural—are too high for what we get in return. There’s no guarantee the money will go to housing, and no guardrails to keep the land accessible.

Fly fishers, hunters, backpackers, and guides don’t just need water and game—we need access. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Let’s not sell the ground beneath us just to say we sold something.

Sources:

• Greater Yellowstone Coalition

• Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

• Outdoor Alliance

• High Country News reporting

• Congressional Research Service