(The Center Square) — After public backlash to the proposed sale of millions of acres in public land in Western states, the Trump administration appears to have taken a 180-degree turn on land conservation.
The Make America Beautiful Again commission will advise President Donald Trump on conservation of, in Trump’s words, America’s “national treasures and natural resources.”
“America’s national parks, forests, waterways, and public lands have inspired generations and kindled our Nation’s spirit of exploration,” read a July 3 executive order signed by Trump. “To ensure that the next generation of Americans inherits this same sense of duty and adventure, my Administration will prioritize conserving our great American national parks and outdoor recreation areas.”
Two MABA commission executive orders were signed the day before the federal government’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act became law. The massive tax bill had been set to include the sell-off of over 1.2 million acres of public lands, a large portion of which would have been in Nevada.
But late in the months-long negotiations for the bill, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who had proposed the public lands sale, pulled the provision.
“I was unable to secure clear, enforceable safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families – not to China, not to BlackRock and not to any foreign interests,” Lee wrote on social media. “I’ve made the decision to withdraw the federal land sales provision from the bill.”
Earlier this year in April, the Bureau of Land Management sold 6,800 acres of public land for oil and gas development.
Instead of development, Trump’s MABA commission will focus on conservation and economic impact from Western public lands. The apparent U-turn on public land sales will look to increase entrance fees, attract more foreign tourists and expand national park infrastructure to generate more revenue from the country’s natural lands.
Made of 11 of President Trump’s cabinet members, the MABA commission will be headed by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, the former North Dakota governor who has drawn criticism for his close ties to the oil industry.
With over 80% of Nevada’s land publicly owned, the MABA commission could have a large impact on the state in the coming years.
“Given the all-out assault on clean water, public lands and wildlife protection from the Trump administration, it’s hard not to be skeptical of anything it announces,” said Andrew Wetzler, senior vice president for nature at the Natural Resources Defense Council, as per The Washington Post.
The executive orders call for economic development through conservation efforts, but vague details leave out most information on how the economics and conservation will be balanced.
The Center Square reached out to the BLM for further detail but did not receive an immediate response.
