Monday, December 22: Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has revised a Congressional amendment that caused a stir among conservationists last week.

　　As the Senate considered various appropriations bills during its final working days of 2025, Sen. Lee had proposed removing language meant to protect national parks from additional austerity measures by the White House and Congress.

　　A bipartisan group of senators — including Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) — had added the Section 130 language to an appropriations bill for the Interior Department. The language stated that all federal lands, including national parks, must be maintainedas federal lands. It was a preemptive measure against the policies of President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who have both floated the possibility of giving away some national parks to individual states.

　　When Sen. Lee introduced an amendment last week to remove that language, it alarmed many conservation groups. The Utah senator has long advocated for giving some federal land back to states, and even proposed the sale of up to 3 million acres of public land this summer.

　　He filed a new amendment this week that would allow the Section 130 language to remain. A spokesperson told GearJunkie that Senator Lee does not support the sale of national parks and never will.

　　Sen. Lee: Section 130 Language Is Impractical The problem with the Section 130 language isnt that it protects national parks, Sen. Lee said. The issue is that it could prevent the National Park Service from making practical changes to federal lands and park boundaries, he said.

　　For example, the inflexible language might restrict the agencys ability to implement certain legislation. That includes land swaps between agencies that must be approved by the Energy and Natural Resource Committee

　　The Interior [Department] flagged that Section 130 would permanently freeze Park Service boundaries, blocking routine land exchanges Congress has long approved, such as past legislation returning sacred lands near Denali to the Doyon Alaska Native Corporation, according to an statement Sen. Lee shared with GearJunkie. That was the concern. Selling national parks was never on the table.”

　　The Interior Department also sent the Senate a request from the National Park Service (NPS) asking for Section 130 to be removed from the bill. In the request, the NPS outlines more than 20 planned land exchanges, mostly between parks and neighboring conservation groups, that it says could be prohibited by Section 130.

　　For now, the language remains in the bill until Congress reconvenes in January, when it will have several weeks to fund the NPS — and the rest of the government — before a Jan. 30 deadline. With the White House proposing a $1.2 billion cut to the NPS, conservation groups remain concerned about the future of national parks.

　　Alarm Spreads Over Amendment That Could Remove Park Protections Friday, December 19: A new attempt to safeguard national parks from losing federal protection and oversight is at risk of failure. Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) — who proposed the sale of up to 3 million acres of public land this summer — introduced an amendment this week that would strip language from an appropriations bill that specifically outlines federal protections of all national park sites, according to park advocates.

　　Lees amendment would remove several sections from a Senate appropriations bill for the Interior Department, which manages the National Park Service (NPS).

　　One of those sections was recently added by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), and essentially mandates that national parks must remain federal property. Its an attempt to buoy park protections as Congress considers more funding cuts to the NPS.

　　“Senator Lee’s proposal to sell off national park lands is an assault on treasures that belong to every American, Sen. Merkley told GearJunkie. I wrote and secured protection for these lands and no cuts to National Park Service operations in the 2026 Interior funding bill with support from both Democrats and Republicans. I’ll keep fighting to pass these special places to the generation to come.”

　　In a statement to GearJunkie, Sen. Lees office disagreed with that interpretation: “The Department of the Interior has no authority to sell national parks, and nothing in this amendment would create such authority, a spokesperson for Lees office said. This amendment resolves an error that interfered with bills routinely considered by the ENR [Energy and Natural Resource] Committee. Senator Lee opposes the sale of National Parks.”

　　The spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions about what error the amendment resolves, or what bills it would interfere with.

　　Hundreds of protestors gathered at Rocky Mountain National Park in March as part of nationwide protests against President Trumps cuts to the park service; (photo/Resistance Rangers) Why Is the Language Important? The language added to the Senate appropriations bill is short. It simply states that the Department of the Interior shall maintain all federal lands designated as a national park unit as federal lands.

　　That section of the bill is significant because it functions as a stopgap measure against future attempts to sell off national park units, park advocates told GearJunkie. The Trump administration, which laid off a quarter of NPSs workforce this year, has suggested an additional $1 billion cut to the NPS in 2026.

　　If Congress approved a funding cut that steep, it would result in the closure of 350 of the countrys 433 national park sites, the NPCA said. That includes historic monuments, scenic rivers, and other sites maintained by the NPS. This year, both the Trump administration and some Congressional representatives — like Sen. Lee — have suggested that some national park sites should be given to individual states.

　　Thats a slippery slope toward the sell-off of our public lands, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) told GearJunkie. “A vote in favor of Senator Lee’s amendment is a vote to sell America’s national parks. And we won’t stand for it, Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of NPCA, said. [National parks] are our legacy. And they are not for sale.

　　Its also an urgent issue because Congress is up against a Jan. 30 funding deadline for the federal government. If they cant pass funding bills before then, the government could face another shutdown. Congress just took a recess for several weeks, and wont return until early January.

　　Sen. Lee alongside President Trump; (photo/@BasedMikeLee, on X) Senator Still Targeting Public Lands Sen. Lee has already been in the spotlight this year for proposals to sell public lands. His proposed amendment comes after Lee suggested that Congress sell off 3 million acres of public land this summer.

　　That was met with severe backlash from the outdoor recreation industry, including national organizations like NPCA as well as heavyweight brands like Patagonia and The North Face. Together, the coalition raised a chorus of protest against Lees attempt to sell off public land used by hikers, mountain bikers, climbers, and paddlers.

　　Since then, Lee and fellow Utah Sen. John Curtis, also a Republican, have made several other proposals that raised the alarm for public land advocates. For starters, theyre pushing legislation to give 24 acres of the Dixie National Forest to the Utah ski resort town of Brian Head. They also introduced a series of bills that increase off-highway vehicle use on public lands, including Capitol Reef National Park.

　　A Yellowstone National Park ranger walking along the wooden path in the Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin; (photo/Shutterstock) Park Advocates: Call Your Senators Lee, who chairs the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resource Committee, has a long history of trying to give away federal lands.

　　Since at least 2018, Lee has advocated for giving federal lands to the states, arguing that public lands should be open for development and managed by states.

　　“A ‘new’ Homestead Act could expand the law to allow states, local governments, and individuals to petition the government to use that land for affordable housing … or education … or health care or research,” Lee said in a speech at the time.

　　But giving away national parks and other public lands should never be on the table, and this weeks amendment is just the latest example, said Adam Cramer, CEO of Outdoor Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group.

　　“Keeping public lands public is a core value shared by millions of outdoor recreationists across the country,” Cramer told GearJunkie. “We oppose any effort to open the door to transfer, sell off, or give away national parks as well as national forests and BLM lands, at scale. These parks, trails, and wild and scenic rivers belong to the American people, and we encourage lawmakers to reject efforts, including Amendment 3972 [Lees amendment] to the Interior Appropriations bill, that could lead to giving away National Parks or other public lands.”

　　The NPCA has called on parks supporters to contact their senators and ask them to oppose Amendment 3972.

　　Opinion: Rebranded but Still Rotten, Sen. Mike Lee Updates His Public Land Sell-OffSenator Mike Lee revised his public land sell-off proposal after backlash from hunters and public land advocates. But the threat isn’t gone. Not one acre is for sale, and we’re not backing down. Read more