The plan to put millions of acres of California forests, parks and other public federal lands at risk of being sold got a devastating, probably lethal, blow as the Senate parliamentarian ruled lawmakers could not consider the proposal as part of its “Big Beautiful Bill” this week. Before such legislation can be considered by the Senate, Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has to make sure what’s in it involves fiscal policy. She decided the plan to sell the land did not meet the standard. Popular destinations near Sacramento and Lake Tahoe were on the original plan’s proposed sale list from the Wilderness Society. … Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, led the effort to sell up to 3 million acres nationwide. He vowed after the ruling to keep fighting. “Stay tuned. We’re just getting started,” he said in a post on X. … He outlined some of the steps he plans. He said he would not be “selling off our forests,” and only land within 5 miles of population centers would be eligible for sales.

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• The Denver Post (Colo.): Senate rulekeeper blocks public lands sales — including in Colorado — from Republican budget bill
• Los Angeles Times: A Republican plan to sell off millions of acres of public lands is no more — for now
• SFGate: Decision made on GOP plan to sell 3M acres of public land
• WyoFile (Jackson): Lee cuts scope of Senate public lands sell-off plan amid setbacks, public opposition
• The New York Times: A plan to sell federal land near this Colorado town looks dead. Here’s why.