Utah Sen. Mike Lee is bringing back a proposal that would allow the federal government to sell off several million acres of public land in Utah and other Western states. … Introduced Wednesday evening, Lee’s amendment to congressional Republicans’ budget bill, nicknamed the “big, beautiful bill,” renews an effort initially spearheaded by Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, and Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, that sought to dispose of 11,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in southwestern Utah and some 450,000 acres of federal land in Nevada. … Though the scope is much bigger, Lee’s reasoning behind the proposal is the same as Maloy and Amodei’s — identify parcels of federal land near high-growth areas, and sell them at market value to local governments to use for housing, water infrastructure, roads and other development. 

Related articles:

• The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.): National forest lands could be sold for housing under Senate proposal
• Colorado Public Media: Millions of acres of public land in Colorado, other Western states could be sold under Senate reconciliation bill
• High Country News (Paonia, Colo.): Senate Republicans want to sell 3 million acres of public land
• The New York Times: A G.O.P. plan to sell public land is back. this time, it’s millions of acres.
• E&E News by Politico: Land sale plan draws GOP foes, but how hard will they fight?