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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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In a four-year plan released this week, the Trump administration revealed how it will “decrease the size of the federal estate” by selling public lands to states, tribes and local governments.
This is the first time that the Interior Department has confirmed it will sell federal land, despite the fact that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum previously said the Trump administration had no plans to sell public land.
But in the newly proposed strategic plan, released on November 10, the department said that sales would occur.
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“Through these sales, the Department will be able to focus its resources on primary federal responsibilities and nationally significant federal lands,” the report read, adding that a portion of the proceeds from the sales would in part go into improving the local area while also “decreasing the federal taxpayer’s financial responsibility to manage federal lands.”
The Interior Department oversees more than 750,000 square miles of land, but the plan offered no details on which land would be sold, or how sales would be arranged.
Newsweek reached out to the Interior Department via email for comment.
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This is not the first time the Trump administration has floated the idea of selling public lands. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law in July 2025 included provisions to sell millions of acres of federally owned land to private buyers.
A flagship domestic legislative package for Trump’s second term, it suggested selling between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of federally owned land across 11 western states including Utah, Nevada, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
The plan faced significant pushback from senators and the public, including several Republican politicians who threatened to vote against their own party on the issue.
The provision was ultimately withdrawn from the Big Beautiful Bill, and it passed without any mention of the sale of public land.
Proposal Faces Pushback
As the Interior Department plan was revealed this week, pushback on the plan to sell public and federally owned land soon arrived.
Republican Senator Tim Sheehy said on X: “We are seeking information from the Administration on this proposal. Our office was not consulted on this. Last year, I stopped the sale of lands in the One Big Beautiful Bill. I will not allow ONE ACRE of Montana land to be sold.”
Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree also weighed in, writing on X: “Donald Trump is treating America’s public lands like his personal real estate portfolio. And Doug Burgum just put the sell-off in writing. The Interior Department’s new five-year plan calls for selling federal lands to states, local governments, and tribes. Which lands? How many acres? The plan doesn’t say.”
American Conservation Coalition (ACC) also spoke out against the suggested plan to sell public lands.
“ACC wants America's natural heritage conserved and put to its highest and best use. That means keeping the land hunters, anglers, ranchers, and families depend on in public hands. Any targeted land swaps or sales must ensure public access and promote conservation values,” they said in a statement.
“That position matters right now because the Interior Department's new strategic plan, released this week, commits to shrinking the federal estate by offering states, localities, and Tribes the chance to buy federal land. It's the first time Interior has officially said it wants to sell, and the plan names no parcels, acreage, timeline, or pricing but asserts a portion of the proceeds would go back to buyers for conservation elsewhere. It should be noted that a strategic plan is not legal authority to sell public lands,” the statement added.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Cristina Diciu.
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