Public Land Advocates Warn Senate Amendment Could Greenlight Sale of National Parks

Public land advocates this week warned that a proposed Senate amendment to an appropriations bill could clear a path toward downsizing America’s national parks system.

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — and who endured a firestorm of criticism earlier this year when he introduced back-to-back proposals to scale down the nation’s public land inventory — submitted the amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act on Dec. 15, setting it up for a vote as early as this week.

The Defense Department’s appropriations bill, as currently written, includes language that would prevent the Interior Department from disposing of national park units — a provision that lawmakers introduced in response to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s suggestion that the National Park Service is overburdened trying to manage many of its smaller sites. As proposed by Lee, Amendment No. 3972 would strike language explicitly requiring the Interior Department to maintain all existing National Park Service (NPS) units, national historic trails, and wild and scenic rivers “as Federal land and continue to operate such unit, trail, or river as an entity of the National Park Service including for such purposes as Federal employee staffing and entry, permit, and other fee collections.”

Because the amendment comes in the wake of Lee’s earlier attempts to undercut federal ownership of some public land, advocacy groups were quick to pounce on the amendment in hopes of stifling momentum and sending a strong counter message.

“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 the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement.

Michael Jamison, who as NPCA’s Crown of the Continent campaign director works to promote policies that benefit Glacier National Park and other NPS units, said the amendment is akin to “another trial balloon” to test the nation’s appetite for a public land sell-off. The amendment’s “cloak-and-dagger” manner, Jamison said, was also troubling.

“He’s like a car thief who’s going around testing all the doors to see which ones are unlocked and eventually he’s going to steal our outdoor heritage,” Jamison said of Lee’s efforts. “He’s jiggling the door handles and we’ve got to make sure the locks are secure and intact.”

Montana’s U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, both Republicans, earned plaudits from public lands advocates when they broke from their party ranks to block the sale of public lands from being included in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Daines said Montana’s senior senator is “reviewing all amendments” but had little else to add given that a vote on the Lee amendment has not yet been scheduled.

A spokesperson for Sheehy, Jack O’Brien, said the senator “has been unwavering and consistent in his stalwart defense of public lands: he believes public lands belong in public hands, opposes the sale of public lands, and will always fight to protect our right to hunt, fish, and recreate on our public lands.”

A spokesperson for Zinke deferred to the Senate, given that a version of Lee’s amendment has not surfaced in the House appropriations bill.

In Montana, where gateway communities depend on visitation to Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, business leaders were quick to react to Lee’s proposal.

Upon learning of the proposed amendment Wednesday, Gardiner Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Terese Petcoff said she “reached out to staff in both Senator Daines’ and Sheehy’s offices, urging them to vote no.”

“Voting in favor of such an amendment could pose significant harm to our economy here locally and across the nation as our National Parks drive billions of dollars and are significant job creators,” Petcoff said in an email.

A recent National Park Service report revealed that, in 2024, 4.7 million people spent an estimated $710 million in local gateway regions while visiting Yellowstone National Park, supporting a total of 6,560 jobs, $322 million in labor income, $544 million in value added, and $903 million in economic output in local gateway economies. Meanwhile, Glacier’s 3,208,755 park visitors spent an estimated $458 million in local gateway regions — expenditures that supported a total of 5,190 jobs, $217 million in labor income, $359 million in value added, and $656 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Glacier National Park.

“Additionally, our parks — and preserving them — seem to be an area which most Americans agree they want to keep intact our history, wildlife and landscapes,” Petcoff said. “I am hopeful that our Senators will vote no on this amendment, as they have been strong advocates for our public lands.”

Meanwhile, leaders in the conservation community minced no words about what they view is at stake.

“This is a blatant and tone-deaf attack on America’s public lands,” Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, said in a statement. “With this amendment, Mike Lee is telling President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that even our national parks can be sold to the highest bidder. Our parks are the legacy that we pass along to our kids and grandkids, not lines on a balance sheet.”

This story was updated to include comments from the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce.

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