Though broad pushback already drove Utah Sen. Mike Lee to scale back his public lands sell-off proposal for the Republicans’ big budget bill, a large and boisterous crowd still gathered Thursday evening in front of the Wyoming State Capitol to send the message “not for sale.”
The group of hunters, anglers, snowmobilers, hikers, wildland firefighters and scientific researchers numbered well into the hundreds and was likely one of the largest protest groups to gather at the statehouse in recent years. The high turnout in Cheyenne showcased what Lee’s proposal has once again reminded the West — selling off public lands sparks fierce political opposition.
“I’d like to thank Sen. Mike Lee for bringing us all together,” Rep. Karlee Provenza, an Albany County Democrat, told the crowd, speaking from the top of the sweeping staircase at the Capitol’s main entrance. “I’m just kidding,” she continued, “let’s boo that jackass.”
And so the crowd did, loudly.
Rallies were also planned for Sheridan on Friday and Pinedale on Saturday.
Though the Cheyenne rally was organized by Provenza and other well-known Wyoming progressives, a handful of attendees told WyoFile they were conservative voters outraged at the land sale. And when Wyoming political commentator (and WyoFile opinion columnist) Rod Miller asked fellow Republicans to identify themselves, hands shot up throughout the crowd.
After initially pushing a sale that could have topped more than 3 million acres across 11 western states, Lee stripped U.S. Forest Service lands from his proposal and refocused it on Bureau of Land Management parcels within 5 miles of cities and towns. Lee has described the sale as a measure to boost the construction of affordable housing. His bill language was light on enforcement requirements for affordability, however. Lee’s longtime crusade to trim down the amount of federal land in the country also made his suggestion that the sale could mitigate a housing shortage difficult to swallow for his opponents.
Conservation groups, hook-and-bullet advocacy organizations and other opponents are watching this week to see whether Lee’s new language will pass muster with the Senate Parliamentarian, a legislative referee of sorts who has been ruling on what measures can and can’t go into the budget bill.
The parliamentarian rejected Lee’s previous proposal.
In Cheyenne, rally goers listened as speakers described the bond Wyomingites have to public lands — whether that’s the iconic peaks and canyons or the parcels close to town that give the state its unique character. Those latter lands are the ones Lee now seeks to put on the chopping block, some speakers said.
David Willms, a former staff member for Republican Gov. Matt Mead who now works as an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation, said Lee would sell off plots of land where young kids catch their first string of trout and new hunters bag their first deer. Though Lee may have backed off the more drastic sale, Willms urged public land advocates to keep up the fight both for the length of the current debate and beyond.
“He only needs to win once,” Willms said of Lee. “We need to win every time.”
Dave Gustafson, a Vietnam War veteran, told attendees that when he returned from that brutal conflict, he turned to Wyoming’s wild, “sacred” places for spiritual solace. “I’m sure every one of you have places you go to seek refuge,” he said.
Gustafson then read a poem he’d written about a grandfather telling his son a favored public land fishing hole had been sold off.
“I’ve been going there since ‘54,” he read, “but we can’t go there anymore.”
Gustafson’s son, Logan Gustafson, also spoke. As a wildland firefighter, Gustafson said he and his colleagues developed ties to the public lands where they grappled with sometimes dangerous conflagrations. Referencing a saying for moments when firefighters have their backs against the proverbial wall, he told protesters to keep resisting public land sales even when it seems the odds are against them.
“Keep one foot inside the black and hold the line,” he said. The “black” refers to already burned ground that is considered unlikely to burn again.
Listening in the crowd was James Schick, a Cheyenne pharmacist who said he considers himself an independent voter but leans more conservative than liberal. He criticized Lee for trying to ram policy with such intense public interest into law through a budget bill that Republicans in control of Washington, D.C. see as a must-pass measure.
“We need to have these types of conversations in a reasonable and gracious manner,” Schick said. “Don’t try to force an agenda that is industry-based, it seems like, on our public land.”
Another attendee held a sign that said, “if there was ever a hill to die on, it’s a public land hill.” He declined to share his name with WyoFile, saying he worked in government and did not want to face reprisal. But he described himself as feeling betrayed by Sen. John Barrasso after backing the Casper doctor in every campaign he’s mounted.
“Apparently, Barrasso, [Sen. Cynthia] Lummis and [Rep.] Harriet Hageman back this,” he said, “because Hageman said ‘don’t worry your wildernesses, your national parks, your national monuments, you can still hunt and fish them.’ Well, who hunts on wildernesses but tourists? Outfitters take tourists into the wilderness. I’m not going to pack my kid 14 miles in for his first [deer]. This is Wyoming, are you kidding me?”
Under Lee’s original proposal, designations like national parks and wildlife refuges were exempted from sale. Though Wyoming’s congressional delegation has not explicitly backed Lee’s proposal in public comments, Hageman has defended it, none have criticized it, and all have expressed support for some level of federal land sell-off.
At the rally, Provenza and other speakers said public land advocates need to create enough pushback on Lee that other politicians will hesitate to support similar initiatives in the future. And she called on Wyoming’s congressional delegation to block Lee’s latest language from the budget bill, and keep the public lands surrounding Wyoming towns intact.
“Why the hell is Harriet Hageman, or John Barrasso or Cynthia Lummis not with us here today?” Provenza asked.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct Rep. Karlee Provenza’s comments about Sen. Mike Lee. —Ed.
It’s too bad this article didn’t mention that the federal government owns about 620 – 640 million acres of public land out of the approximately 2.27-billion acres of land in the USA, which is about 28%+/- depending on the source. This doesn’t include military land.
Mike Lee’s 3-million acre proposed sell-off is about 4.7% of Uncle Sam’s public land holdings. I’m OK with this if the proceeds are devoted to paying off the ~$37-trillion national debt BOTH parties have racked up over the decades.
The current Land Use planning regs provide for the identification of land appropriate for the use of an established community (and then for sale or trade, etc) so Lee’s stuff was unnecessary amongst other things.
Thanks to Andrew, Angus, and Wyofile for the excellent coverage on this.
Good to see such a great crowd in Cheyenne protesting Public Land sales. Our Constitutional 1st amendment provides the right to protest and seek redress regarding governmental decisions and proclivities by any political party.
BTW simply parroting Fox News talking points seems redundant, Mr. Skow, I suggest that next time simply cite Fox News and leave it at that.
A very good rally for the people of Wyoming to stand up for their BLM property. Thank you so much representative Karlee Provenza for standing with Wyoming‘s regular folks who do take a tent and go camp on BLM land you are a shiny star in our political representation of Wyoming. You truly do stand with the people. Please stay in politics.
Cynthia Lummis stated there’s too much land owned by the federal government, which is the BLM land which is our land. Meanwhile, she was raised on a huge sprawling ranch. Don’t think she understands that we all can’t go to elk Mountain Ranch or Q Creek Ranch stay in a lodge breakfast dinner served beautiful lodging at a huge price along with a guide to go harvest an elk. Some of us don’t want that we want to do our own thing hunt our own way and BLM land is a huge part of that. Besides that these ranchers own all the best land there is for hunting. so please don’t sell any of our BLM land.
The very state of Wyoming was all “Public Land” at one time and sold off in chunks. Some went in the Homestead Act. So it nothing new.
People who vote straight republican should take note. These clowns don’t care about you. They never have and never will
Chuck. In 1998 Bill Clinton was president when BLM sold 44,000 acres to Las Vegas. Now as I recall Bill was a DEMOCRAT. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on that.
Millions of acres compared to thousands.
Wyoming folk value their public land more than colorado people apparently.
Again, stop drinking the kool aid
True Larry. However, some of the money was supposed to be used for conservation AND the purchase of environmentally sensitive land.
My feelings exactly, Chuck. The Wyomingites at the protest to save their sacred lands need to remember they voted for the people who don’t want what they do.
Senator John Barrasso and Senator Lummis continue to lie and stonewall on this issue, telling their constituents that they are reviewing Mike Lee’s revised amendment to steal our public lands and don’t have any comments at this time. The Senate hoped to begin voting on its version of the bill tomorrow in order to pass the bill by July 4, as Trump has demanded. These two spineless congressional cowards continue to ignore the objections of selling our public lands from thousands of their constituents. When will they reveal their positions on the sale and steal of our public lands? Probably after they have voted in favor of Mike Lee’s amendment. COWARDS! Barrasso and Lummis don’t represent Wyoming, they represent their millionaire and billionaire campaign contributors. Time to vote them both out of office!
Wyoming’s delegation is bought and paid for by the oil and gas industry. I’m all for the industry as they provide numerous jobs here, however- The federal oil and gas royalty rate (what oil and gas companies pay to the federal government as owner of the minerals) for over 100 years has been 12.5%. In 2022, it was raised to 16.67%, the same amount that the State of Wyoming receives for state minerals (privately owned minerals are leased at a much higher rate, I’ve seen it as high as 25% on some leases). Mike Lee’s bill wants to lower the rate back to 12.5%, apparently because the current rate is ‘cumbersome’ to the industry.
https://www.energy.senate.gov/2025/6/chairman-lee-releases-enr-budget-reconciliation-text
My guess is this is why Wyoming’s delegation support the sale of our public lands.
Barrasso, Hageman and Lummis are a disgrace. They’re also cowards.