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This is a developing story and will be updated as more details are announced.
On June 10, Senate Republicans added an amendment to the Senate budget reconciliation bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” that would mandate the sale of 3.3 million acres of federally-owned land across 11 Western states by 2030.
This amendment, spurred on by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Steve Daines (R-MT), has provoked an uproar from climbers, hikers, and other voices in the outdoor community.
In response, Senator Lee posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) on June 19 that “Lands with high recreation or conservation value are off-limits.” In an interview that same day with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, Lee said, “The vast majority of that land has zero recreational value,” and underscored his intention to convert the land to affordable housing.
However, the 258 million acres of public land that Lee’s amendment would put up for sale include dozens of historic and popular climbing areas.
These include crags in the following areas, which Climbing editors cross-referenced with Mountain Project coordinates:
- Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming
- Vedauwoo, Wyoming
- Wild Iris, Wyoming
- Buttermilks, California
- Pine Creek Canyon, California
- Shelf Road, Colorado
- Joe’s Valley, Utah
- Maple Canyon, Utah
- The Fisher Towers, Utah
- Mill Creek, Utah
- Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah
- Cochise Stronghold, Arizona
- Sedona, Arizona
- The Fins, Idaho
- Smith Rock, Oregon (outside the state park boundaries)
- Parts of Index, Washington
- Leavenworth, Washington
This interactive map by the Wilderness Society shows the full extent of the 258 million acres of public lands that the amendment designates for sale.
If the amendment passes, some or all of the crags would be first offered to state governments for purchase. If the state governments do not have the funds to buy them, the lands will be offered to private developers.
The Senate bill has not yet passed and is awaiting a vote next week. In the meantime, climbing organizations such as Access Fund are urging Americans to contact their Senator and urge them to vote no on the bill.
