GUEST EDITORIAL: Selling public lands is not the answer to affordable housing

In the West, whether you are a rancher, landowner, hunter, fisherman, miner, oil and gas worker or recreational user, federal lands are fundamental to our way of life. That’s why the Western Landowners Alliance opposes the U.S. Senate’s recent proposal to mandate the sale of 0.5% of both Bureau of Land Management) and Forest Service land in 11 western states.

Why does Congress want to sell the heritage of the West? Here is the answer in the Senate Energy Natural Resource Committee’s own words:

“There is a nationwide shortage of 4.5 million houses and a shortage of 7.1 million affordable and available homes. ... This proposal allows a fraction of 1% of federal land to be used to build houses. In doing so, it will create thousands of jobs, allow millions of Americans to realize the American dream, and reduce the deficit and fund our public lands.”

There is no mention by SENR that the proceeds of the sale were intended to help pay for the Budget Reconciliation bill. Budget reconciliation is not the appropriate venue to make federal housing and land management policy. The Senate parliamentarian agrees, ruling on Monday that the provision cannot be included in reconciliation, according to Senate rules.

Western Landowners Alliance recognizes the need for affordable housing in the West. A recently released report from the Western Governors Association highlights key factors contributing to the housing shortage: permitting, costs of construction and financing. A hasty sale of our natural heritage does not solve these barriers and mandating the disposal of a minimum amount of federal acreage is not sound policy.

In some situations, making more land available could alleviate growth pressures for some communities. Better processes are also needed enable voluntary and mutually beneficial land exchanges to resolve checkerboarding and inholdings. In these cases, careful evaluation is needed that includes meaningful public input. Any sale or transfer purported to alleviate housing shortages should have sideboards in place, such as restrictive covenants, to ensure the disposal actually result in the creation of workforce/affordable housing.

All lands with valid existing rights should be protected from sale, whether that is a grazing permit, a ski area, an oil and gas lease, an outfitter permit, or a state-maintained snow machine trail. Municipal watersheds, high-use recreational areas, places experiencing severe water shortages and high-risk wildland-urban interface zones should be excluded from sale. Disposals must also avoid fragmentation and adverse impacts to adjoining public and private lands. Governors of the western states should have the authority to withdraw lands from sale consideration, before or after a land disposal identification process has been completed.

Our public lands are important in so many ways to communities, businesses, individuals and to wildlife. They are more than just places to visit and recreate. They are integral to our ecosystems and provide the natural resources essential to our economy, national security and way of life. Once these lands and the many resources they provide are gone, they are gone forever. Congress should do all it can to conserve and steward public lands. This includes investing, partnering and collaborating with state and local governments to ensure our forests, rangelands and watersheds are healthy and can support the multiple values and uses on which we all depend.