Interior plan sets path to sell or transfer public lands

By James Calloway

Interior’s fiscal 2026-2030 plan would shrink the U.S. federal land estate through sales, swaps and transfers; Congress must approve any Bureau of Land Management parcel sale above 2,500 acres.

Interior says it manages more than 500 million acres of land, plus 3.2 billion acres of offshore resources and 700 million acres of underground minerals—about 20 percent of the country’s lands, from national parks to wildlife refuges.

Its plan says the agency will “work to decrease the size of the federal estate” and concentrate resources on primary federal responsibilities and nationally significant lands. Some sale proceeds would return to the purchasing entities for conservation purposes.

The strategy would let Interior transfer swaths of public land to state, local and tribal governments through sales or swaps. The document names no specific parcels or sale schedule, and Interior did not respond to requests for comment. For larger BLM parcels, the transfer still depends on congressional action.

What changes for energy and minerals?

The plan commits Interior to streamlining environmental reviews and expediting leasing and permitting for energy companies. It also directs the department to “consolidate its workforce to advance operational efficiencies,” after the agency lost more than 17 percent of its workforce under the second Trump administration.

The first goal is “Increase American Prosperity.” Opening pages carry images of an oil rig and an offshore oil operation, while the plan makes no mention of wind or solar power.

Secretary Doug Burgum wrote: “Together, we can simplify processes and remove red tape that creates drudgery for our team members and impedes progress.” He added that the agency could bring forward new ideas and better ways of working and “turn electricity into intelligence.”

ProPublica reported on Nov. 6 that Burgum has made millions of dollars from investments in artificial intelligence powered by data centers.

Critics see a route for data center developers, mining firms and energy companies to buy large tracts for development. Kate Groetzinger, communications director for the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities, said: “This is the biggest attack we’ve ever seen on public lands.”

State, local and tribal recipients may lack the money to maintain transferred lands and could sell them to private interests, critics say. They describe the process as a first step toward wholesale privatization of lands in public ownership for more than 150 years.

For operators, the plan could shorten permitting and widen federal acreage access, but it does not yet identify parcels for sale.

Can data centers become major land buyers?

The strategy does not name data centers as buyers. Separately, the White House had asked BLM state offices to identify public lands suitable for such uses.

Last June, BLM approved an AI data center on 81 acres near Boulder City, Nevada. The builder had received federal approval in 2023 for a solar farm, then amended its application to add the data center.

A federal judge halted the project because BLM had not conducted a new environmental analysis and instead reused the prior solar review—a likely violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

Energy and mining interests have long obtained access to oil, gas and minerals beneath public lands through leases. The plan would allow BLM to sell or transfer those properties outright to agencies that could then resell them, potentially converting a lease position into an asset that can change hands.

In Alaska, the federal government is expected soon to open 28 million acres to new development and land ownership, according to the Juneau Independent.

The Nevada ruling shows that faster land access still depends on a defensible environmental review.

Which transfers are already under way?

The administration has begun planning to offload selected public lands. The Forest Service, which sits under the U.S. Department of Agriculture rather than Interior, issued a permit this September for Pitkin County to manage a section of White River National Forest.

The section contains the Maroon Bells Scenic Area, which draws hundreds of thousands of recreators annually. Critics see the Pitkin County permit as a trial run for broader public-land transfers.

Last March, the Forest Service transferred a sacred Indigenous site to Resolution Copper, a mining company. Both cases involve the Forest Service rather than BLM.

These cases show that public-land transfers can proceed through more than one federal agency.

Can large sales move without Congress?

BLM needs congressional approval to sell public parcels larger than 2,500 acres. The sales must also meet a national-interest test, which Groetzinger said federal law interprets broadly.

Groetzinger also said the law contains loopholes. The strategic plan repeatedly cites national security to justify future sales, establishing the rationale for agencies to invoke the national-interest requirement.

A sale above 2,500 acres cannot close without Congress, while smaller sales still face a national-interest test.

What happens to federal conservation buying?

The plan would give up the option of using the Land and Water Conservation Fund to buy more federal acreage. Interior instead says it will “shift its investment focus” to recreational and conservation easements on private land.

The fund protects thousands of parks, natural areas, historic sites and other projects nationwide from private development. Groetzinger called that role important and said the shift away from buying land would be unprecedented.

Jayson O’Neill, a spokesman for Save Our Parks in Montana, said public lands and waters underpin recreation, tourism and the viability of local communities. He opposed what he described as giving federal lands and resources to industry.

The plan would end new federal land purchases through the conservation fund and shift spending toward easements on private property.

What should operators watch?

The watch item is the first parcel list and the legal basis for each proposed transfer. Alaska’s expected opening of 28 million acres and the Nevada court’s environmental ruling will show how quickly the broader strategy can move.

For oil, gas and mining companies, congressional approval of large BLM sales and litigation over smaller transfers will determine whether the policy becomes title change on the ground.