Idaho state legislators from both parties celebrated the death of a federal proposal that would have made millions of acres of public lands, including in Idaho, available to be sold off.
On June 30, 43 Republican Idaho state legislators signed a letter thanking U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson and U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, all R-Idaho, for protecting access to public lands during the recent federal budget reconciliation process.
“Public lands and access to those lands are a cornerstone of Idaho’s identity,” the letter states. “Thanks to your efforts, these amazing spaces will remain in public hands. By ensuring access to hunting, fishing, grazing and outdoor recreation, Idaho will continue to look like the Idaho we all know and love.”
Idaho’s fourth member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, did not receive a letter and voted to oppose the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, the Utah News Dispatch previously reported.
More than 60% of the land in Idaho is public land of some sort, and outdoor recreation on public lands is a major driver of the state’s economy and a lifeblood for businesses and workers in some small communities located near recreational areas.
Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby, signed the public lands letter and posted a photo of it to social media July 1 with a caption stating “No selling of public lands in Idaho!”
In a phone interview Monday with the Idaho Capital Sun, Furniss said there was a “groundswell of grassroots support” from the public for keeping public land public.
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“When this came out my mailbox exploded again,” Furniss said. “I heard Idahoans all over the state say they are against any public land being sold.”
Only Republicans were asked to sign the June 30 public lands letter, with signers including House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star; Senate President Pro Tem Kelly Anthon, R-Burley; House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian; and Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian.
At issue was a proposal included in an earlier version of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” Before he removed the proposal, U.S. Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, led efforts to include a proposal that would have allowed millions of acres of public land to be sold in the West, including in Idaho, States Newsroom and the Washington State Standard previously reported.
Simpson, Crapo and Risch provided public Republican opposition to the public lands sell-off, with Simpson co-sponsoring the federal Public Lands in Public Hands Act and Crapo and Risch announcing their public opposition June 20 to the public lands sell off component of the budget reconciliation process.
Idaho Dems celebrate death of public lands, criticize Republican response
On July 3, Idaho Senate Democrats wrote an opinion piece published by the Idaho Statesman celebrating the death of the public lands selloff.
In the opinion piece, Democrats credited the people of Idaho and the West who love public lands – hunters, campers, fishing enthusiasts, skiers, boaters, hikers, bird watchers, ranchers who graze livestock, rafters, ATV users, snowmobilers and more – with killing the proposal to sell public lands.
“Some of the loudest voices were not of our politicians; they were yours,” Democrats wrote in the piece, which Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; and Sens. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello; Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise; Ali Rabe, D-Boise; Carrie Semmelroth, D-Boise; and Ron Taylor, D-Hailey, signed.
In an interview Tuesday, House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said that support of public lands should not be a partisan issue that only Republicans or Democrats can support.
Rubel also challenged her Republican colleagues in the Idaho Legislature to turn their support of public lands into policy action, not just a letter.
Rubel criticized Republicans in the Idaho Senate who sent a bipartisan public lands bill, House Bill 129, out for amendments, which ultimately resulted in the bill being killed when the 2025 legislative session adjourned in April.
If passed into law, the bill would have extended the amount of time money could be held in the Idaho land bank fund to purchase public lands from five years to 10 years.
Under state law, the land bank fund is used to hold money from the sale of state endowment lands for the purposes of acquiring other land.
But with the death of the bill, Rubel said that tens of millions of dollars that would have been available to acquire or purchase more public lands in Idaho is going away.
“Certainly I appreciate every voice from every end of the political spectrum speaking up in defense of public lands, because it should never be a partisan issue,” Rubel told the Idaho Capital Sun. “But I wish the same zeal for protecting public lands had been manifested during the session when Senate Republicans killed one of the main bills protecting public lands in Idaho.”
Democrats also included another message in their op-ed – if public lands can come under threat once, they can come under threat again.
“We cannot afford to be complacent; we must continue to fight for our public lands and so much more,” Democrats wrote.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.