Big Beautiful Bill

[M70375!]

I heard the BBB is going to sell 3.1 million acres of public land in Wyoming. We can't let this happen

 

[Elkeater]

I heard the BBB is going to sell 3.1 million acres of public land in Wyoming. We can't let this happen

Not all in WY but yes they would like to sell a few million acres of public land for “affordable housing”. The bill is very vague however and I would encourage reading it. Most all conservation groups have stepped up and opposed it.

 

[Hunt anything]

I believe it was put in the bill by Mike Lee from Utah

 

[JimP]

I heard the BBB is going to sell 3.1 million acres of public land in Wyoming. We can't let this happen

Not just Wyoming but a lot of the public lands in all of the western states.

There are some good things for us hunters such as getting rid of the tax stamp and legal requirements for suppressors.

But what good are suppressors if there is no public land to hunt on?

Make sure that your congressman and senator know that we can't be having public land sold to the highest bidder.

 

[JimP]

I believe it was put in the bill by Mike Lee from Utah

Lee is taking a lot of heat from people in Utah from what I have seen on a Utah outdoor forum

 

[LivingTheDream]

I'm not going to lie, I am bit selfishly indifferent on this one. And this will be an unpopular opinion but here it goes.

First, BLM land has been being sold since the 70s, I believe close to 800k acres has been sold in the last 10 years (I am trying to find where I read that). Also previously administrations had close to 870k acres tagged for solar farms or wind farms for green energy. So this has already been happening and the dilution of public lands has been happening for some time.

Second, being on the East Coast, there was lands leased by the state that were public hunting for years and then the state lost the lease or did a lease swap and public land I hunted for years was gone. It happens, and you have to adjust.

Third, it is hard for me to get worked up about land that I can't draw a tag for. As a non resident to Western states, I have written numerous emails and letters, to state and federal reps and senators. Besides the state of Nevada (which is actually an amazing state for how they handle and respond to feedback in my experience) most were either indifferent and a few openly hostile that a non resident would have an opinion. I realize this is the divide and conquer approach but having so many people tell me it is a privilege to hunt their state and a few have even said NR shouldn't have any hard to get tags, it is hard for me to get fired up on this saying we have to protect these lands.

Fourth, there is a lot of fear mongering going on, I have seen numbers as high as 350 million acres will be eligible for sale, even though a lot of this land will be impossible to reach and makes no sense for any housing, so doubtful it would actually be sold.

Most of my Western hunts have taken place on private or state land, not federal. Hunting will still exist, though it might take a different form and some people won't like that.

Suppressors and SALT Deductions will have a bigger impact on my hunting than the selling of any public lands. Sorry, for what it is worth I do hope it gets stripped out, but it isnt a top line issue.

 

[Firebird]

They will just replace those taxes with different fees such as requiring wma permits.
Read the bills carefully and look at the proposal maps before you make assumptions-

 

[Sabre]

I'm not going to lie, I am bit selfishly indifferent on this one. And this will be an unpopular opinion but here it goes.

First, BLM land has been being sold since the 70s, I believe close to 800k acres has been sold in the last 10 years (I am trying to find where I read that). Also previously administrations had close to 870k acres tagged for solar farms or wind farms for green energy. So this has already been happening and the dilution of public lands has been happening for some time.

Second, being on the East Coast, there was lands leased by the state that were public hunting for years and then the state lost the lease or did a lease swap and public land I hunted for years was gone. It happens, and you have to adjust.

Third, it is hard for me to get worked up about land that I can't draw a tag for. As a non resident to Western states, I have written numerous emails and letters, to state and federal reps and senators. Besides the state of Nevada (which is actually an amazing state for how they handle and respond to feedback in my experience) most were either indifferent and a few openly hostile that a non resident would have an opinion. I realize this is the divide and conquer approach but having so many people tell me it is a privilege to hunt their state and a few have even said NR shouldn't have any hard to get tags, it is hard for me to get fired up on this saying we have to protect these lands.

Fourth, there is a lot of fear mongering going on, I have seen numbers as high as 350 million acres will be eligible for sale, even though a lot of this land will be impossible to reach and makes no sense for any housing, so doubtful it would actually be sold.

Most of my Western hunts have taken place on private or state land, not federal. Hunting will still exist, though it might take a different form and some people won't like that.

Suppressors and SALT Deductions will have a bigger impact on my hunting than the selling of any public lands. Sorry, for what it is worth I do hope it gets stripped out, but it isnt a top line issue.

You're right, this will probably be an unpopular opinion. However, I think you made some great points as well. Other people won't be able to objectively see them, but you are right.

I have seen countless times in hunting groups where residents of states with lots of BLM don't want NR there at all. I have also experienced hostile residents while hunting as a NR in states with lots of federal land available.

Add to all this that they are making it increasingly expensive and impossible to draw tags in all these states for NR and the residents are big supporters of that, by consequence the pool of people who are going to put a lot of effort into fighting with you to save that resource is going to shrink.

Like you, I am also opposed to the selling of the land, I hope it is stopped, etc. But, you can't push 70% of the other people away, say you don't want them and don't care about them, and then expect them to get fired up for you.

 

[Ray B]

In Washington State several square miles of land that was previously National Forest northwest of Mount Rainier National Park has been sold to a local Indian Tribe- using funds they got from their gambling casinos. the land makes up an entire big game hunting unit and the tribe convinced the state to close hunting in it to everyone except tribal members. This was done well before Trump and is the result of Democrat/Anti-hunting groups.

 

[Russ16]

While there are undoubtedly acres that could be sold with minimal impact to hunters I don’t trust the agencies to make the right decisions on which acres to sell. I also hate the precedent. Access for hunting and outdoor recreation is getting harder and harder for the average person. That situation won’t get better as the population expands.

I’m opposed to the provision and have contacted all of my electeds to say so. I encourage everyone else to do the same.

 

[JimP]

Without reading the bill again it seams like I remember that for right now the land is to be sold to cities and towns for development around them. But in 10 years it will do the so called sunset where the land can be sold to anyone with enough money.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Lee is taking a lot of heat from people in Utah from what I have seen on a Utah outdoor forum

https://www.abc4.com/news/politics/inside-utah-politics/sen-lee-changes-public-lands-sale/

 

[Russ16]

Without reading the bill again it seams like I remember that for right now the land is to be sold to cities and towns for development around them. But in 10 years it will do the so called sunset where the land can be sold to anyone with enough money.

Lee specifically mentions Blackstone as a buyer.

 

[Hunt anything]

It looks like the senate parliamentarian struck down part of the land sell off.

For those that are for this sell off; what is to stop some rich person or corporation comes along and buy a chunk of what is public land and just slaps posted signs and has themselves a private hunting reserve.
My biggest concern is if this becomes mainstream, what’s to stop them from the sell off of all public lands such as National Wildlife Refuges? I am skeptical that the feds ability to contain themselves.

I have spent a good amount of time on federal lands hunting and fishing and would hate to see it go to private hands.

 

[analog_peninsula]

Texas, unlike most western states, is 98% private and there are infinitely more hunting opportunities than there are in California, for example. Public lands are usually poorly managed and hunting fees, using California as an example again, may be diverted into the general fund rather than to support wildlife and habitat. The issue isn’t remotely black and white.

 

[Aaron N]

Lee specifically mentions Blackstone as a buyer.

Perfect, sell it all to corporations and the Chinese

 

[Tundra Tiger]

98% private and there are infinitely more hunting opportunities than there are in California, for example.

Perhaps. My understanding is a lot of those hunting opportunities come at a price. Not everyone can afford to pay those prices.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I hunt mostly block management private land in Montana. The landowner gets paid by the state per hunter signing in. But many if not most of those landowners are essentially forced into the program. Their ranch is mostly federal lease or state school lands. If I can step onto those public land sections from a public road ( = ANY path formerly used by a school bus or mail truck) then the landowner can't stop my access and hunting. Oh, a lot of bigshot eastern transplant hobby "ranchers" (put the present governor and US senator in that bunch, both GOP of course) have tried to stop us from accessing those lands but hasn't worked ... so far. Seems every other year the state has to waste millions in legal costs fighting their appeals. Now they're trying a different tactic. Got their patsy in the White House and his partisan idiots control the legislature to hand the land over. Don't expect to get anywhere writing to them. They are blind and deaf. Very good news this morning hearing Trump has self-destructed ... again. At some point the world has got to stop listening to him. Our only hope is to hang onto that land until midterms next year when we (yes, I'm a US citizen) will turf these greedy clowns. Sad that many good guys will probably get axed with them. It is a mess. Every day I wake up and say "What next?" By this fall Cheeto Man will know he's lame duck. Then watch that vindictive nut get even crazier. The F word will be a daily occurrence. Hard to be a proud American these days.

 

[Inkgardener]

I’m hoping for the best, but I never underestimate the possibility of a politician to screw this up. I never want to lose hunting land, but it is time to fix the NFA.

 

[Inkgardener]

I hunt mostly block management private land in Montana. The landowner gets paid by the state per hunter signing in. But many if not most of those landowners are essentially forced into the program. Their ranch is mostly federal lease or state school lands. If I can step onto those public land sections from a public road ( = ANY path formerly used by a school bus or mail truck) then the landowner can't stop my access and hunting. Oh, a lot of bigshot eastern transplant hobby "ranchers" (put the present governor and US senator in that bunch, both GOP of course) have tried to stop us from accessing those lands but hasn't worked ... so far. Seems every other year the state has to waste millions in legal costs fighting their appeals. Now they're trying a different tactic. Got their patsy in the White House and his partisan idiots control the legislature to hand the land over. Don't expect to get anywhere writing to them. They are blind and deaf. Very good news this morning hearing Trump has self-destructed ... again. At some point the world has got to stop listening to him. Our only hope is to hang onto that land until midterms next year when we (yes, I'm a US citizen) will turf these greedy clowns. Sad that many good guys will probably get axed with them. It is a mess. Every day I wake up and say "What next?" By this fall Cheeto Man will know he's lame duck. Then watch that vindictive nut get even crazier. The F word will be a daily occurrence. Hard to be a proud American these days.

Everyone has an opinion about Trump in both directions, but I have to believe the reason alot of our unexpected 2A “wins” lately are because Jr. is in the President’s ear.