Midnight land grab, politicians push secret sell-off in Nevada

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In the dead of night, Nevada lawmakers pushed through a last-minute amendment to sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of public land, bypassing public input and meaningful debate. The move, introduced at midnight, was quietly slipped into the budget reconciliation package, ensuring that most Americans would never see it coming.

The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), was introduced at 11:00 p.m., just as lawmakers were wrapping up a 13-hour budget hearing. The timing was deliberate. By introducing the measure at the last possible moment, lawmakers ensured that no public discussion would take place before the vote.

The land in question includes nearly half a million acres of federally managed property in Nevada and Utah, much of it overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service. The amendment circumvents established laws, allowing the sale to proceed without local community input or environmental review.

The timing of the amendment is particularly troubling. The House version of the budget bill did not originally include any mention of land sales, meaning the provision was forced in at the last minute. The sale proceeds will not be reinvested into public lands, as required by the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). Instead, the money will go directly into the U.S. Treasury, raising concerns that the move is nothing more than a budgetary maneuver to offset spending elsewhere.

Public outrage is growing. Conservationists, tribal leaders, and local officials are demanding answers, questioning why lawmakers chose to push the amendment through in secrecy. The lack of transparency has fueled speculation that special interests stand to benefit, while ordinary Americans lose access to public lands that have been protected for generations.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where opponents hope to block the land sale before it becomes law. If the amendment passes, it could reshape land policy across the country, making it easier for lawmakers to sell off public assets without public consent.

Sources:

https://www.fieldandstream.com/stories/conservation/public-lands-and-waters/house-passes-public-land-sell-off

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15052025/nevada-utah-public-lands-housing-development

https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/house-approves-public-land-sales