Damon Motz-Storey, Sierra Club Oregon Chapter Director, 303.913.5634, damon.motz-storey@sierraclub.org
PORTLAND, Ore. — As many Oregonians seek outdoor spaces for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, the Sierra Club Oregon Chapter commends the Oregon congressional delegation for defending against recent attempts to force the sale of public lands in both the U.S. House and Senate. Over the past two months, people across Oregon have expressed strong opposition to multiple proposals that would sell the state’s shared Forest Service and BLM natural spaces to fund tax cuts for billionaires.
Last weekend, Utah Senator Mike Lee announced he would withdraw his latest version of sell-off language after weeks of pressure from advocates and the public. Oregon’s Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, vocally fought Lee’s proposal in all of its forms, and were joined by all six of Oregon’s Congressional Representatives (Cliff Bentz, Suzanne Bonamici, Janelle Bynum, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas) in opposition to the large-scale sale of public lands.
The withdrawal of the sell-off language brings to an end the quixotic journey of the controversial provision, which initially would have made millions of acres of public lands across the West eligible for sale to private developers. The latest version of Lee’s proposal would have forced the sale of as much as 1.2 million acres across 11 states to private developers, including Oregon. Previously, the House considered and ultimately removed a proposal from Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah.
While the forced sell-off provision was stripped, the budget bill now being considered by the House remains devastating for people, the climate, and public lands.
In response, Damon Motz-Storey, Oregon State Chapter Director of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“Oregonians across the political spectrum have made it clear they oppose selling off our public lands to fund tax cuts for billionaires, not now, not ever. We are thankful our Congressional delegation—even Republican Cliff Bentz of the second district—listened to the many people who hike, hunt, explore, and love these places. Unfortunately, the fight is not over. We urge our Representatives to stop this bill’s assault on clean energy, healthcare, and democracy and do all they can to ensure the ‘public’ remains in public lands.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.