House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop has put in a budget request to allocate $50 million to pay for costs related to transferring federal land to states, says The Hill.
One of the loudest voices in the land transfer movement, the Republican senator from Utah Senator argued in his request that “poorly managed federal lands create a burden for surrounding states and communities.” Bishop added that giving states control of federal lands would help the national budget by lowering the costs of land upkeep, while giving states a chance to make money off the land for themselves.
Environmentalists have opposed Bishop’s calls for a land transfer, as have President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.
“Make no mistake: America is wide awake to these assaults and will not let a bully like Chairman Bishop use hard-earned taxpayer dollars to ensure oil, gas and mining industries can lay waste to the forests, parks and refuges that belong to us all,” said Matt Keller, senior director of conservation with the Wilderness Society, in a statement.