Rep. Chaffetz Withdraws Bill to Sell off 3.3 Million Acres of Public Land

Earlier in the week, we posted about two bills introduced in the House that threatened to sell off and dramatically change the management of our public lands. Over 4,000 of you wrote letters to your lawmakers, and thousands more have called their lawmakers’ offices to voice their support for public lands.

Along with outdoor recreation advocates, sportsmen and outdoor businesses were vocal in their opposition to these bills. This unusually intense outpouring of support for public lands had a real impact.

Last night, Rep. Chaffetz (R-UT), who had introduced the bills, revealed that he was withdrawing HR 621, which calls for the sell off of 3.3 million acres of public lands in the west, after public outcry.

In a post on Facebook and Instagram, he announced: “I am withdrawing HR 621. I'm a proud gun owner, hunter and love our public lands. The bill would have disposed of small parcels of lands Pres. Clinton identified as serving no public purpose but groups I support and care about fear it sends the wrong message. The bill was originally introduced several years ago. I look forward to working with you. I hear you and HR 621 dies tomorrow.”

Outdoor Alliance continues to watch closely the other worrying bills in the House, but we take this as a very positive sign. When representative groups—like Outdoor Alliance, and hunters and anglers—and individuals take action on a mass scale, we will have an impact on policy. We encourage you to follow us on Facebook and sign up for action alerts to receive updates on public lands bills.