5 Ways the Budget Megabill Will Harm Outdoor Recreation

Photo credit: Andy Holmes

In May, the House passed a massive spending bill—H.R. 1, what’s being referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The bill is out of step with the values of the outdoor recreation community, and presents a significant threat to the places we love and the experiences that connect us to the outdoors.

Behind a thousand pages of legislative language are real consequences for recreation: shuttered ranger stations, locked gates, gutted staffing, lost recreation opportunities, and significant costs for climate and conservation. You can read our full letter to the Senate here. Among the biggest consequences for outdoor recreation are:

1. Public Land Sales Still Loom

The initial House version of the spending package included more than half a million acres of public land sales in Utah and Nevada. Thanks to outcry from the outdoor community, these sales and other problematic provisions were dropped in the final bill. However, lawmakers are testing the waters for more large-scale land sell-offs. In particular, Senator Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has expressed his interest in adding land sell offs to the Senate version of the spending bill. The possibility of selling off public lands to raise revenue threatens outdoor recreation and sets a frightening precedent—we could see trails, climbing areas, and paddling access points fenced off behind “No Trespassing” signs.

Public lands are not a blank check. They're part of our history, our livelihoods, and our future.

2. Park and Public Land Closures

From firing rangers to gutting agency budgets to phasing out efforts to address the climate crisis, lawmakers are putting public lands at risk of closures. H.R. 1 cuts funding for National Parks, National Forests, and BLM lands and phases out clean energy credits that are intended to address the climate crisis, which forces public land closures each year from fire, erosion, floods, heat waves, and weather. With more maintenance and restoration needs and fewer trail crews, more closed restrooms, unstaffed ranger stations, and infrastructure in need of repair, it’s a recipe for disrepair and chaos—and it threatens billions of dollars in economic activity that outdoor recreation generates in small towns and rural areas. Underfunding is not an accident. It’s a strategy to weaken public lands and pave the way for privatization.

3. Handing Over Our Public Lands to Oil, Gas, and Mining Companies

While Americans, including the outdoor community, rely on public lands for natural resources including oil and gas, it’s important that we maintain balance and safeguards to protect communities from pollution, maintain outdoor recreation opportunities, and deliver a fair return to taxpayers. H.R. 1 slashes reforms that ensured oil and gas companies paid fair rates and followed basic environmental safeguards. It even includes language to mandate drilling and mining in the Arctic Refuge and the Boundary Waters—two of the most iconic and fragile wild places in the country. If we are going to plan for the future, we need to include local voices, and a balanced vision of oil, gas, and renewables while making space for recreation and conservation needs.  

4. Timber Production that Amounts to De Facto Privatization

Instead of investing in wildfire resilience or community safety, H.R.1 mandates a massive increase in logging—regardless of whether it's ecologically necessary. It would lock agencies into 20-year contracts with timber companies, stripping land managers of flexibility and threatening nearby trails and ecosystems. These contracts amount to a privatization of our public lands.

5. Silencing the Public

One of the most troubling parts of the bill is how it undermines the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a key law that lets you weigh in on how public lands are used. H.R. 1 allows companies to pay to fast-track reviews and bypass legal challenges. That means your voice—your right to speak up for the places you care about—could be blocked entirely.

You deserve a voice on your public lands. They're making deals with land that belongs to all of us.

Outdoor recreation is how millions of Americans find joy, purpose, and connection. Public lands are not just scenery—they’re infrastructure for the outdoor economy, sources of clean water, and places where families make memories.

This bill makes backroom deals with our future—the public lands where we find connection, livelihood, joy, and history.

We’ve stopped some of the worst ideas before—take action today to ask your Senators to approach this spending bill differently, supporting a richer, long-term vision of how public lands can support our country and economy.