Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy has proposed selling off more than 11,000 acres of public land in Utah and Nevada to help pay for President Donald Trump’s massive tax cuts.
Early Wednesday morning, Maloy and Nevada GOP Rep. Mark Amodei introduced a last-minute amendment to the Republican megabill extending President Trump’s tax cuts and enacting much of his agenda on taxes, energy and border policy. The amendment orders the sale of more than 11,000 acres of public land in Washington County and 60 acres in Beaver County.
Amodei said selling those federally controlled lands would generate billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government. Maloy defended the proposal, arguing it would help local officials in southern Utah address the region’s rapidly expanding population.
“Washington County, home to the city of St. George in southwest Utah in my district, is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. The influx of new residents, many from out of state, has significantly driven up housing demand. The median property value rose by almost 12% in just 2023,” Maloy said.
Maloy emphasized the parcels listed in her amendment represent about a third of one percent of all the federally controlled land in the state, and would be sold to the City of St. George and the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
“Because this is a desert region, Washington county is also proactively responding to the increasing pressures of water resources and water use. Many of the difficulties we face at a local level are, of course, related to the fact that the county is surrounded by federal land. Approximately 82% of the county is federally managed, mostly BLM,” Maloy said. “The high percentage of federal lands impacts the local government's ability to work on economic and transportation development, manage natural resources and fully take advantage of recreational activities.”
Maloy’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Utah Political Watch.
The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from public lands advocates. Travis Hammill, Washington, D.C. director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, condemned Maloy’s amendment as a hidden attempt to privatize public lands.
“Rep. Maloy is hell-bent on selling off and privatizing public lands – attempting to do so in the dark of night, hoping her actions wouldn’t be noticed. She was dead wrong,” Hammill said in a statement.
“This plan was cooked up behind closed doors, and Utahns and Americans aren’t going to let her get away with this. Her actions will be seen for what they truly are: a sell-off of public lands to pay for billionaire tax cuts. Shame on her.”
