Lawmakers Eye Billions from Selling Federal Land for Housing in the West
The idea of turning federal lands into sites for new housing isn’t new, but it’s making headlines again as Senate Republicans revive a controversial plan to sell off millions of acres in the West. According to a New York Times report, lawmakers are considering the sale of between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres across 11 western states, with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service tasked with identifying which properties would go on the market.
Back in March 2025, the push for using federal land to address the housing crisis gained momentum when Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum penned an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. They announced their intention to make federal land available for affordable housing, highlighting that the Department of the Interior manages over 500 million acres—much of which, they argued, could be suitable for residential development. The plan called for cutting red tape to speed up land transfers or leases, while HUD would ensure the projects met affordability and development needs. However, as the Wall Street Journal noted, the proposal lacked Congressional approval, making it more of a suggestion than a concrete policy.
Efforts to sell federal land have faced stiff opposition in the past, not just from conservationists but from some Republicans as well. A previous proposal in the House’s spending and taxation bill aimed to sell about 500,000 acres in Utah and Nevada, but it was struck down after Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former interior secretary, voiced strong objections. “This was my San Juan Hill; I do not support the widespread sale or transfer of public lands,” Zinke told the Times. “Once the land is sold, we will never get it back.”
The latest proposal, included in draft legislation from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, aims to raise as much as $10 billion over five years by selling land in states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. According to committee documents, the Bureau of Land Management controls about 1.2 million acres within a mile of a population center, plus another 800,000 acres within five miles. The Forest Service also holds more than a million acres close to urban areas.
Despite the apparent abundance of land, building affordable housing remains a complex challenge. High costs for materials and labor, local zoning rules, bureaucratic hurdles, and resistance from existing residents all complicate construction. Moreover, for affordable housing to be viable, it must be located near affordable transportation and within reach of jobs, retail, and other essential amenities.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM