397: Who and What's Behind the Continued Efforts to Sell or Transfer Our Public Lands?

Guest

Hal Herring is a long-time contributing editor and writer at Field and Stream magazine and has covered conservation and the environment for national and international publications for almost thirty years. His work was featured in the Patagonia documentary Public Trust in 2020, and he is at work on a book about the American public lands.

Summary

In this episode of Getting Unstuck: Cultivating Curiosity, Jeff speaks with writer and public-lands advocate Hal H. about renewed political efforts to weaken protections for America's public lands. The conversation centers on three major flashpoints: Senator Mike Lee's failed attempt to sell off federal lands under the guise of affordable housing, the Department of Agriculture's proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, and a quieter movement to transfer federal public lands to state control. Hal explains how these efforts fit into a long historical pattern of privatization attempts, driven by ideology and commercial interests rather than public benefit. He walks through why the Roadless Rule was created—highlighting watershed protection, crumbling road infrastructure, wildfire risk, and taxpayer cost—and why the evidence overwhelmingly supports keeping it in place. Throughout the discussion, Hal emphasizes that public lands are a uniquely American idea, central to clean water, wildlife, recreation, and democratic access. The episode closes with a reminder that public voice matters: citizen pressure has stopped land grabs before, and continued vigilance is essential to protect lands held in common for future generations.

The three takeaways

Efforts to sell, develop, or transfer public lands are not new—they are part of a long-running campaign to privatize shared resources.

The Roadless Rule protects watersheds, wildlife, and taxpayers by limiting costly, damaging road construction that agencies cannot maintain.

Public lands endure only when citizens actively defend them; public pressure has proven effective in stopping harmful policies.

References / Links

Hal's website