WASHINGTON D.C. – Last night, the Senate parliamentarian stripped Sen. Mike Lee’s land sale provision from the Senate budget reconciliation package. It’s one of several provisions that have been stripped due to violating the Byrd Rule, which would require a 60-vote threshold if they remained in the bill.

The proposer of the controversial provision, Sen. Mike Lee, also announced significant changes to the provision on X last night, removing all Forest Service land, reducing BLM to land within five miles of population centers, establishing Freedom Zones for preserving land benefits for American Families and protections for farmers, ranchers and recreational users.

Sen. Mike Lee’s original land sale provision calling for the mandatory sale of millions of acres of public lands, including U.S. Forest Service land in Tahoe, drew furious and bipartisan outcry across the U.S.

Outcry in Tahoe encompassed oppositional statements from numerous political and organization leaders as well as a rally on Kiva Beach Sunday evening.

Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society, made the following statement about the news: 

“This is a victory for the American public, who were loud and clear: Public lands belong in public hands, for current and future generations alike. We trust the next politician who wants to sell off public lands will remember that people of all stripes will stand against that idea. Our public lands are not for sale.”