Our United Voice Saved Public Hunting Lands

From local chapters to state boards, our volunteers, staff and partners pour their time, energy and resources into tackling regional challenges — whether it’s choosing the perfect banquet items, boosting local turkey populations through habitat work or navigating local ordinances that impact outreach or hunting. The diversity of these efforts is staggering, but our shared commitment to the mission keeps us moving forward with grit and enthusiasm.

While much of our work focuses on local and state-level needs, there are moments when we must unite as a national force. Recently, we faced a critical threat to our public lands — a cornerstone of our hunting and outdoor traditions — and together, we made our voices heard.

The issue began when federal budget legislation included proposals to sell off public lands. NWTF staff, alongside a coalition of sporting-conservation partners, sprang into action, meeting with Congressional members and staff to halt these sales. We first appealed to Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, who had mentioned the idea in an interview. After hearing our case — and understanding the value of public lands to hunters and outdoor enthusiasts — he excluded the sales from his draft.

But the fight wasn’t over. A late-night amendment slipped into the committee’s language, proposing the sale of 1.5 million acres of USDA Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands in Utah and Nevada. Despite passing the committee vote, NWTF and our partners didn’t back down. We rallied our members to contact their U.S. representatives, and you responded with calls and letters. Your advocacy paid off — the land sale provision was stripped from the bill before it passed the House and moved to the Senate.

The threat resurfaced in the Senate, where Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced language in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that would force the sale of up to 3.3 million acres across 11 western states. Despite our efforts to remove this provision, it remained in the committee’s final language.

The budget reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority to pass, added urgency to the situation. However, the land-sale language faced scrutiny under the Byrd Rule, which limits legislation to items directly impacting the budget. When the Senate parliamentarian flagged the provision, the committee rewrote it to cover 1.5 million acres of BLM land and resubmitted it for review, which it passed.

That’s when we turned to you, our members, again, launching a nationwide campaign urging you to contact your senators. The response was overwhelming — 8,000 letters poured in, reaching every senator across the country. Your united stand against the forced sale of public lands sent a clear message. The night before the Senate vote, Sen. Lee withdrew his provision, citing a lack of support driven by your outcry.

This victory shows the power of our collective voice. When we stand together, we can protect the lands that define our hunting heritage and ensure future generations have access to the outdoors we cherish.

Your response to this Action Alert was pivotal, and we need you to stay engaged. When you receive an alert from the NWTF — whether by email, social media or text — know that it’s about an issue directly tied to our mission. We will never cry wolf, so please act on it. Your calls, letters and advocacy make a real difference.

To keep up with the legislative and regulatory issues we’re tracking, visit our Government Affairs and Advocacy page at nwtf.org/our-impact/government-affairs-and-advocacy. Scroll down and click the button to enter our Advocacy Tools. Explore the Key Legislation section to browse state and federal bills by jurisdiction or topic and dive into specific bills for more details. While you’re there, sign up to receive action alerts and include your mobile number to receive text notifications so you can respond quickly to critical issues.

Together, we’ve proven that our united voice can move mountains — or in this case, save millions of acres of public lands. Let’s keep the momentum going and continue fighting for the wild turkey, our hunting heritage and the lands we love.