The U.S. Department of the Interior could transfer swaths of public lands to state, local and tribal governments through sales or land swaps, according to the agency’s new strategic plan.
Critics are concerned that many states, cities and counties can’t afford to maintain the lands, and would sell them to private interests—the first step toward a wholesale privatization of lands that have belonged to Americans for more than 150 years.
“This is the biggest attack we’ve ever seen on public lands,” said Kate Groetzinger, communications director for the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities.
The Interior Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The agency manages more than 500 million acres
The agency manages more than 500 million acres of land in addition to 3.2 billion acres of offshore rehe department manages 20 percent of the country’s lands, from national parks to wildlife refuges
Data center developers, mining firms and energy companies—all favored industries of the Trump administration—could seize the opportunity to acquire vast tracts for their environmentally harmful operations, critics say.
The plan says Interior “will work to decrease the size of the federal estate” through the sales. That will allow the department to “focus its recant federal lands,” according to the plan, with some of the sales proceeds going back to “the purchasing entities to use for conservation purposes.”
The plan also says the agency will consolidate
The plan also says the agency will “consolidate its workforce to advance operational efficiencies.” Interior has already lost more than 17 percent of its workforce under the second Trump administration.
In the plan’s introduction, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote that the agency will streamline environmental reviews and expedite leasing and permitting for energy companies. Nowhere in the plan does the agency mention wind or solar power. The first goal outlined in the plan is “Increase American Prosperity,” and the opening pages feature pictures of an oil rig and an offshore oil operation.
“Together, we can simplify processes and remove red tape that creates drudgery for our team members and impedes progress,” Burgum wrote. “We can bring forward new ideas and better ways of working. For the first time in human history, we can turn electricity into intelligence.”
Burgum has made millions of dollars off investments
Burgum has made millions of dollars off investments in artificial intelligence, powered by data centers, ProPublica reported Nov. 6.
The plan doesn’t specifically identify data centers as potential customers to purchase federal property, but the White House previously asked Bureau of Land Management state offices to identify lands that would be appropriate for these uses.
Last June, BLM approved an AI data center on 81 acres of public land near Boulder City, Nevada. The builder had received federal approval in 2023 to construct a solar farm, but amended its application to include a data center.
A federal judge has halted the project because BLM did not conduct a new environmental analysis but rather used the previous one for the solar project, a likely violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.
