Trump administration plans public-land sales, transfers

The Trump administration’s Interior Department strategic plan makes selling some federal lands to states, tribes and local governments an explicit goal, aiming to shrink the federal estate and focus resources on lands it considers nationally significant. It does not identify which parcels might be sold, how much land is involved or how prices would be set, and it also calls for land transfers and exchanges to support domestic energy production. The plan would redirect the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which receives $900 million annually, away from federal land purchases and toward improving public access on privately owned lands. Some sale proceeds could support conservation elsewhere, but critics warn that land transferred to local governments could later be sold to private developers. The proposal has drawn criticism from conservation advocates and lawmakers, including Republicans, and congressional cooperation may be needed to carry it out.