Trump administration plans public-land sales, transfers

The Trump administration’s Interior Department has adopted a five-year strategy to reduce the federal land portfolio by selling public lands to states, tribes and local governments, saying the move would let the government focus on nationally significant areas. The plan does not identify which parcels might be sold or set out the scale of potential sales, and it also calls for land transfers and exchanges to support domestic energy production. It would stop using the Land and Water Conservation Fund to expand federal land holdings, redirecting that funding toward access to privately owned lands; officials say some sale proceeds would support conservation elsewhere. The proposal has drawn opposition from conservation advocates and lawmakers, including former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and it is uncertain whether the department can carry it out without congressional support.