‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Passes Senate and House

This past weekend, Senator Mike Lee was forced to withdraw his extreme proposal that would have auctioned off more than a million acres of public lands in the West from Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. Although still horrendous, the bill no longer includes the public lands sell-off. Thank you for your persistence and advocacy on this effort! Your voice has truly made a difference. The budget bill passed the Senate on Tuesday, July 1st, with just a 51-50 vote, and passed the House today, July 3rd, with a vote count of 219 to 213, and now heads to the President's desk. Despite our win blocking the public lands selloff, Trump's budget bill remains one of the worst pieces of legislation in American history. In addition to cuts to healthcare, renewable energy subsidies, and significant new national debt, the bill continues to be devastating to our environment. Here are some of the  provisions that will have lasting impacts on our forests, rivers, wildlife, and local and Tribal communities:

• Cuts to Forest and Wildfire Resilience Programs (Section 10201). Rescinds all unobligated Inflation Reduction Act funding for forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction projects that improve forest health on both federal and private lands. This includes efforts to protect river corridors from development, maintain water quality, and preserve scenic and wildlife values essential to recreation.

• Eliminates River and Climate Data Programs (Section 40008). Defunds NOAA programs supporting river hydrology research, forecasting, and climate resilience. These programs provide data that help river runners and land managers understand short-and long-term flow changes and plan safe outdoor experiences.

• Mandates Public Land Oil and Gas Leasing (Section 50101). Requires the Department of the Interior to hold quarterly oil and gas lease sales in multiple states, including Wyoming and Alaska. This removed agency discretion and public input, forcing leasing even in sensitive areas and preventing new mitigation measures to protect recreation or cultural resources.

• Expands Drilling in the Western Arctic (Section 50105). Mandates five large oil and gas lease sales of 4 million acres each in the Western Arctic. It revokes Biden-era protection for sensitive wildlife habitat and subsistence areas, reinstates weaker environmental reviews, and threatens wild rivers like the Colville and Utukok that support critical subsistence and recreation uses.

• Accelerates Coal Leasing with Little Review (Section 50201). Orders leasing of 4 million additional acres for coal mining, an expedited approval process that severely limits public comment and environmental review. Also authorizes mining on adjacent lands using outdated permits, increasing the risk of unchecked environmental damage.

• Requires Unsustainable Timber Sales (Section 50302). Compels the Forest Service and BLM to increase timber sales by hundreds of millions of board-feet annually under 20-year contracts. These contracts reduce opportunities for public input and limit agencies' ability to adapt management to evolving ecological, wildfire, or recreational needs.

• Discourages Clean Energy on Public Lands (Section 50303). Imposes higher fees and greater financial risk on renewable energy developers, undermining investment in wind and solar projects on public lands. Meanwhile, fossil fuel leasing incentives are expanded, contradicting climate goals.

• Cuts National Park Staffing and Climate Resilience (Section 50305). Eliminates critical funding for National Park Service staffing, visitor services, law enforcement, and educational programs. Also cancels capital improvement projects designed to make park infrastructure – roads, trails, and utilities – more resilient to wildfires, flooding, and other climate impacts, threatening visitor safety and access.

• Opens the Door to the Shasta Dam Raise (Section 50501). Includes an amendment that allows up to $1 billion in federal funding for raising Shasta Dam, a controversial project that would flood the wild lower McCloud River. This would violate California’s wild river protections, inundate sacred Winnemem Wintu tribal sites, and destroy a renowned whitewater section.

Thank you for all of your advocacy efforts and all that you continue to do for our forests, rivers, and wildlife!