GOP politicians are coming for our public lands and Idaho must fight back

By Lauren Necochea
Reader Contributor

In Idaho, our family traditions start outside. We hunt, fish and explore the wilderness that makes this state home. More than a pastime, public lands power our economy. Outdoor recreation generates 78,000 jobs and $2.3 billion in annual wages for Idaho.

But our outdoor access is now under attack by Republican politicians catering to billionaires and special interests. Their desire? Buy up our public lands for cheap and keep the rest of us out. That threatens our ability to pass down the Idaho way of life and will hurt our economy in towns big and small.

Last month, House Republicans tried to sneak through the most significant public land sell-off in recent memory. They buried a proposal to sell hundreds of thousands of acres in Utah and Nevada deep in a last-minute budget deal with no transparency, debate or accountability. Idaho Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher backed that effort in committee. If there’s any doubt where Fulcher stands, just listen to him. When asked about a bipartisan bill to keep public lands public, Fulcher scoffed, calling it a way to “lock in the current system.”

Lauren Necochea. File photo.

[Editor’s note: For more on Fulcher’s stance on public lands, see “Congressman Russ Fulcher sits down for a Reader interview” at sandpointreader.com.]

That sell-off failed. But the threat just got bigger.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee is now pushing a plan to sell off up to 3 million acres of public land — including land in Idaho — through the Senate budget process. Instead of stopping it, Idaho Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch paved the way by voting against a simple amendment to block Congress from using land sales to bankroll billionaire tax breaks earlier this year.

Meanwhile, damage is already being done. Across Idaho, U.S. Forest Service offices have been closed or gutted after the Trump regime’s illegal withholding of appropriated funds and mass firings. Offices in Stanley, Ketchum, McCall, New Meadows, Weiser and Garden Valley have been shuttered or suffered service cuts. This means fewer staff to maintain trails, clean bathrooms, fight wildfires and safeguard public access — especially in rural communities.

But Idahoans are pushing back.

This spring, thousands rallied across the state to defend our public lands. When Republican lawmakers introduced Senate Joint Memorial 104, demanding the transfer of the Camas National Wildlife Refuge to the state, Idaho Democrats stood firm in opposition. They knew what was at stake. Unlike the federal government, states aren’t required to keep lands public or preserve them for future generations. Once under state control, land is at risk of being sold off, developed or closed to the public entirely.

We need leaders who won’t auction off our land to the highest bidder. Leaders who will protect what’s ours, keep it public and put Idahoans first.

These lands belong to all of us. Let’s elect leaders who will fight like it.

Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former District 19 legislator. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.