In spring 2025, the outdoor recreation community mounted a massive defense against proposals in Congress to sell off millions of acres of public lands without proper public process. IMBA mobilized the mountain bike community alongside partners representing hikers, surfers, ,paddlers, hunters, anglers, horsemen, and conservation groups. Outdoor enthusiasts all joined in the collective advocacy efforts, quickly mobilizing with petitions, letter-writing campaigns, and public pressure that generated tens of thousands of messages to lawmakers. This unified push forced key sell-off provisions to be stripped from federal budget legislation. It showed the power of collective action and the outdoor recreation community to keep public lands in public hands.

In the wake of proposed federal changes, states have begun to take action to advance their own protections. Across the country, state and local leaders are making efforts to codify protections for public lands through law, zoning, and constitutional amendments. These state and local efforts focus on:

• Preventive Legal Safeguards: Many of these efforts are proactive, adding constitutional, statutory, or zoning protections before public lands could be at risk or sold off.
• Public Lands Popularity: Politicians in these states are responding to widespread public concern about keeping public lands in public hands.
• Balancing Uses & Revenue: Even where safeguards are proposed, there's attention to allowing traditional uses, including grazing, timber, recreation, and in some cases using revenue derived from those to support schools or local needs.
• Multipronged Strategy: The tools vary fromconstitutional amendments, state laws, federal wilderness bills, and zoning changes. Each has different legal strengths and hurdles.

Read on to learn about state and local efforts.

New Mexico: Governor Pushes for State Law to Block Public Land Sell-offs
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham floated legislation to make it illegal at the state level to sell or transfer federal public lands, in response to proposed federal budget bills that threatened such sales. Her comments came during celebrations of New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, a state fund (~$383 million) intended to support conservation, outdoor recreation, watershed work, and other environmental projects across all counties including tribal areas. While the governor suggested using a special legislative session to pass the protections, it may also be bundled with other issues (budget cuts, public safety).

Idaho: Constitutional Amendment to Prevent Future Public Land Sales
State Sen. Ben Adams (R-Nampa) has introduced a proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution that would prohibit the sale of any future public lands granted or acquired from the federal government. The amendment wouldn’t affect existing state endowment lands (2.5 million acres) which under Idaho law are managed for “maximum long term financial return,” meaning they may still be sold. If passed by the Legislature (needing a two-thirds vote in both chambers), the amendment would go to Idaho voters in the November 2026 general election, where a simple majority would suffice.

California: Expanding Wilderness Protections Under Federal Bill
Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) reintroduced the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, which would designate approximately 250,000 acres in the Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plain National Monument as wilderness, offering the strongest level of federal protection. Part of the proposal also envisions a 400-mile Condor National Recreation Trail linking Los Angeles to Monterey County (with parts open to biking). The legislation is framed as a response to rollback of environmental protections and threats from federal policy shifts.

Colorado (Pitkin County): Rezoning to Guard Against Development
Pitkin County, home to Aspen, is moving to rezone ~85% of the county’s public lands (approximately 500,000+ acres) to a new zone type called Resource Government. The goal: prevent residential or other private development if land is sold or transferred. The rezoning doesn’t change how the lands are used now, but would make future private development much harder. The change was approved on first reading and will become effective in September 2025.