In the last year, America’s public lands have faced an attack like no other in their history. The first year of President Trump’s second term in office has seen federal public lands threatened with massive budget cuts and selloffs, as well as catastrophic staffing cuts.
In 2025 the Administration fired significant numbers of career federal public lands employees. The US Forest Service lost thousands of employees, a 16% reduction in its workforce. Other federal land management agencies also had their workforces slashed, like the Bureau of Land Management, which lost hundreds of staff.
And the National Park Service, which has already been hemorrhaging staff for over a decade due to continuous budget cuts, lost over 24% of its permanent (meaning not seasonal) staff in 2025 alone.
All of these firings and threats to our public lands are massively unpopular with Americans, and the American people have spoken out against them. And now, finally, their voices are having an impact.
As of this writing, the US Congress has passed with bipartisan support an omnibus funding bill that includes the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which will fully fund federal public lands for 2026, ending for now the threat of billions of dollars in budget cuts ordered by the Trump Administration’s 2026 budget proposal.
The bill is awaiting the President’s signature to become law, which he is expected to do before the government shutdown deadline on January 30.
The bill keeps the budgets for federal public lands at their prior levels without deep cuts, which allows for the hiring and retaining of staff as well as the continuation of critical conservation and fire protection projects across the country.
The funding bill also requires the Administration to notify Congress before making any future reductions in staffing at federal public lands.
While this bill is a massive win for America’s public lands, there are still many questions that it doesn’t resolve. For example, is one year of funding enough to protect public lands for the future and will the threats to their budgets continue? Also, will federal land management agencies be able to hire or retain employees for jobs that face constant threats and an uncertain future? And how have understaffing and budget cuts already impacted vital maintenance, fire management, and resource management programs?
Of course, there is also concern over a glaring omission from the bill: language prohibiting the sale of federal lands.
In December of 2025, Senator Mike Lee of Utah proposed an amendment to this funding bill that would strip it of language preventing the sale of public lands. While he eventually withdrew this amendment after public outcry, the language explicitly preventing the sale of federal lands was still taken out of the bill, possibly creating an opportunity for the Trump Administration to start selling off America’s public lands.
So no, the passage of this bill will not protect America’s public lands in all the ways that they need moving forward. But the funding bill is a start, and it is still a huge win for those who have been fighting throughout the last year for full funding and protections for America’s federal lands.
The fight continues, but the overwhelming support for this bill from members of both parties makes it clear that even Republicans are aware of how unpopular this Administration’s attacks on public lands are. And they are aware of that fact because Americans have spoken up.
This bill is a Band-Aid on a gushing artery, but what it does show is that public pressure makes a difference.
Calling your representatives, donating to organizations like the National Parks Conservation Association (which advocates in Washington for bills like this), voicing your opinion during public comment periods and surveys, and participating in outright demonstrations–all of these actions taken by the American people are having a positive impact on behalf of our public lands.
The good news is that people are speaking up and fighting back, and their efforts are working. Let’s keep going.
Inspired to support America’s public lands? Here are five ways you can help.