At a board meeting on Monday, the Central Wasatch Commission (CWC) unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to the mandatory disposal of public land.

In June 2025, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) Committee proposed an amendment to the 2025 Senate Reconciliation Bill that would have mandated the disposal of at least two million acres of Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands over the next five years for housing development. More than 250 million acres of public land across 11 Western states were identified as eligible for sale, including 18.7 million acres in Utah and more than 29,000 acres in the Central Wasatch. The disposable parcels included more than 27,000 acres of Forest Service land in Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, Mill Creek, and Parleys Canyons, plus 2,000 acres within ski resort boundaries.

Lands with special designations—such as National Parks, National Monuments, wilderness areas, or national recreation areas—would be prohibited from disposal, meaning the Twin Peaks, Mount Olympus, and Lone Peak Wilderness areas were the only excluded lands within the Central Wasatch. The remaining 29,000 acres of Forest Service land lack any kind of special designation to prevent their sale.

The Central Wasatch is a unique area, with critical municipal watersheds, abundant wildlife, and recreational opportunities that draw more than nine million annual visitors—nearly as many as all of Utah’s national parks combined. Concerned about impacts on watershed health, ecosystem integrity, and the accessibility of recreational opportunities in the Central Wasatch, the CWC Board took up a resolution to address the proposed disposal. While the amendment has since been removed from the bill, it was still included when the CWC Board met on June 23.

“Though the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee amendment to the Senate Budget Bill proposing the mandatory disposal of millions of acres of public lands across Utah was recently removed, the importance of this resolution expressing unanimous and strong opposition to the forced sale of public lands remains,” said Chris Robinson, Summit County Councilmember and Central Wasatch Commission Secretary. “An attempt to force the sale of public land is what catalyzed the Mountain Accord process in 2012, and as evidenced by this most recent SENR amendment, the Central Wasatch Mountain Range will continue to be in jeopardy without permanent protections. The Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act (CWNCRA) proposes the protection of the more than 27,000 Forest Service land parcels identified in the Central Wasatch that the SENR amendment, if passed, could have made available for sale. The time for the long-term and permanent protection of these lands is now.”

The CWNCRA is a locally driven, consensus-based bill aimed at protecting the sources of our drinking water, preserving recreational opportunities for the future, and ensuring enjoyment of the Central Wasatch Mountains in the face of pressures from a growing population. The CWNCRA would make 27,000 acres of land in the Central Wasatch ineligible for mandated disposal—now and if revised attempts to dispose of public land arise in the future. For these reasons, the local leaders who comprise the CWC strongly oppose the sale of public land and implore the Utah Federal Delegation to support the introduction and passage of the CWNCRA.