Idaho was built by people who cared for our land. They worked it, respected it, and explored it. These Idahoans knew what we still know today: some things are so valuable, we must protect them for the next generation. Today, Republicans in power are forgetting that lesson. Their short-sighted decisions threaten the state and public lands our communities depend on and future Idahoans deserve to inherit.

Look at Teton Valley. Billionaire Thomas Tull, a major donor to Brad Little and his allies, has already bought more than 8,000 acres in the area. After Tull sought to buy the nearby Driggs 160 parcel, the state put it up for auction. He was the only bidder. For $5 million, Idaho sold him land that a fifth-generation ranching family had leased for more than 30 years. The deal cut off the ranchers in the middle of their lease.

More than 2,000 Idahoans opposed it. Local Democrats objected. But Little and the State Land Board moved forward anyway. A working family lost land it relied on, while a billionaire donor added to his private holdings at a price that barely registers against his fortune.

Similarly, federal land policy is now being driven by corporate profit. And the Republicans elected to represent us in Congress have aided and abetted this shift. The Trump regime’s Bureau of Land Management rescinded the Public Lands Rule, which had put conservation on equal footing with drilling, grazing, mining, logging, and other uses across 245 million acres of public land. The rule recognized that healthy land, clean water, wildlife habitat, and public access are part of responsible management. The new guidance prioritizes extraction over protection for the future.

Idahoans foresaw this threat when Steve Pearce was nominated to lead the Bureau of Land Management. Pearce has a history of pushing to sell off and privatize public lands. Idaho voters mounted an opposition campaign to Pearce and his agenda, telling our senators to vote against his confirmation. Mike Crapo voted to confirm Pearce. Jim Risch voted for him in committee, then skipped the final vote.

Crapo and Risch cannot campaign as public lands defenders, then allow a pro-privatization nominee to take charge of nearly 12 million acres of BLM land across Idaho.

Democratic leaders are doing the work Republican politicians only talk about. Senate Democrats have introduced the Public Lands Integrity Act to make it harder to sell off federal public lands through budget reconciliation, a fast-track process that can avoid the full debate these decisions deserve. The bill would help stop public land sell-offs from being slipped into budget deals and rushed through Congress.

Talk is cheap. This November, we can vote for leaders who will actually protect our lands.

Onward,

Lauren Necochea
Idaho Democratic Party Chair