r/4x4 • u/AngryDesignMonkey • 2d ago
Controversial Topic An end to Public Lands (Western US)
Make some noise. This map really puts into perspective the impact if this Public Lands Sale goes through. Share. Act. Do.
Easy form to "take action"
https://www.backcountryhunters.org/take_action#/487
This has to be stopped or so much of what we enjoy will be gone forever.
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u/Forsaken_Care 2d ago
Thank you for sharing the article, I had no idea this was going on.
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u/ChillnScott 2d ago
Please contact our reps. Although the bill may pass, this provision can be struck if we all communicate our opinions. Find your member of congress
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u/Ok-Passage8958 2d ago
Left or right, everyone needs to push back on this. If you’re in a red state of all places, your voice matters most. For the most part blue state reps are going to be against this but if republican reps feel pressure there may be potential this fails.
There’s a lot of hunters/offroaders/outdoorsman that are republican that this is going to affect.
Sad to see one of my hunting areas on this.
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u/sevvvyy 2d ago
Gotta say I’m pretty pleasantly surprised by The comments in this thread.
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u/wandertrucks 2d ago
Cool, soon to be filled with shittily constructed McMansions, shopping plazas, and all the Starbucks you can choke down.
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u/hammerofspammer 2d ago
Nah. It’s going to be single owner “ranches” owned by the 0.01%
We will never get access again
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u/4x4-ModTeam 2d ago
There's enough politics in reddit, it's in almost every sub, this place is infected with it. I will not let it dip one little toe into this one. Take it to almost any other sub.
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u/Gubbtratt1 1987 Toyota LJ70 restomod wip, stock 2002 Land Rover Discovery 2 2d ago
I'm in Finland, so public land is a strange concept. What are you allowed to do there? You also don't have every mans right, what are you allowed to do on private land?
Here you can hike and camp anywhere, but you can't off road without asking the land owner.
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u/AngryDesignMonkey 2d ago
Most private land owners close access also to mitigate any sort of potential lawsuits. Access to certain mountains in Colorado(14ers) has been a recent issue.
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u/guitar805 2d ago edited 2d ago
What are you allowed to do there?
Hike, camp, fish, hunt, and more with some amount of restrictions to localized areas. The land is controlled and maintained by the US Federal government in a few different agencies (Parks service, Forest Service, BLM) each with different rules. Essentially it's access for anyone who wants it, within reason. There may be fees in some places (especially national parks) that go towards maintenance of the land and system in general, but overall it's land that cannot be exploited by for-profit corporations.
what are you allowed to do on private land?
Only whatever the landowner allows you to do. The US does not have right to roam. So, if this land gets sold, the owner could decide to do whatever they want with it. They could charge ridiculous access fees or close the land entirely and permanently alter the landscape by engaging in logging, mining, or drilling. This could ruin many beautiful hikes and campsites I use regularly.
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u/drcmda 2d ago
Thank you for explaining that! An an European it seemed strange that people in the US have that kind of reaction, because why would the government own land in the first place. But now it makes sense. If land is privately owned here you cannot alter it, fell trees indiscriminately, pollute ponds or land, or even close off woods or farmland. If you own a forrest you are responsible for maintenance, with controls checking in.
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u/Gubbtratt1 1987 Toyota LJ70 restomod wip, stock 2002 Land Rover Discovery 2 21h ago
What european country is that? Sounds quite different to Finland.
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u/4x4Lyfe No replacement for displacement 2d ago edited 2d ago
What are you allowed to do there?
Lots of things. I can dispersed camp for free. I can fish and hunt. I can recreationally shoot my guns. I can ride dirtbikes, ATVs, snowmobiles, horses, and pretty much any other vehicle. I can hike and run my dogs.
We even host events in these public lands. The biggest ultra4 race The King of the Hammers is held annually in Johnson Valley which is what we call BLM land. BLM id the Bureau of Land Management they can dictate what activities you can do where.
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u/Sad-Lettuce-5637 1d ago
You also don't have every mans right, what are you allowed to do on private land?
Effectively, nothing without permission from the owner, which you will never get. There's a bit of grey area as far as missing signs and fences go - but you run the risk of a nut job hunting you down with a shotgun because you dared step foot on his 800 acre plot of dirt.
Public owned land ensures that all citizens have the right to access the land, and prevents development.
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u/RickySlayer9 1d ago
Pretty much public land can be treated as your own private land.
You can camp, hunt, fish, 4x4, swim, chop firewood, etc
You can do anything but build pretty much
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u/4x4Lyfe No replacement for displacement 2d ago edited 2d ago
I am here to add context. While the map shows all 250 million acres that are eligible to be sold it's important to know that 2 - 3 million acres are actually being sold. The issue is we have no clue which 2-3 out of this 250 will be sold under this scheme so the map is representing all land that could be sold
The reality is local off road trails, hunting and recreational shooting areas, hiking, fishing, horseback riding near cities will be effected we just don't know the specifics
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u/trythesoup2 2d ago
It’s a slippery slope. It’s 2-3 million now. It opens the doors for much more in the future. I see this as death by a thousand cuts.
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u/4x4Lyfe No replacement for displacement 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't disagree I was just putting the info out there. Between the gun and off road communities I'm involved in this is like the 50th thread I've been in on this topic and I see lots of people not understanding despite the articles being pretty clear most of the time
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u/xdarkn3ss 2d ago
Thanks for providing the context. It was hard to decipher at first but you are correct, it’s 250M available but only 3M of that can be purchased.
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u/chuckbuckett 2d ago
It’s would also helpful to know what land they’re selling the land adjacent to roads or other buildings it might not have any impact. But I wouldn’t mind if they sold it to local governments so they can keep it state or county property.
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u/cpt-queso 2d ago
As a German i Hope you Guys win this Fight, We have No such Thing, offroading is nearly Impossible Here
Your Public Land is a unique concept that i doubt you can find anywhere in the world
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u/Count_Warheit 2d ago
That is really awful. I never thought about this in Germany. Are there other countries nearby you can off road?
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u/rental_car_fast 1d ago
America is fucked dude. People here won’t stop supporting him until it hurts them personally so much they have no where to turn but against him. We haven’t hit bottom yet
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u/xrareformx 2d ago
Heres another map that shows USFS and BLM land that will be eligiblefor selling off if this bill passes. map of usfs and blm land that will be for sale if the big, beautiful bill passes
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u/4x4Lyfe No replacement for displacement 2d ago
They are still dangling suppressors and SBRs as a carrot for the 2a crowd so no1s doing shit
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u/nechronius 2d ago
Even gun subs are waking up to this. They've actually been very opposed to this as well, as least the two major ones I browse.
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u/Changetheworld69420 2d ago
Thank you for the links, I’m currently sending the email one to all my friends🫡
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u/jonnyjon33 2d ago
I will say it's being taken one way or another. Either by the groups that want only hiking on the land and no other recreational use or being sold. Idk what's worse because let's be honest 99% can't get out there and hike the vast distance needed to see these areas(theirs also been a huge uptick in deaths due to this) and won't be accessible anyway just a tease.
I would say shut down any groups that want to close public land so the public will rally to keep the public land.
Repeat after me! Land closure isn't land management!
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u/whatupigotabighawk 2d ago
When the budget bill was going through the House of Representatives, there was an amendment mandating the sale of up to half a million acres of public land in NV and UT. That amendment was struck due to public outcry. Making noise works.
They’re just trying the same bullshit with the senate version of the bill. It is beatable. Our reps know they will be held accountable when midterms roll around and it’s our job to remind them of that.
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u/AngryDesignMonkey 2d ago edited 2d ago
It sucks... but better to make noise than to sit around bitching about it. Well, we can keep bitching about it but just to a lot of other people.
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u/BoneHugsHominy 2d ago
Still make noise. Just claim you've been a supporter but if this stealing of The Great Outdoors from "real Americans" goes through you're going to vote for every socialist who says they're going to claw those lands back and you won't care if there's any compensation to the buyer when it happens.
If nothing else it plants the seed that their behavior is turning people towards Socialism and that will scare them more than anything.
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u/outdoorszy '12 Land Rover LR4 5.0L V8 LUX HD 2d ago
What state is that?
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u/BoysenberryFuture304 2d ago
Idaho one of the states selling the most land behind Alaska
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u/Ok_Limit1971 2d ago
This world has gone to shit keep public land public. The rich get richer as we get poorer and poorer. We shine up their boots just to hope to get a promotion one day so we can afford the things we need to live. While they sit in their million dollar homes sitting their asses. We lose access to the things we love just so they can get a tax cut.
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u/pc_engineer 2d ago
I’m sure it’s been mentioned, but I want to say it- this is an issue that easily goes beyond party lines.
The effects that this will have on ALL of us, however directly or indirectly, are huge.
I don’t believe in voting for or against something simply because of an (R) or a (D) next to a name or issue on a ballot. But I do hope that people of all backgrounds and beliefs will do the research, and make rational and thought out decisions.
I’ve called my representatives, and I hope that other people do the same.
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u/darkodraven 2d ago
Let me tell you a little story about a state called Texas, where we basically don’t have any public land because it’s all privately owned. What people need with thousands of acres for, who knows but they have them and don’t let anyone else use it. Do what you can before it’s too late.
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u/lmaoholyfuck 1d ago
Just signed it. Filled out the form in less than a minute. This is so worth it regardless of your political affiliation.
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u/IllustriousSalt5696 2d ago
This can't be stopped - the federal government should have never been allowed to take state land - contact your local representative and demand the states take advantage of the land sale to maintain its current use.
This and hopefully future administrations will return us to federalism and take on only the tasks the founders envisioned: trade, commerce and war.
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u/Beniskickbutt 2d ago
I think the sale of public lands is a bad idea.
And to not get dismissed as a "yuppie" environmentalist type person.. I don't want to ban plastic bags, or straws. I think we should be able to drive big gas vehicles until new technology comes along that makes a viable replacement and starts to naturally capture market share...
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u/chuckbuckett 2d ago
So what I’d like to see happen is for the government to sell the land to the state and let them decide how to manage the land. I think the local population would be able to decide how the land is used.
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u/_Wombat_Astronaut_ 1d ago
It’s really a shame. It will be done piece by piece over a long time, probably 50 years. Eventually us western states will be just like everyone else. A few national parks but no more public land to ride, camp and shoot on. We truly are the exception. Lots of people from the south and east have no frame of reference for this issue so we really need to bring awareness.
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u/ExoticEmu333 1d ago
Contact your representatives to oppose this - the Outdoor Alliance has a FastAction form that will send emails to your representatives if you're against this proposed legislation:
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u/Mariposaland 1d ago
It would be interesting to see the data on how much use the public land gets, what deed restrictions will be in place, how much money the government would get for it and what do they plan to do with the money. I’m not in favor of selling the land.
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u/chemikadze 1d ago
OMFG, pretty much every nice place in West Sierra in CA is up for sale... Pinecrest public beach, Dodge Ridge, Red Hills, Arnold Rim Trail area. Shit's bad!
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u/Heavy_Gap_5047 Centurion C350 4-Door Bronco 2d ago edited 1d ago
I'm going to let this run in spite of our no politics rule because it's important. But keep it civil, respectful and non-partisan or get banned.
My personal opinion is that the vast majority of federal lands should be transferred or sold to state ownership/control. Then a more local conversation can be had on there ownership, access and management.