By Tracy Loew | Feb. 14, 2026 | Salem Statesman Journal
Oregon legislators are considering a bill that would prohibit public bodies from spending resources to help sell or transfer federal public lands to private interests.
“National public lands belong to all Americans, including all Oregonians,”cFiona Noonan, of Central Oregon LandWatch, said at a hearing on the bill Feb. 2nd.
For years, some congressional leaders have sought to privatize federal public lands. The effort has gotten a boost under the Trump administration.
A draft federal budget bill released last summer proposed selling off thousands of acres of Oregon public lands, including Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land. That provision was dropped from the bill.
Significant areas in Oregon, especially the areas around Mount Hood, have been targeted for privatization.
“Senate Bill 1590 would prevent Oregon governments from helping privatize public lands, including the forest.”
“This profiteering would eliminate public access and permanently degrade recreational experiences, local economies, and cultural and traditional uses throughout Oregon, and thwart long-term conservation management needed to sustain these resources for generations to come,” said Ryan Houston, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, in written testimony.
Senate Bill 1590 prohibits public bodies from using state or local funds, data, technology, equipment, personnel or other resources to help sell or transfer certain federal lands to private parties
“Protecting Oregon’s federal land base, and the rivers that run through them, from privatization is vital to ensuring guaranteed public access for recreation, preservation of important wildlife habitats and ecosystems, maintenance of outdoor economies, and protection of cultural sites and clean water sources,” said Kimberley Priestley of WaterWatch of Oregon.
The bill applies only to real property managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service or the National Park Service.
It contains multiple exemptions, including for property located within urban growth boundaries, surplus federal buildings, lands held in trust for, or transferred for the benefit of, a federally recognized tribe in Oregon or a tribal member, and transfers for infrastructure, utility or transportation purposes.
“It’s modeled after the sanctuary promise law that has long protected Oregonians from overbearing activity by the federal government,” said Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, the bill’s chief sponsor.
No one spoke against the bill at the hearing, although Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, testified in favor of a gut-and-stuff amendment that would have replaced it with a bill requiring the Oregon Department of Forestry to make changes to the draft Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire voted Feb. 10 to send the bill to the Senate floor. It is not currently scheduled for further action.
This Tracy Loew article originally appeared in the Salem Statesman Journal on Feb. 14, 2026. Trillium Lake banner photo courtesy of Mariah Johnston / Salem Statesman Journal.