Formation of the Public Lands Caucus: A Rare Moment of Political Magic

Parties in politics…

And no, not the fun kind with chips, dip, and your uncle falling asleep in a lawn chair. I’m talking about the other kind, the groups that can’t decide if the sky is blue or if grass is green on any given Tuesday.

But every once in a while, on the rarest of rare occasions, the stars align, pigs fly, and Congress actually bands together to do something that benefits all Americans.

And in early May of 2025, that miracle happened.

Representatives Gabe Vasquez and Ryan Zinke, along with Debbie Dingell and Mike Simpson, co-chaired the newly formed Public Lands Caucus; a bipartisan group of lawmakers who stood firmly against a plan to mandate the sale of 500,000 acres (plus millions more lurking on the chopping block).In other words: Suck it, Mike Lee.

I’ve got to hand it to these folks. None of them are likely to lose their seat over this, and any sane American is probably cheering them on, but it’s still a brave, trailblazing effort to make wild places cool again. And desperately worth protecting.

Beyond rejecting the Great Public Land Sell-Off of 2025, the caucus is backing several other bills aimed at safeguarding clean water, clean air, and the wild spaces we depend on. One of the biggest: the Public Lands in Public Hands Act.

In late November, the Public Lands Caucus officially endorsed that act—a huge step toward protecting our public land systems by requiring Congressional approval before any property over 300 acres can be sold… or as little as 5 acres if it touches water. (Trust me, I’ve got plenty more to say about that, but I’ll save it for another day.)

My hope?

That these representatives - Democrat and Republican, North and South, East and West, recognize the responsibility they’ve taken on. Hunters, anglers, hikers, and everyone who breathes air or drinks water rely on them to uphold the vision set by the giants: Theodore Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold, and Gifford Pinchot.

But the responsibility doesn’t stop there.

It also falls on us.

The voters. The boots-on-the-ground advocates. The folks who need these places, use these places, and love these places.

So let’s support the great work this caucus is doing. And let’s tell them where we stand, because public opinion is the only reason they have a job in the first place.

Make your voice heard. Our public lands depend on it.