SANTA FE – A crowd of more than 3,000 people gathered outside the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe this week to protest proposed plans to sell nearly 3 million acres of public land across the western United States. The protest coincided with the Western Governors Association’s annual meeting, where federal and state leaders were in attendance.
According to KRQE News, the land sale is part of a federal budget reconciliation bill backed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and several Congressional Republicans. The proposal includes portions of the Sandia Mountains, the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, and areas within the Gila and Santa Fe National Forests. Protestors voiced strong opposition to the idea of converting protected lands into urban developments, citing ecological, cultural, and recreational concerns.
Environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, organized the demonstration and warned that selling these lands would set a dangerous precedent. No formal comment has been issued from the Western Governors Association or the Department of the Interior.
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