It’s a reprieve for public lands! Congress’ attempt to sell off public lands as part of the budget reconciliation has been defeated. But we cannot celebrate fully yet - your voice is still needed. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act was passed by the House on May 22 and is headed to the Senate. The public lands sell-off amendment was struck from the bill thanks to pressure from the public, and some members of Congress including Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA-3) who spoke about our right to be involved in major management decisions. Despite this outcome, the Act still has deeply concerning plans for our public lands. It outlines conservation funding cutbacks for the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. It would rescind $267 million in funding for rangers, emergency responders, scientists and other critical staffing needs, and $12 million for use in preparing national parks for floods, fires and storms. Now it’s the turn of the Senate to look at these cuts. We need you to call on the Senate to eliminate these provisions that hamper our land managers and to oppose any attempts to add a public land sell-off back into the budget. Please help us keep up the pressure. Use our simple form to contact your Senator today. https://secure.everyaction.com/-njYNelY0EWmAxpORaauvw2 (fb)

Don’t let the sun set on our gift match opportunity – donate before midnight tonight, Thursday May 22, to double your donation to MDLT’s Desert Defense Fund. www.mdlt.org/desert-defense-fund Photo: Chris Wheeler (fb)