December 17, 2025 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUWA Statement on Brian Head Land Conveyance Act Being Voted Out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – 12.17.25
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Travis Hammill, DC Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (703) 725-8348; travis@suwa.org
Washington, DC – Today, the Brian Head Land Conveyance Act (S. 1860) was voted out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; it is now eligible for a vote in the full Senate. This legislation, which would give away – at no cost – 24 acres of public land within the Dixie National Forest to the town of Brian Head in Utah, is sponsored by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT). Below is a statement from SUWA DC Director Travis Hammill and additional information on the legislation.
“Sponsored by anti-public-lands Senator Mike Lee, the Brian Head bill is a public lands giveaway bill, plain and simple,” said Travis Hammill, DC Director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “Sen. Lee failed this summer with his large-scale efforts to sell off public lands, so now he’s trying to give them away parcel by parcel. This legislation would set a precedent for future attempts to give away public lands without public input, appropriate compensation, environmental review, or other important legislative components. Public lands are an invaluable part of our nation’s shared heritage – not an item to be given away piecemeal by Senators.”
About the Brian Head Land Conveyance Act (S. 1860)
As the bill is currently written, it establishes only vague standards for how the town of Brian Head can use the federal land and there is no effective mechanism to enforce those limits. The bill contains a clause that would make it extremely difficult for the U.S. Forest Service to recover the land should the town of Brian Head fail to use the land as described in the bill. Additionally:
- Most public land transfers require financial compensation or land exchanges of equivalent value to ensure taxpayers are not subsidizing local or private interests. This legislation grants federal land for free, setting a concerning precedent for future conveyances.
- There’s no requirement for public notice or consultation, denying nearby residents, recreation users, and Tribal Nations the opportunity to weigh in.
- There’s no environmental or economic assessment to evaluate how development on the 24-acre parcel could affect wildlife habitat, recreation access, wildfire risk, or forest management.
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
