public lands Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Selling Off Public Lands: The Push to Privatize a Public Treasure

March 5, 2026/0 Comments/in Conservation, Corruption, Democracy, Economic Growth, Kirsten Stade, Politics, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

The Trump Administration, in its dedication to self- and industry enrichment, is hoping to sell a sacred cow: public lands. And while many such efforts have been defeated in the past, the current no-holds-barred growth regime elevates their chances of success.

Federal lands are set aside in all 50 U.S. states for the benefit of all Americans. Primarily in the American West, these lands span 640 million acres of natural resources,

On Public Lands, a Feeding Frenzy for Growth

February 5, 2026/5 Comments/in Conservation, Corruption, Economic Growth, Endangered Species, Energy, Fossil Fuels, GDP, Kirsten Stade, Limits to Growth, Politics, Steady State Herald, Water /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

American public lands management has always embodied a tense balancing act between conservation and exploitation. Too often the balance has tipped in an unsustainable direction. But the Trump Administration appears determined to break the scale, with unprecedented efforts to sell out public lands to extractive industries.

Four agencies manage most federal lands. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the National Park Service (NPS) within the Department of the Interior,

Federal Land Management Reaches Full Sellout Under Trump

December 18, 2025/4 Comments/in Autocracy, Conservation, Corruption, Economic Policy, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Kirsten Stade, Steady State Herald /by Alix Underwood

by Kirsten Stade

While U.S. federal land management agencies have seldom been bastions of conservationist vision, their level of regulatory capture has reached a new high in the Trump era. From opening up protected areas to oil and gas development to efforts to sell public lands outright, the current administration and Congress are looking to turn over public lands to extractive industry for its private profit.

We are in a new era of public lands mismanagement,

Tag Archive for: public lands

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by Kirsten Stade

by Kirsten Stade

by Kirsten Stade