Interior plan backs offering federal lands for purchase

The Interior Department’s 2026-2030 strategic plan says the agency will work to reduce the federal estate by offering some federal lands for purchase by states, local governments and tribes. It does not identify parcels, locations, sale prices or the scale of any potential sales.

The plan says the department expects the policy to let it concentrate resources on its primary federal responsibilities and lands it considers nationally significant, a term the document does not define. It also says a portion of sale proceeds could go back to buyers for conservation projects elsewhere.

The proposal is part of a broader approach to federal land use. The plan calls for land transfers and exchanges to support greater energy production. It also says Interior will stop using the Land and Water Conservation Fund to expand federal holdings and instead use it to increase access on privately owned lands.

The plan sets out priorities for 2026 through 2030, but does not itself establish that sales will take place. Public-lands law limits the sale of federal land, and implementation may require congressional cooperation. Mark Squillace, a University of Colorado law professor specializing in...