More than 21 million acres in Oregon could be sold

For generations, Americans have understood public lands as a shared inheritance—guided by a conservation ethic dating back to President Theodore Roosevelt’s protection of national forests, parks, and monuments. But a new proposal in Congress would undo much of that legacy.

A provision in the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee’s budget reconciliation bill mandates the sale of 2 to 3 million acres of public land over just five years to offset tax cuts. These are lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management—places where we hike, camp, and connect with nature.

Even more alarming: the bill defines eligibility so broadly that over 250 million acres of federally managed land could be considered for disposal—including more than 21 million acres in Oregon alone.

Lands currently open for public recreation could be sold to any “interested party,” with minimal restrictions—even those within roadless areas, critical habitat zones, or lands with cultural significance.

This is not land management. It’s liquidation. Once sold, these places are gone—for good.

See the interactive map here

Take Action Today

• Visit Friends of the Columbia Gorge’s action page: We’re standing with our partners at Friends of the Columbia Gorge to oppose this bill. Their action page makes it easy to email your representatives—please take a moment to speak up now: https://act.gorgefriends.org/a/gorge-is-not-for-sale
• See what’s at stake: Explore this interactive map showing public lands in Oregon and across the West that could be affected.
• Spread the word: Share this message. Post on social media. Let friends and family know why you cherish these lands—and why we must fight to keep them public.

“There are no do‑overs when it comes to selling off public lands. Once they’re sold, they’re lost forever.”
— Senator Ron Wyden, June 17, 2025

Trailkeepers of Oregon remains committed to protecting and enhancing the Oregon hiking experience through trail stewardship, advocacy, and education. We invite all Oregonians to stand with us in ensuring that our public lands continue to serve the public good.

What it would mean for Oregon

According to the legislative criteria, over 21 million acres of Oregon’s public lands could become eligible for sale. These include areas within national forests and BLM-managed regions that are home to popular hiking trails, campgrounds, and wildlife habitat. These are places where families go to connect with nature, where volunteers—like those organized by Trailkeepers of Oregon—invest time and care to maintain trails, and where rural communities benefit from the economic activity outdoor recreation brings.

Oregon Public Lands Potentially Affected:

• Total: 21,745,380 acres
• U.S. Forest Service (USFS): 9,889,298 acres
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM): 11,856,082 acres

What it means for Oregon and TKO’s mission

If this bill passes, the impact on trail access could be immediate and irreversible. Public lands near some of Oregon’s most iconic hiking destinations—including the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood National Forest, the Deschutes National Forest, and the Owyhee Canyonlands—could be sold off to private buyers. Once sold, these lands could be gated, developed, mined, or otherwise closed to the public, with no requirement for continued recreational access.

This includes areas where Trailkeepers of Oregon has invested years of volunteer labor—restoring trails, building access infrastructure, and maintaining safe, sustainable routes for hikers.

Selling these lands would not only undermine decades of stewardship—it would sever the connection between Oregonians and the places they’ve worked to protect, setting a dangerous precedent for the future of conservation and access.

Public lands are a shared legacy

Oregon’s public lands are more than just acreage—they are part of our cultural identity, our economy, and our daily lives.

• Outdoor recreation generates over $8 billion annually for Oregon and supports more than 70,000 jobs.
• Trail access supports community health, offering free, close-to-home opportunities to be active and reduce stress.
• Public lands provide critical ecological services, from clean water to wildlife habitat.
• Volunteers play a vital role in maintaining Oregon’s trails, investing time, tools, and care into landscapes that belong to everyone.

Selling these lands moves us away from the principle that public lands should remain in public hands—for all people, for all time.

Trailkeepers of Oregon’s position

This legislation is not a new approach to land management—it’s the end of it. Once these lands are sold, they are no longer ours to manage, protect, or enjoy. While there is room for thoughtful discussion about how public lands are funded and cared for, permanent disposal without robust public input threatens access, undercuts local economies, and fragments ecosystems.

Instead of selling off public land, we believe in investing in it—ensuring future generations have the same opportunities to hike, explore, and care for Oregon’s outdoors as we do today.

We urge you to take action by signing the petition, making calls, and telling your friends and family why you cherish these lands—and why we must fight to keep them public for all to enjoy.

Learn more from trusted sources

• Read the bill text: Senate Energy & Natural Resources Budget Reconciliation Draft (June 17, 2025, PDF)
• Outdoor Alliance action page: Protect Public Lands – Outdoor Alliance
• Washington Trails Association advocacy update: WTA Campaign Overview
• The Wilderness Society summary and resources: The Wilderness Society – Budget Reconciliation Threats

TKO has always stepped up where federal resources fall short, but the current funding crisis is putting Oregon’s trails—and our ability to maintain them—at serious risk.

A Looming Crisis for Public Lands

Federal budget cuts and layoffs have eliminated thousands of agency jobs, including recreation managers, trail crews, and wildfire mitigation teams—the very people who keep our trails safe, accessible, and well-maintained. Certain Ranger Districts report they have no dedicated trails staff. With another round of cuts expected, it’s becoming clear that nearly 100% of trail maintenance on National Forest lands will rely on volunteers.

Nearly $500,000 in federal funding awarded to TKO is stalled, delayed, or in question. Every $1 to TKO nearly doubles out to trails. These funds are tied to TKO’s commitments to:

• Over 170 trail days & trainings from Great American Outdoors Act deferred maintenance funding for restoring trails in multiple National Forests across the state.
• Over 100 trail days & Ambassador activities through Title II Rural Schools, Roads & Trails grants for maintenance and visitor services in Siuslaw and Mt. Hood National Forests.
• Over 50 trail days through disaster relief funds to perform wildfire restoration in Mt. Hood NF, critical for post-fire trail recovery.
• Over 50 volunteers and professionals to issue saw certifications in Deschutes NF, essential for training sawyers who clear downed trees on popular trails like the Pacific Crest Trail.
• Over an estimated 3,000 volunteer participants maintaining and restoring trails, engaging visitors at trailheads and the backcountry with an in-kind labor value of over $800,000 to keep Oregon’s trails safe and welcoming before/during your next hiking adventures.
• Even $50,000 in services we’ve already provided is unpaid due to government delays the first 3 months of this year.

What TKO Is Doing Right Now

I want to be transparent with our community about the impact this may have on our mission. Each day we hear of another nonprofit laying off staff and/or suspending federal land activities, if they can. The U.S. Forest Service has let us know that our future federal funding may be delayed while it is under review as part of the new administration’s efforts to reduce federal spending and staffing. We are unsure when or if this funding will be cut, reduced, or fully restored.

With this uncertainty, we are planning our work and working our plan:

• With dwindling cash reserves, and a hope for invoicing to catch up, we are still hosting dozens of trail stewardship events and educational programs on federal trails, ensuring Oregon’s trails remain open and safe.
• TKO’s fundraising team is having a flurry of major donor conversations and planning a spring fundraiser to invest in TKO’s service to National Forests while funding is in question.
• Our program staff is actively putting in place contingencies for stewardship & Ambassadors, pivoting to non-federal projects, working with state, county, and local land managers to continue essential trail service.
• We’re also engaging directly with other trail organizations, state leaders, and lawmakers to advocate for funding stability and long-term investment in public lands.

This isn’t just about TKO—it’s about keeping Oregon’s trails accessible for everyone. Learn how you can help below.

See you on the trails,

How You Can Help

Public lands belong to all of us. We need to act now.

This moment is a test of our commitment to Oregon’s trails. TKO is ready. Join us in our mission to keep trails open for all to enjoy!

This post comes with big thanks to our friends at Washington Trails Association who invited us to borrow heavily from their similar action alert! We invite you to scan the similarities and differences between Oregon and Washington in WTA’s article with a carbon copy for Oregon that we created below. 

If you hike in Oregon, odds are excellent that you’ve enjoyed trails on U.S. Forest Service land. About 39% of Oregon (yes, that’s over 14 million acres of the state) is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. National forests contain some of the most iconic landscapes, popular campgrounds and beloved hiking trails in the state. Encircle Mt. Hood on the Timberline trail, hike along a National Scenic Trail like the Deschutes River trail, visit the Oregon Dunes along the coast, or backpack in the Eagle Cap Wilderness and you are enjoying some of the over 15,000 miles of national forest trails in Oregon.

A funding crisis is putting Forest Service trails, campgrounds and other types of outdoor recreation at risk. The U.S. Forest Service is currently making major cuts to its workforce that will reduce its ability to maintain trails, clean trailhead restrooms, collect trash and provide essential services. 

BUDGET CRISIS WILL CUT JOBS AND REDUCE SERVICES

The U.S. Forest Service manages most miles of trail in Oregon:

• U.S. Forest Service has more than 15,524 miles of trail in Oregon state.

In contrast:

• Oregon State Parks manages over 1,300 miles of trails.
• Oregon Department of Forestry includes over 175 miles of non-motorized trails.
• Crater Lake National Park contains over 100 miles of hiking trails.

National forests are managed by the federal government for a mix of purposes including recreation, timber production, and preserving natural resources and biodiversity. The Forest Service has historically accomplished most of its on-the-ground work with temporary employees who work for a portion of the year.

The Forest Service currently has less money than it needs to cover its expenses and pay its staff. The agency has a deficit of more than $700 million. In response, the chief of the Forest Service announced that the agency will not hire any seasonal positions except those that respond to forest fires. This means cutting more than 2,400 seasonal jobs, including trail crews, wilderness rangers, biologists, and many other types of temporary staff.

BLOCKED TRAILS, UNSANITARY BATHROOMS & LACK OF BACKCOUNTRY SUPPORT

It takes a lot of time and effort to maintain Forest Service trails. Volunteers, including the thousands of people who power TKO’s trail parties, keep many national forest trails open. But volunteers are not the only ones in the woods fixing trails and clearing obstacles. Forest Service trail crews spend their summers in the backcountry. Each year, those seasonal employees accomplish about half of the trail maintenance completed on national forest trails.

When you hike on national forest lands next summer, you will feel the absence of Forest Service seasonal staff. You will likely see trails and even roads blocked by logs. You may notice small landslides and debris flows that bury your path or find trails covered in thick brush. At trailheads, you may find unsanitary bathrooms.

Here are some of the tasks that seasonal workers impacted by the cuts do for the Forest Service:

• Share information with the public about recreation and regulations.
• Maintain trails, cut brush, remove logs, build rock retaining walls
• Repair infrastructure including tables, signs, buildings and fire pits.
• Inspect trail bridges
• Patrol wilderness areas and protect natural resources from avoidable damage
• Conduct surveys of wildlife and collect other types of scientific data.
• Help control noxious weeds
• Assist in laying out timber sales and plant trees after a timber harvest.
• Maintain range structures like fencing
• Remove graffiti and pick up trash

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

This budget crisis has both long-term and short-term causes. Since the 1990s, the Forest Service has lost about 8,000 jobs nationally, including about half of its trail crew and forestry technician positions. Funding for the agency has not kept up with rising costs. TKO seeks to consistently advocate for the Forest Service, we are now teaming up with Washington Trails Association so that the Forest Service can hire more people to complete its complex mission. Recent events have taken the agency in the wrong direction.

• In the last few years, costs at the Forest Service have gone up but federal funding hasn’t. For instance, in 2022 and 2023, federal workers received cost of living adjustments to lift real wages to match inflation.
• However, Congress did not pass bills to increase funding for salaries and expenses at the U.S. Forest Service to pay for those wage increases.
• The Forest Service added employees as the agency works to implement projects that reduce the risk of forest fires, using funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, but that funding was short term and is not available moving forward.
• The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a spending bill that would cut funding for the Forest Service in 2025. This bill has not become law, but the Forest Service is making cuts to prepare for a possible reduction in resources.

The result of all of this is a depleted agency that is making drastic cuts to its operations and searching for ways to save money in all of its non-fire-fighting programs.

WHAT IS TKO DOING?

Since the cuts were announced, TKO has advocated for the Forest Service to adjust their plans. Teaming up with 27 organizations in lobbying the agency to exempt seasonal positions that are funded entirely from outside grants from the cuts. Eliminating grant funded positions will provide little cost savings and disproportionately hurt trails. TKO is coordinating with nonprofit partners and talking with Forest Service leaders, Oregon’s congressional delegation, and others to explore additional long-term solutions.

Public lands need robust funding. TKO will continue to work with partner organizations from across the country to advocate for trails and ensure that everyone can enjoy their benefits. In 2025, Congress has the opportunity to invest in our country’s trails by reauthorizing the Great American Outdoors Act’s Legacy Restoration Fund, which has directed more than $149 million to help reduce the maintenance backlog on national forest trails over the last 4 years. We will work to get that legislation passed. At the same time, we expect the new Congress and incoming presidential administration to consider cuts to government programs including further shrinking budgets at the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. TKO will remain a stalwart voice speaking up for public lands.

HOW CAN HIKERS HELP?

Donate to TKO. Even if we can convince Congress to pass a budget and make drastic changes, it is apparent that already there are rippling effects that will delay winter storm clean up, wildfire restoration, and annual/deferred maintenance. Contributing financially to TKO will help us do more in this immediate time of need!

Can’t give financially? Make a phone call. Congress has not yet passed bills to fund the government in 2025. There is still time to avoid the further budget cuts and address the Forest Service funding crisis. Oregon’s congressional delegation needs to hear why national forest trails are important to you. Take action today.

In 2025, we need Congress to reject the Forest Service funding cuts proposed by the House of Representatives. This year and moving into the future, we need increased investment in the Forest Service to support staffing including seasonal employees.

The most important message for Congress is that hikers value our National Forests and Trails. Here is what that might look like in federal budget language:

• Congress should address the current budget crisis and invest in the U.S. Forest Service workforce.
• For fiscal year 2025, funding for the Forest Service is better in the Senate’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act than in the House version. Congress should use the Senate numbers.
• The U.S. Forest Service has an account called Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness which helps it manage its lands. We want to see $70 million added to that account — and we want to see a commensurate increase to the National Forest System Salaries and Expenses to cover the staffing costs to support the work.

Calling members of Congress is a powerful way to make your voice heard. Staff who work for elected officials keep track of the calls they receive and consider their constituents’ views when they decide what challenges to prioritize. A single call can elevate an issue. All members of Congress benefit from hearing that hikers care about public lands and want the Forest Service and recreation to be well funded.

It will only take a few minutes of your time to share your support for USFS trails!

Type Your Address at this Link to Get Your Congressional Office Phone Numbers

Recommended Talking Points

Hi, my name is [your name], and I’m a constituent calling to ask that Congress increase funding for the Forest Service in 2025.
I’m asking to fund the Forest Service at the levels in the Senate’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, not the reduced funding recently proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cutting funding for the Forest Service and its staff reduces access to the outdoors and our public lands and threatens to close our Forest Service trails and campgrounds. Getting outside benefits our economy, our health and it’s personally important to me because [your message].
Thank you for taking my call today.