The Challenges of Federal vs. State Land Ownership
A political resurgence among lawmakers to transfer federal public lands to individual states is gaining momentum. This revival is reminiscent of the Sagebrush Rebellion and subsequent legislation considered by many western states during the late 1970s and 1980s. The rhetoric of the Sagebrush Rebellion is similar to current initiatives arguing for greater state government control or outright ownership of federal public lands. This movement is concentrated in western states because much of the eastern U.S.