Republicans move to sell off 3.3m acres of national land, sparking rallies

Land totaling the size of Connecticut has been targeted in a new bill in the Republican House, uniting hunters and conservationists in oppositionUpdate: Republicans back off public land bill after outcryNow that Republicans have quietly drawn a path to give away much of Americans' public land, US representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah has introduced what the Wilderness Society is calling "step two" in the GOP's plan to offload federal property.The new piece of legislation would direct the interior secretary to immediately sell off an area of public land the size of Connecticut. In a press release for House Bill 621, Chaffetz, a Tea Party Republican, claimed that the 3.3m acres of national land, maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), served "no purpose for taxpayers". Continue reading...