Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing

Washington, D.C. — In a move that raises serious alarm among conservationists, housing advocates, and public interest groups, the Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have announced a controversial plan to repurpose federal public lands for residential development.

The initiative, unveiled in a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and HUD Secretary Scott Turner, proposes using vast swaths of public lands to build housing—framed as a solution to the nation’s housing affordability crisis. The plan includes calls to weaken environmental reviews and fast-track land transfers, stripping away long-standing safeguards that protect public lands, wildlife habitat, and water resources.

The agencies launched a joint task force to begin identifying public lands that could be handed over for development.

This announcement follows an ongoing campaign by former President Donald Trump to roll back protections on public lands in favor of oil and gas drilling. Now, the same lands face a new threat—from privatization under the guise of affordable housing. Compounding the concern, mass firings of federal employees, including those at DOI and HUD, have drastically reduced internal oversight, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and the integrity of this process.

Public lands belong to all of us—and sacrificing them to development without adequate review or public input is not a solution. It’s a short-sighted sell-off of America’s shared natural heritage.