No Net Gain in Federal Lands Act of 2025
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The "No Net Gain in Federal Lands Act" would freeze or reduce the amount of land owned and managed by the federal government. It requires that for every acre of land acquired by the Department of Interior or Department of Agriculture in a state, an equal amount must be sold or given away in that same state. If the federal government acquires more land than it disposes of, the President must transfer enough federal land to that state within 24 months to balance it out.
Who Benefits and How
State governments would benefit by receiving federal land transfers when the feds acquire more land than they dispose of, giving states ownership and control over previously federal property. Mining, oil and gas, timber, and ranching companies would benefit because transferred state lands are generally more accessible for resource extraction than federal lands, lowering barriers to accessing valuable natural resources. Property rights advocates would benefit as the bill constrains federal land expansion.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Interior (including the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service) and the Department of Agriculture (including the U.S. Forest Service) would face significant new administrative burdens by having to conduct annual inventories of every acre of federal land categorized by ownership type, make annual determinations of net gains or losses, report to Congress and the President by September 30 each year, and execute mandatory land conveyances. Conservation organizations would bear burdens because the bill would prevent federal acquisition of lands for conservation purposes unless equal acreage is disposed of, effectively halting expansion of protected federal lands like national parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits the federal government from acquiring more land in any state than it disposes of in that state each fiscal year, calculated separately for each type of interest (fee title, easement, mineral rights, etc.)
- Requires Interior and Agriculture Secretaries to complete annual inventories of all federal lands under their jurisdiction, categorized by state and by type of ownership interest
- Mandates that the President convey enough federal land to any state where net gains occurred within 24 months of the determination
- Exempts these mandatory land conveyances from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Defines "federal land" broadly to include not just owned lands but also leased lands, conservation easements, and lands where the federal government exercises oversight or approval authority
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Prohibits federal land acquisition that results in net increases in federal land ownership by state, requiring annual inventories and compensatory conveyances when net gains occur.
Who Benefits
- State governments seeking federal land transfers
- Private interests seeking federal land disposal (mining, energy, timber, ranching)
- Property rights advocates opposing federal land expansion
Who Bears Costs
- Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture (administrative burden of annual inventories and forced conveyances)
- Conservation groups and environmental organizations (reduced federal land protection)
- Federal land management agencies (BLM, Forest Service, NPS, FWS)
Key Policy Areas
Public Lands, Federal Property Management, Environmental Policy
Primary Purpose
Prohibits federal land acquisition that results in net increases in federal land ownership by state, requiring annual inventories and compensatory conveyances when net gains occur.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Constrain federal land expansion by requiring disposal-for-acquisition exchanges, potentially freezing or reducing federal conservation and public land estate"
Identified Gains
- State governments seeking federal land transfers
- Private interests seeking federal land disposal (mining, energy, timber, ranching)
- Property rights advocates opposing federal land expansion
Identified Costs
- Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture (administrative burden of annual inventories and forced conveyances)
- Conservation groups and environmental organizations (reduced federal land protection)
- Federal land management agencies (BLM, Forest Service, NPS, FWS)
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Hageman introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition …
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Agriculture - U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management
State governments receiving federal land transfers
Timber companies seeking federal forest access
Conservation organizations working on federal land protection
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Interior (for Interior lands) OR Secretary of Agriculture (for USDA lands) - dual reference
Note: The term 'Secretary' has dual meaning throughout the bill - refers to either Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of Interior depending on which department has jurisdiction over the specific federal lands in question. This is explicitly defined in Section 3(2).
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Federal lands, waters, and interests therein, including lands held in trust (with exceptions for Indian lands, foreclosures, receiverships, reversions, and tax liens). Includes non-Federal land leased by Federal Government, held as conservation easement, or requiring federal oversight/authorization. Measured by type of interest (fee, easement, mineral interest, etc.).
Secretary of Agriculture (for Federal land under USDA jurisdiction) OR Secretary of the Interior (for Federal land under Interior jurisdiction)
The several States and the District of Columbia
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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