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Inside Montana's fight to block the sale of federally owned land | 60 Minutes

2025-11-24 News & Politics
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Montana Residents Successfully Thwart Congressional Proposal to Sell Public Lands

Discover how Montana citizens, spanning political divides, united to repel a major federal effort to sell up to 3 million acres of public land for development and debt reduction. Understanding this event reveals what Montanans value highly—freedom, recreation, and kinship with the landscape.

Short Summary

  • Bipartisan unity formed across Montana against a "big beautiful budget bill" proposal to sell public lands.
  • Both ranchers and conservationists view public lands as essential to their livelihood (recreation, grazing) and cultural identity.
  • The successful opposition highlights that certain assets, like national heritage lands, are deemed non-negotiable "inheritance" regardless of immediate fiscal proposals. This segment profiles the successful grassroots mobilization that compelled Republican representatives to abandon the land sale measure, demonstrating the power of local consensus on bedrock issues.

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Description

This summer, Montana rallied to kill a congressional proposal that would have opened the door to the sale of public land. Residents there stress the importance of those spaces. "60 Minutes" is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen's Top 10. Subscribe to the "60 Minutes" YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/60minutes Watch full episodes: https://cbsnews.com/60-minutes/full-episodes/ Get more "60 Minutes" from "60 Minutes: Overtime": https://cbsnews.com/60-minutes/overtime/ Follow "60 Minutes" on Instagram: https://instagram.com/60minutes/ Like "60 Minutes" on Facebook: https://facebook.com/60minutes Follow "60 Minutes" on X: https://twitter.com/60Minutes Subscribe to our newsletter: https://cbsnews.com/newsletters/ Download the CBS News app: https://cbsnews.com/mobile/ Try Paramount+ free: https://paramountplus.com/?ftag=PPM-05-10aeh8h For video licensing inquiries, contact: [email protected]

Top Comments (10)

@LorenR1962 2025-11-24

Opening up for more public housing to reduce housing costs? Largest lie I’ve ever heard.

663 24 replies
@mattpelofske4632 2025-11-24

Im a 55 year old man who uses the Carson National Forest, 250 days a year for work and recreation, these lands are so important in the west it can't be underestimated underestimated.

363 26 replies
@6j6666 2025-11-25

The fact that Montana ranchers would think some new york yankee grifter has their best interests in mind is baffling.

356 42 replies
@TagandAvis 2025-11-24

The ruse by Mike Lee and his backers talking about affordable housing is ridiculous. NOT ONE ACRE!!

260 2 replies
@postwatch1377 2025-11-25

Lakota chief Red Cloud, "They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it ....

191 11 replies
@LETSGOOO3831 2025-11-25

Never give up the land.

187 5 replies
@bryanhorrigan7000 2025-11-25

it would all be purchased by investors and not normal citizens.

180 8 replies
@b195-l5s 2025-11-24

Public lands and parks need protection from the developers

140 7 replies
@GCH94 2025-11-25

Just the thought of an America with no public land is….. devastating

61 5 replies
@ricki-bobby 2025-11-25

When you hear someone lie and say "we are mismanaging federal lands by not making more money from them" it should be a red flag to every American. If Mike Lee, Ryan Zenke, Trump...etc were serious about generating more revenue they would push for a complete reform of the Mining Act of 1872. We have multi-national mining corporations that are able to mine the US at rates/policies that were established in 1872 when the US was desperate for foreign investment. We've lost billions in potential revenue/royalties allowing corporations based in Australia, South Africa and Canada to literally mine the US for pennies on the dollar

40 7 replies

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