During a recent appearance on the Big Picture Morning Show on KSUB Radio, Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (R-UT), who represents Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, addressed concerns about a proposal to sell 10,000 acres of public land in Utah. The amendment she introduced was ultimately removed before the House passed the reconciliation bill, but misinformation continues to circulate.

Canva / Dr. T
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"I offered an amendment that would sell 10,000 acres in Utah, it was almost all in Washington County," Maloy explained. "They were very specific parcels that the local governments need for infrastructure—trails, roads, wells, water infrastructure."

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She emphasized the narrow scope of her amendment and expressed frustration at how the narrative was distorted. "The messaging was Utah and Nevada want to sell off the West... I spent a lot of time in meetings with conservation groups, walking them through the amendment… and calmed a lot of people down."

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However, the amendment was stripped from the bill due to opposition from another Republican member of Congress. “There was one other Republican who said he’d vote against the bill if there were any acres sold… So it got stripped out.”

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The controversy has been reignited by a map circulated by the Wilderness Society. They published the map after Utah Senator Mike Lee proposed a possible sale of public land in the senate version of the Big Beautiful bill. Lee's proposal would have allowed for one half one percent of the sale of public land in a public land state.

Maloy Calls Out Wilderness Society Map As Misinformation

Maloy pulled no punches regarding the map put out by the Wilderness Society. “That is completely made-up,” Maloy said. “It’s a map that was made to make people panic.” She added, “You should be very skeptical of any messaging that is designed to just tick you off and ruin your day.”

Maloy voiced concerns about the spread of misinformation and the lag between social media and traditional reporting. “I am talking to the Deseret News later this morning. They’re writing an article about that, but they always move slower than social media.”

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Maloy for Congress / Canva
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Looking ahead, Maloy says her top priority is regulatory reform. “We have way too much regulation… I’m really focused on taking the regulatory state that we have and stripping a lot of that back and streamlining it.”

You can listen to the entire exchange with Congresswoman Maloy in the podcast below.

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