Not For Sale Protest Leads to Public Lands Sale Stricken from the Bad Brutal Bill
In a country beholden to the whims of billionaires and their bought-out political cronies, it comes to no surprise to advocates like Grace Schuessler, who had every reason to feel powerless and convinced the planet is for sale, regardless of the cost.
However, when the Big Brutal Bill threatened to privatize over three million acres of public land due to Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) proposed amendment, Grace couldn’t look away—she was pissed off. Wasting no time, she got organized.
A professional videographer living in Bend, Oregon, Grace had never planned a protest before. She didn’t have a toolkit or strategy memo produced by a Big Three consultancy firm—just righteous rage and an unshakable love for the land. What started as one person refusing to be silent turned into hundreds of people taking to the streets in downtown Bend on Saturday, June 21st, for a Not For Sale protest.
As a community in Bend, as well as across the nation, the people raised their voices against a government trying to sell off what belongs to all of us.
The public pressure worked. Lawmakers were forced to strip the land sell-off provision from the bill, ensuring that it would not be included in what would eventually become law. Because people like Grace stood up, millions of acres remain in public hands—for hiking, for ceremony, for clean air and water, for future generations.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just about “protecting nature.” This was about protecting democracy. The original bill was a quiet handoff of public land to private profiteers, under fake charges that this would be used to improve domestic energy production or lead to more housing construction. There were no public hearings, and therefore no opportunity for the public to share their perspective on this consequential matter—just a gift to extractive industries pillaging our planet.
But Grace—and thousands like her across the country—refused to let that stand.
This is the resistance story we need to keep telling: not just the big marches, but the people who start something small and righteous and watch it grow. Grace didn’t wait for an invitation. She used her platform, showed up downtown, and people met her there in solidarity with the cause.
And here’s what’s radical about that: it worked.
When you combine political pressure with organized messaging, aimed at a specific goal or policy outcome, success becomes nearly inevitable. The Not For Sale protest was part of a groundswell—one that couldn’t be ignored, one that lawmakers were forced to listen to.
This story also reminds us that “red state” or “blue state” does not matter when it comes to public lands. These biodiversity hubs, sacred spaces, are for everyone; people will fight for them, regardless of political labels.
So let’s celebrate the courage of someone who didn’t know what to do, but did something anyway. Let’s celebrate the ripple effect. Let’s celebrate the win.
And then let’s remember that these fights aren’t over. There will be more backroom deals, more attempts to sell what we all share. But now we know: they’ll have to get through us first.
Sources: CBS, The Graceful Renegade
