Written by: Sam Thrash, Fall Obsession CEO

The dust is settling following one of the greatest threats to public land in recent years. We should be all too familiar with it at this point; Utah Senator Mike Lee spearheaded an aggressive attempt to sell off a potential 3 million acres of public land in 11 different States as a part of the GOP budget bill. His justification included affordable housing, which was never outlined or defined in his bill. He also took the stance of his push for these land sales to be in an effort to assist President Trump with paying off our national debt. Of course the sale of this land, if successful, would not even come close to putting a dent in our national debt.

A deeper dive into Mike Lee’s situation would suggest some personal motives. Who are some of Mike’s biggest donors? Microsoft (Bill Gates), Blackrock, and Harlan Crow; all individuals or organizations who would definitely stand to gain from the sale of 3 million untouched acres in North America. You can fill in the blanks on your own.

As of June 28th, 2025, Mike Lee conceded in his attempts to sell off public lands; land that he never had the right to sell in the first place. Land that belongs to the American people. This was following one of the greatest displays of political advocacy by a widespread range of people. Hunters, Conservationists, Outdoor Enthusiasts, Recreationalists, and many more in a united front were flooding their state representatives offices expressing their personal concerns and how a land sale like this would impact both them and the American people.

In a post on social media, Mike Lee stated he was withdrawing federal land sales from the bill. He followed that by stating that he still intends to help President Trump put “underutilized federal land to work for American families”. One could only speculate that statement suggests a second and future attempt to take away public lands from the American people. We may have won this battle, but the war on hunting, conservation and our right to hunt and fish will remain a constant.

Over the past few weeks, I myself have been presented with many questions. Some from personal friends, others through comments made on social media posts; asking why something like this is relevant to them since they do not hunt public land, or they hunt in a different part of the country. That has lead me to put together these thoughts and publish this article, because I believe there is a time and a place for hunters to be political.

I have never been very politically vocal. Yes, I vote in every election. I stand firm in my own personal, political and religious opinions and beliefs. And as I began building, growing and leading a hunting and outdoor brand in this industry, I originally took the stance of we will never be publicly political. I believe I took this stance because one, we did not want to let politics interfere with reaching anyone we possibly could and share our love for hunting and the outdoors with them. Two, I feared the potential conflict it could invite. Three, my own ignorance when considering one and two and what I was choosing to define as “political”.

Within the past two years my stance has certainly changed. I began paying attention to what was happening in the world of conservation and hunting advocacy. I began analyzing the game laws in my own state, and educating myself on who exactly makes these decisions on behalf of every hunter in Texas, and influences our wildlife management practices. In doing so, a healthy fear began to form. The fear of so much power resting with certain individuals who more times than not are able to make changes with little to no accountability. I began to ask myself if every hunter in Texas, and even North America was just as naive as I once was? That’s a scary thought.

The wolf reintroduction in Colorado brought a new challenge to the conservation battlefield in the form of “Ballot Box Biology”. Left-winged, anti-hunter extremists taking advantage of the naive voter to push their emotional-based wildlife agendas. Some hunters and conservationists a lot smarter than me quickly recognized the significance of what just happened and feared what could come next, and out of that organizations like HOWL for Wildlife and the CRWM were formed. They had their ducks in a row, they were readily prepared, and using science-based wildlife management practices and data were able to defeat the opposition the next time they took to the ballot box in Colorado; utilizing the same method in their attempt to pass Proposition 127 in 2024.

At this point every hunter should be tuned in and paying attention. If you are not, you are blind and naive like I once was. I’m sorry to put it bluntly, but you are. I don’t care if you hunt private land, I also hunt private land. I don’t care if your state wasn’t one of the 11 threatened by Mike Lee this month, mine wasn’t either. If you do not care about the issues facing hunters and conservationists in other states, then you better refrain from complaining when it comes to your state. And it will. The battle will one day reach your home turf in one way or another and you will suddenly find yourself looking for organizations and individuals to come to the aid of you and your fellow hunters and outdoorsmen in ways you cannot. The support needs to be constant and go both ways.

Some scary attacks have been thrown upon hunters and conservationists in recent years, but many recently have been met with a greater force of advocacy and representation than the opposition expected. We have shown them we can play on their turf and meet them at their level. Because of this, the world of hunting we know and love remains intact and relatively unchanged. But that will not stop the next attack, the next ballot initiative, or the next budget bill from trying to slowly cut away at our God-given rights.

That is why hunters must be political. And I do not mean you need to consistently remind people who you voted for for president, or which side of the isle you sit on, or what you like/dislike about another party’s policies or stances. Some thoughts or convictions can be kept more private or reserved, if you so choose. But when our rights as hunters are under attack, we have to rise up. We have to unify. That is the time to educate others on why we love to hunt, why we love our public lands, and to paint our passion in the most passionate, respectful, responsible and factual light we possibly can. We need to be at the ballot box when necessary, supporting conservation organizations who can advocate at legislative levels which we cannot, and flooding our elected officials offices with our message when they hold the power to make these impactful decisions. And when one of them does not listen to their voters; the American people or hold true to their beliefs or stances, the power then rests with us to vote them out when the time comes. I myself was very displeased when Senator John Cornyn from Texas publicly stated he was in favor of selling public lands. That will certainly influence my vote next time.

In closing, if you are ever wondering how you can keep track of the current issues at hand and know what you need to get involved with, organizations like HOWL for Wildlife have all major actions posted to their website and make it as user friendly as possible to get you involved directly from there. Support these organizations however you can, both vocally, publicly and financially if possible. They have a voice at tables where you and I do not sit.

Hunting is not supposed to be about politics, but politics are trying to influence and restrict hunting. You know who can and should speak up? You, the hunter. Don’t wait for someone else to do it for you. Politics are not always just about an election every 2-4 years, and showing up to vote hoping your guy wins. Sometimes it requires us to put forth a little bit of effort to advocate for what is right and for what we love. More importantly, your political advocacy for hunting today ensures future generations will have it tomorrow.

Get involved. Pay attention. A little effort goes a long way.

The War on Hunting: When and Why Hunters Should be Political