# 119-s-2967: Border Lands Conservation Act

119-s-2967, Border Lands Conservation Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2967
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2967
- Congress: 119
- Title: Border Lands Conservation Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-10-02
- Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**This bill creates a multipronged framework to deter illegal border crossings and give federal agencies more tools to secure public lands along the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders.** It centers on stronger interagency coordination and new infrastructure and access authorities for border operations. - Border and law enforcement agencies gain new authorities. The bill authorizes a navigable road infrastructure program, allows the Department of Homeland Security to use wilderness areas for security activities including vehicles, aircraft, roads, and barriers, and protects DHS operations within 100 miles of the borders. - Public land managers, ranchers, and recreation users face new inventories, cleanup, and management requirements. The bill requires inventories and possible reclamation or reuse of unauthorized roads and trails, creates a Border Fuels Management Initiative to reduce hazards and invasive species along road corridors, and mandates reports to Congress on environmental damage, wildland fires, safety impacts, and costs to ranching and grazing. - People without lawful immigration status on covered Federal land are affected. The bill prohibits Federal funding for housing such individuals on covered Federal land, with a narrow exception for custody, detention, processing, or removal facilities. *No specific federal cost or deficit estimate is provided in the sources.*

## Cosponsors (8)

- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-10-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-10-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-10-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-10-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL), 2025-10-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-10-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-10-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Protections for legal land uses: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would say it does not let the government add new limits on legal uses like grazing, timber harvest, mining, or recreation on covered federal land. It would not give the Secretaries authority over State or private land. It would not change treaties or agreements with Indian Trib…
- New border fuels reduction program: benefit, low. If enacted, Interior and Agriculture would start a Border Fuels Management Initiative within 1 year. The Initiative would cut hazardous fuels, treat invasive species, install fuel breaks, and set acres-to-treat targets each year. It would coordinate with DHS and Border Patrol and prioritize treatme…
- Ban federal housing for undocumented people: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would bar federal funds from being used to provide housing on federal lands to people without lawful immigration status. The ban would include leases, contracts, and agreements on lands run by federal land agencies. It would not stop funding for custody, detention, processing,…
- More border roads and DHS access: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would require inventories and new navigable roads on federal land next to the northern and southern borders. It would let Homeland Security use and maintain those roads and enter cooperative agreements to install technology. The bill would let DHS use vehicles, aircraft, and bu…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025
- 119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025
- 119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-s-3697: SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-2967 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2967)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-587: Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-587)
- [119-s-186: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-186)
- [119-s-6: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-6)
- [119-s-3697: SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3697)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2967 (as of 2026-09-10).