I live in a small desert community that was largely agricultural in my youth. Today, most of the water rights have been sold away and most of the farm land has been developed for other uses.
I think it is unfortunate. Sometimes I think the remaining farm land should be protected from development. But I do not own the land, and I did not do all the work to turn it into farm land. I believe the owners of the property have the right to do as they decide for themselves.
So, if I really want the land to be preserved, I can try to raise millions of dollars and buy the land from the farmers. But I can't otherwise just block them from selling it to a developer.
If you think state officials mismanage public lands and would prefer the feds to mismanage it, the feds should buy it from the state. This should not be a forced sale, either.
If a state has willingly sold its land to the feds... well, I guess they can't complain. Can you tell me how the federal government came to own 80+% of Nevada? Ask the Sheahans [1] and the Bundys [2].
Edit: Corrected typo
[1] http://origin-stage.reviewjournal.com/news/military/family-f...
[2] http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/04/16/why-does-federal-gove...