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Plan to sell off public land

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#1 buckland

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Posted 31 January 2017 - 10:18 PM

Wandering the West folk might interested in putting in your opinion to the powers that be. Voice your concern if you feel the loss of 3.2 million acres in Utah is not a good idea (that's the size of Connecticut).

 

https://www.theguard...gement-chaffetz

 

 


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#2 Happyjax

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Posted 31 January 2017 - 10:22 PM

I have posted on FB and will contact my representatives. This will take a lot of fighting and I am sure it is only the beginning.....


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#3 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 31 January 2017 - 10:52 PM

Thanks Rob for the info. Anything we can do has got to help.

Frank


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#4 Happyjax

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Posted 31 January 2017 - 11:33 PM

Just when I am getting to close to getting my truck and camper and retiring the government wants to take away BLM. I am so pissed....


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#5 buckland

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Posted 01 February 2017 - 12:05 AM

What I have just done is put an email out to a group of people that I think will take the time and participate in our representative Gov. Gotta rattle the cage.  So I sent out an email with the links to their Representatives  and Senators with a link to the article.,pleading not to let this happen under their eyes....while the sharks are feeding.

It is probably just a few in gov that want to take it away....at least that is my hope.


Edited by buckland, 01 February 2017 - 12:18 AM.

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#6 Smokecreek1

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Posted 01 February 2017 - 12:39 AM

This bill is just another run at the Sagebrush Rebellion and apart from  being illegal (despite what they say) comes up every so often. In this case inspired by all the new NM's designated by the last administration and Bundy.  Public Land is just that-it was federal land before these states like Utah were even a state and as part of joining the union, each state was given so much public land (that not other wise deeded to pvt ownership/rail road lands/military/other exempt fed land, etc, in the form of of what were called school lands (for  public land grant schools or other public purposes); 2 sections(usually if I remember right) 2 and 36 of land from each town ship and range (36 sections). For joining the US, each new state gave up any claim on any remaining public land. And that's just the public lands legal part.

 

Okay that's a short version of the law, and despite what they say, every time this type of bill has got anywhere near a fed court it been thrown out. Up until 1976, the government sold off/traded lot's of public lands.  In 1976 the congress passed a law called FLPMA that said that those remaining lands would be retained in public ownership and managed for the public good! As a note USFS and other public lands managed by other public agencies are covered by other laws.  Grazing fees are covered by other laws as are recreation etc. Fishing and hunting laws are managed by the state and the lands by the fed government.

 

Okay,  the new administration-unlike other normal Republican platforms-have said they want to retain public land in public ownership and both trump and the new(almost) sec of interior have so far not stated any change in those stated plans other than to use the land for more energy exploration and to talk to the states/local  more concerning management of those public lands. Of course this could change and as we have stated here in many forums, that we need to be ready to write letters, attend meetings, what ever, and lend our support to fight any change in the law(s). Look they will try to do this, but there are a lot of laws out there that would need to be overturned and allot of people and yes even several states that have stated that public land should remain in fed hands.  I think our new sec/interior even made a statement that if they gave up the public lands to the states-they would sell them off or lock them up and keep the public out. Again we just have to watch  for things like the Utah bill which also takes a whole bunch of FS land in addition to BLM land.

 

Hope that helps, but me thinks that this push by certain groups (who are really well organized and funded) that want the public land and its resources for themselves and not for our use, could get real serious, real fast.

 

Smoke


Edited by Smokecreek1, 01 February 2017 - 02:23 AM.

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#7 buckland

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Posted 01 February 2017 - 01:33 AM

Thanks Smoke, the ins and outs of the law are a curse but also our protection.... I sure hope the people are aware of the onslaught of those that want to profit from the land rather than share it.  I live in a state that for the most part has champions who defend our natural resources ...not to lock them up but to use them as a community that we are, so that kids, 100 years from now can see what we see. It is worth fighting for. 


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#8 highz

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Posted 01 February 2017 - 03:25 AM

Republicans in the House just recently overwrote the "value of lands" rule, which makes it easier to dispose of federal lands to states, since they now have no value. This is a new game, with new rules now.

 

The 3.3 million acres are BLM lands scattered throughout the Western states. I have a pdf that identifies states, counties and acreages, but it is too large to attach. Instead, if you scroll down in this linked article, you will find a link to to the pdf on Chaffetz's website. 

 

In my county in New Mexico, there are over 40,000 acres identified. I cannot find a map of these lands anywhere. The total of lands identified in New Mexico are over 800,000 acres. We only know what counties they are in, but not the actual locations. This is no joke.

 

If you live in an affected state, you should contact your Representative soon (preferably by phone), give them your name and zip code so they know you are a constituent, and make your voice heard before the House moves on this bill. At the very least, insist on transparency regarding where these lands are.

 


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#9 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 01 February 2017 - 03:58 AM

Thank you Smoke for your incite/info. I think there a lot of people especially in the western states that value the land for all it's outdoor uses. They are on both side of the aisle. The western sportsman won't take this without a fight and the idea of "closing" them out

won't go over either. We all need to do what we can. Hope the new pres will holds to his word.

Thanks to all on this issue.

Frank


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#10 Smokecreek1

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Posted 01 February 2017 - 05:49 AM

These attacks on our public lands could be serious! Way back when during the early "Ray Gun" years, they came up with a program called the"asset management  program" to sell off the public lands to pay off the national debt. They issued their rules from Washington, and by the time it reached us field types we were being told we had to do it and now. The political appointees were telling us to do it now it was an order. We had developers, energy folks, all sort of people coming in with lists of public lands they demanded we sell to them. You know what stopped them, two things(1) as mentioned in the article, land up for disposal has to be identified as part of the planning process-a legal mandate that we had to do every so many years. Other lands can be gotten rid of as part of equal  land exchanges, and other land programs.  The amount of land they wanted to sell off was way, way more than we had identified in our planning documents (go to the meetings and be heard) and the program begin to fall apart! 

 

The second reason was that as I noted above and the article mentions, there are lots of rules regulations, laws-not to mention FLPA, NEPA and a whole bunch of other things. Lands have things on them-things that have lot's of laws saying what happens to them and how they are used-including minerals and oil and gas. It did not take long before the ranchers joined with the environmental and other groups to protect their grazing leases.  The new land buyers soon realized their dreams that it could not be done and had to settle for those lands that had been identified as up for disposal. We wasted lot of time and effort on this thing, but maybe that was already the idea.  The lists mentioned in the article have these same restrictions.

 

Anyway, I just don't know how (I hope)  a law written by a part of congress will get through all of congress and all the law suits by all sorts of people, states and groups, to the point that our public land is sold or given the the highest bidder or the result of some  political payback. It does sound though that some of the pols have learned about the law and how to defeat them., As  I writing this we  also need to remember that there is a real war being waged against those public land employees and managers right now and unlike 20 or 30 or so years ago when we knew the law and pols did not; times have changed and many people took early outs like I did 10 years ago-and many of those positions and the knowledge that with them have not been replaced or organic knowledge passed on to the the new folks. 

 

So, unlike the old days, we may have to take up the slack and watch the pols and their allies and write as some of you are all ready doing because as much as I hope not, this could  happen (our present political situation points that out and needs no more comment-no matter on which side of the political world you are on). Our public lands could be impacted and not in a good way. We need to keep saying and remembering that these are our public lands and we could lose them if we are not careful. Again the laws are there and we  need need to keep backing up the fed land managers (when they deserve it, and remind  that they manage public land for all of us, not just some of us, when they don't)  and keep reminding the pols that we are here and are watching them! Enough said!  Got political again --sorry!

 

Smoke


Edited by Smokecreek1, 01 February 2017 - 05:54 AM.

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