TGK
Senior Member
No surprises here. It’s been their fantasy for decades. All part of the plan to shrink the federal government so they can “drown it in a bathtub”, as famously quoted by Grover Norquist. Then, privatize it.
From the link:
"Like in 2017, Republicans have a trifecta in Washington. Trump is moving rapidly to dismantle federal land management agencies and fossilize US energy policy, leaning into the idea that voters gave him a mandate to enact dramatic change. The new House rules package, adopted in early January, resurrected the very provision that led to Chaffetz’s unpopular bill, once again teeing up future transfer and sale of federal lands. Meanwhile, Republican-controlled states like Utah and Wyoming, empowered by Trump’s reelection, are advancing far-reaching anti-federal land policies."
"Land Tawney, a longtime public lands advocate and former president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, told Public Domain the assault on public lands is worse than he’s ever seen. “This playbook, in my mind, is to dismantle, divest, and then privatize,” he said."
"Tawney recently formed a new advocacy group, American Hunters and Anglers Action Network, to provide a more progressive voice in the sporting community and try to rebuild a 2017-style coalition to combat the current attack on public lands."
"Several Republican-led states and right-wing organizations threw their support behind Utah’s legal effort. In one friend of the court brief, Sen. Mike Lee (R) and the rest of Utah’s congressional delegation argued that the existence of federal lands within Utah’s border leave the state effectively “occupied” and that “if anything would justify war, it is one country’s continued occupation of another.” Lee, a loyal Trump ally and longtime opponent of federal public lands, now chairs the powerful Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee."
"More recently, Republican state senators in Wyoming tried to one-up Utah, pushing a resolution that demanded Congress turn over every acre of federal land within Wyoming’s border, with the exception of Yellowstone National Park, to the state. The initial resolution covered more than 30 million acres, including Grand Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument and all national forests. The full state Senate killed the measure on procedural grounds after a deadlocked vote on Feb. 10."
"The Utah and Wyoming land transfer efforts are occurring as the Trump administration is in the process of firing thousands of civil servants at federal land management agencies. Republicans have spent decades trying to reduce funding for federal agencies, while simultaneously arguing that those agencies have done a poor job of managing public lands."
"“Reduction in the federal workforce, these mass-firings, this dismantling of agencies, is a part of the game,” Bloch said. “If you break these agencies that are tasked with managing federal lands, you’ve made it much easier to push the argument that states will do better — even if that’s not really what you mean… You mean they should be sold off.”"
"It is part of a multi-prong approach to undermining the public domain."
Republicans aim to generate support for selling off America's public lands
From the link:
"Like in 2017, Republicans have a trifecta in Washington. Trump is moving rapidly to dismantle federal land management agencies and fossilize US energy policy, leaning into the idea that voters gave him a mandate to enact dramatic change. The new House rules package, adopted in early January, resurrected the very provision that led to Chaffetz’s unpopular bill, once again teeing up future transfer and sale of federal lands. Meanwhile, Republican-controlled states like Utah and Wyoming, empowered by Trump’s reelection, are advancing far-reaching anti-federal land policies."
"Land Tawney, a longtime public lands advocate and former president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, told Public Domain the assault on public lands is worse than he’s ever seen. “This playbook, in my mind, is to dismantle, divest, and then privatize,” he said."
"Tawney recently formed a new advocacy group, American Hunters and Anglers Action Network, to provide a more progressive voice in the sporting community and try to rebuild a 2017-style coalition to combat the current attack on public lands."
"Several Republican-led states and right-wing organizations threw their support behind Utah’s legal effort. In one friend of the court brief, Sen. Mike Lee (R) and the rest of Utah’s congressional delegation argued that the existence of federal lands within Utah’s border leave the state effectively “occupied” and that “if anything would justify war, it is one country’s continued occupation of another.” Lee, a loyal Trump ally and longtime opponent of federal public lands, now chairs the powerful Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee."
"More recently, Republican state senators in Wyoming tried to one-up Utah, pushing a resolution that demanded Congress turn over every acre of federal land within Wyoming’s border, with the exception of Yellowstone National Park, to the state. The initial resolution covered more than 30 million acres, including Grand Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument and all national forests. The full state Senate killed the measure on procedural grounds after a deadlocked vote on Feb. 10."
"The Utah and Wyoming land transfer efforts are occurring as the Trump administration is in the process of firing thousands of civil servants at federal land management agencies. Republicans have spent decades trying to reduce funding for federal agencies, while simultaneously arguing that those agencies have done a poor job of managing public lands."
"“Reduction in the federal workforce, these mass-firings, this dismantling of agencies, is a part of the game,” Bloch said. “If you break these agencies that are tasked with managing federal lands, you’ve made it much easier to push the argument that states will do better — even if that’s not really what you mean… You mean they should be sold off.”"
"It is part of a multi-prong approach to undermining the public domain."
Republicans aim to generate support for selling off America's public lands
