Sound, scientifically-based management of natural resources in and around monuments is critical to the health of the environment, wildlife and communities. Policies must ensure that monument management policies are fair, balanced and employ expertise in forestry, soil, geology, water, wildlife, range management, archaeology, local history, etc. Untried and unscientific environmentalist political agendas must be rejected.
Introduction by Editor
Free Range Report is devoted to reporting the news in an informative an honest way, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have opinions. We at Free Range Report have a heavy bias toward individual freedom and the values that make this country great. Federal policies are often a reflection of those whose voices are loudest, so it’s crucial for you to be involved in policy-making processes of federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Because such agencies formulate their own rules and regulations outside of congressional oversight, without representatives of the people to guide those rules and regulations, you must provide your own representation!
Plan on attending one of the meetings listed below. If that is not possible, please submit your comments in a timely manner.
You can use the links in the press release below to give your input on the management of these large and contentious monuments. When making comments we encourage to consider the following:
•Those people who live closest to national monuments and must live with the consequences of national monument policies, for good or ill, are the best stewards of lands and resources within those monuments.
•When it comes to federal control of lands and resources, less is best. Monuments can kill local economies unless management plans are made in coordination with local governments, industry stakeholders, property owners, and state representatives.
•Monuments must never be used as a tool by environmental special interests to prohibit traditional activities such as mining, grazing, farming, off-roading, hunting, water storage, or other forms of economic development within the counties impacted by the federal footprint.
•Sound, scientifically-based management of natural resources in and around the monuments is critical to the health of the environment, wildlife and communities. Policies must ensure that monument management policies are fair, balanced and employ expertise in forestry, soil, geology, water, wildlife, range management, archaeology, local history, etc. Untried and unscientific environmentalist political agendas must be rejected.
•Demand transparency on the parts of officials and agents charged with implementing monument policies.
•Invite like-minded friends and associates to give their input. Because environmentalist special interests have the capacity to launch noisy campaigns which flood federal agencies with thousands of disingenuous cut-and-paste comments, those of us who support protecting local interests through good stewardship will be outdone in numbers. But the current administration will take into account comments that are authentic, thoughtful and well-informed, so please participate in this important process.
All the information you need is in the following press release:
News Release
Utah State Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Michael Richardson
March 9, 2018 (801) 539-4020
BLM to host public scoping meetings for new monument plans
SALT LAKE CITY — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will host four public scoping meetings as part of the ongoing land use planning for Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). Scoping efforts were initiated Jan. 16, 2018, for the BENM – Indian Creek and Shash Jáa units; the GSENM- Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyon units; and federal lands previously included in the GSENM that are now excluded from its boundaries. In total, the BLM will produce six land use plans and two associated Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). The BLM and U.S. Forest Service will jointly prepare the land use plan and associated EIS for the Shash Jáa unit.
The BLM invites members of the public to attend meetings at the following dates and locations:
Bears Ears National Monument
Monday, March 26
4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
San Juan High School
311 North 100 East, Blanding UT 84511
Tuesday, March 27
4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Bluff Community Center
3rd East and Mulberry Bluff Rd., Bluff UT 84512
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Wednesday, March 28
4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Kanab Middle School
690 South Cowboy Way, Kanab UT 84741
Thursday, March 29
4:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Canyon Country Lodge
760 East Highway 12, Escalante UT 84726
Additional information about the planning effort for GSENM is located at: https://goo.gl/EHvhbcand for BENM at: https://goo.gl/uLrEae.
The public is encouraged to help identify any issues, management questions, or concerns that should be addressed in the planning processes. The comments will be used to help set the parameters, or scope, of the review of the land use plans. The public scoping meetings provide the public an opportunity to talk to resource specialists and submit written comments in person. Comments must be received within 15 days of the last scheduled public meeting for the specific planning effort.
Comments on the BENM plan may also be submitted until April 11 directly through the project ePlanning page at: https://goo.gl/uLrEae mailed to P.O. Box 7 Monticello, UT 84535, or emailed to blm_ut_monticello_ [email protected].
Comments on the GSENM plan may also be submitted until April 13 directly through the project ePlanning page at: https://goo.gl/EHvhbc, mailed to 669 S Hwy 89A Kanab, UT 84741, or emailed to BLM_UT_CCD_monuments@blm. gov.
The two planning areas cover approximately 2.1 million acres of federal land in Garfield, Kane, and San Juan counties. The new planning efforts will replace the 2000 Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Management Plan and replace portions of the 2008 Monticello Resource Management Plan.
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I have been working for the past 10 years bringing awareness to the very topic Free Range Report is reporting on. I have gone to countless BLM and USFS “planning” meetings taking hours upon hours of my time, with no pay, I might add. What I have found by attending these “planning” meetings is that these alphabet agencies with appointed heads, not voted on by the People, already have been through enormous meetings in Washington D.C. and already have their plans in place. The facade is that “they” want to hear YOUR voice. The only voices they listen to are the ones that represent an agenda to take the land from the People, the environmentalists and their groups. These federal government agencies have put our rural communities at the edge of financial ruin, all planned. They have financially ruined sheep and cattle ranchers by decreasing their herds. There are many more stories of others who have been ruined, including whole communities. The federal government does not care. Please attend these meetings hopefully things truly have changed and the rural voice will be heard.
Thank you to those that hold BLM accountable and responsible for the destruction and mismanagement of Millions of acres of land help all states to restore the land to the state in which it belongs dismantle BLM and other large entities that want to control and destroy a land for their benefit.