Economic ruin to some communities, encroaching urbanism, and progressive politics incompatible with the realities of rural life have resulted in bitter divisions across the West. The arid West is no place for a stinking D.C. swamp. Help drain it. Make your comments to Interior Secretary Zinke and the BLM offices listed above, with passion and with haste.
posted by editor
A significant step was taken by President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke last December when they announced changes to Utah two most controversial and economically damaging national monuments; Obama’s ‘Bears Ears,’ and Clinton’s ‘Grand Staircase-Escalante.’ The fact that the Trump Administration responded to outcries from the counties and people impacted by these two bloated and unpopular federal designations was refreshing, but the downsizing and reconfiguration of the monuments occurred only after a months-long process during which Zinke visited the areas in question, conducted studies, and took comments from the public about what should be done to address past presidential overreach.
The public commentary period is very important, and required by federal law, but corporate environmentalist groups conjoined with the global outdoor gear industry have developed a PR machine with the capacity to spit out literally hundreds of thousands of comments supporting vast land grabs, such as ‘Bears Ears’ and ‘Grand Staircase-Escalante.’ Donors, supporters on email lists, complicit partner organizations, and ideologically-sympathetic businesses will take talking points verbatim and cut and paste them into the comments field to be sent to the Department of Interior. It’s not difficult for one corporate enviro group, Western Priorities, for instance, to blast the government with a couple hundred thousand cloned messages, giving the appearance of overwhelming support for this or that issue. The federal swamp had undoubtedly grown as a result of this tactic. But Zinke’s Interior is onto the dishonesty of the big greens, and will carefully read and weigh authentic, original comments from real people will real stakes in how the federal government manages the lands and resources it controls. This makes your voice critical, and very powerful.
Go here for details about the scoping period for management plans:
Free Range Report encourages you to give your input to the Department of Interior, Utah Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the BLM field offices in San Juan, Kane and Garfield Counties.
Contact the Interior Department directly via [email protected], or by using the contact form on this page https://www.doi.gov/contact-us/. Provide your information, which of the national monuments you are addressing, and write an authentic, original commentary calling for these public lands to be put back in the hands of local public hands.
GET THE ANTI-LOCAL GREEN NGO’S OUT OF BED WITH THE FEDS
Important points:
•Demand the Utah BLM end the expensive and unethical relationship with the Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners group, an organization led by environmentalist radicals who use taxpayer-funded office space, materials, vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants monies, to conduct campaigns that harm local interests, such as grazing, extractive industries, job creation, etc.
See more here:
Undue Green Influence: This Utah enviro group works against local interests with public dollars
Utah BLM Contact:
GSENM Field Office Contact:
•Demand that BLM prioritize established communities based on traditional economic activities including ranching, mining, farming, oil and gas, and other forms of reasonable development.
•Demand that economic impact by the national monuments–good and bad–be assessed prior to the development of a management plan.
•Demand that local voices, school districts, local governments, existing industries, and industries displaced by previous heavy-handed policies, be given priority so that the a healthy, diversified economic foundation may be laid for future generations.
•Demand that no prohibitions be put on traditional multiple use activities, including but not limited to:
Grazing (cattle, sheep)
Timber clearing including logging
Hunting
Off-roading
Horseback riding
Fishing
Motorized boating
Motorized trail access
Traditional wood gathering and harvesting of other seasonal plants, berries, nuts, etc.
Existing mining operations
Existing oil and gas leases
•Demand that local BLM offices coordinate with local governments before making any policy changes, considering road maintenance or closures, environmental assessments, law enforcement matters, etc.
…and any other practice or policy you believe will enhance the ability of locals in these impacted counties to control their own destinies.
Americans have a window of opportunity to roll back the oppressive and arrogant forces that invaded public lands and local economies decades ago. Incestuous coalitions of federal agencies and extreme green groups have trampled on the voices and rights of Utah’s communities. Economic ruin to some communities, encroaching urbanism, and progressive politics incompatible with the realities of rural life have resulted in bitter divisions across the West. The arid West is no place for a stinking D.C. swamp. Help drain it. Make your comments to Interior Secretary Zinke and the BLM offices listed above, with passion and with haste.
Free Range Report
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FYI: https://www.facebook.com/events/931200563711398/?notif_t=event_calendar_create¬if_id=1516388799358144
Yes wipe out the wildlife like we did by early 1900s. Cut all the trees down ,. Pollute the water like the extraction company did in the East then leave,. And plow everything up like they did causing the dust bowl of the 1930s. I am old enough to remember those times
So, nothing has changed since the low-tech ag practices of the pre-Dust Bowl era? No state and federal regulations have been enacted to prevent such devastation? There is no EPA? Fascinating.
I wonder what has the BLM done in the past few years to actually benefit the land in the west?