Conservatives Push Legislation to End the Bureau of Land Management's Reign of Terror!

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has put forth a piece of legislation that would "terminate the law enforcement functions of the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and to provide block grants to States for the enforcement of Federal law on Federal land under the jurisdiction of these agencies, and for other purposes." --HR 4751 is titled "Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act." The bill does the following... Read more at Eagle Rising Read More......

Government Management of Western Lands

Heritage Foundation presentation: Panelists talk about federal land management in western states, the operational legal theories, and the possibility of transferring control of those lands to the states. Topics include ways to preserve the environment, benefit local economies, and protect public recreation. --“Rethinking Federal Management of Western Lands: Bringing Solutions to Washington.”

See the video here...
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Supporting The Transfer Of Public Lands Act: Klamath County The ‘Tip Of The Spear’ In Oregon

By Dennis Linthicum, Sept. 28, 2014: This month, Klamath County, Oregon, became the “Tip of the Spear” as they are the first county in Oregon to formally support the Transfer of Public Lands Act (TPLA). The TPLA would properly transfer federal land jurisdiction to the respective state bodies. The Board of County Commissioners issued a proclamation expressing the county’s support for the full and present implementation of the Transfer of Public Lands Act. ✧ In essence, the TPLA would codify independent and sovereign control over the public lands within respective state borders. More importantly, it would limit federal overreach and bureaucratic control over public lands that are rightfully within a state’s jurisdictional boundaries. These managerial and operational changes would positively impact state and county economic opportunities while improving habitat management and reducing the danger from wildfires and insect infestation.

Read more and see Infographic from the American Lands Council at The News Doctors Read More......

Easterners, Look West

My trip to the desert southwest two weeks ago helped me understand practically, even more than physically, why most of us in the East don’t really know what it is like to live in the West. Yet we desperately need to learn about the increasing obstacles to the pursuit of happiness in the West if we hold our liberties dear. Fortunately, help is on its way.  The urban elites of California, Washington State, and Oregon are hard at work growing government debt and inventing new schemes to shrink our liberty, but urban progressives are similar throughout America.

Read more at National Review
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Western lawmakers gather in Utah to talk federal land takeover

It’s time for Western states to take control of federal lands within their borders, lawmakers and county commissioners from Western states said at Utah’s Capitol on Friday. More than 50 political leaders from nine states convened for the first time to talk about their joint goal: wresting control of oil-, timber -and mineral-rich lands away from the feds.  "It’s simply time," said Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, who organized the Legislative Summit on the Transfer for Public Lands along with Montana state Sen. Jennifer Fielder. "The urgency is now."

Read more at the Salt Lake Tribune
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Idaho County commissioner: Shutdown proves state should manage public lands

Idaho County Commissioner Skip Brandt isn’t pointing fingers at Democrats or Republicans in Washington for the fact that national wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management campgrounds, boat ramps, visitor centers and other developed recreation sites, national forest developed areas and all national parks are closed. ✧ “Federal employees have decided to make their furloughs as painful as possible for the public,” Brandt wrote in an email. ✧ “So apparently the ‘Federal’ lands/ facilities are not 'true public' lands/ property after all, but rather are the bureaucracy’s property,” Brandt wrote in a email. “Thus if the bureaucrats/ Federal employees do not have a pay check the properties are off limits to the ‘subjects’” ✧ Brandt has a solution: “It is time that the Federal lands become managed/ accountable State lands.” Read more at Idaho Statesman
(Hat tip: Jo Rae Perkins for U.S. Senate) Read More......