18
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Best way to manage public land?
By Keith Ridler
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An
armed group occupying the
headquarters of a national
wildlife refuge in Oregon
wants the federal govern-
ment to relinquish about 300
square miles to local control
so it can be opened up for
ranching, mining, logging
and other uses.
Birders covet the same
land for its many migrat-
ing species that use refuge
marshland as a key rest-
ing place. Anglers, hunters
and wildlife watchers also
are drawn to the high desert
terrain.
The competition between
the different interests is
emblematic of a much larger
struggle in the West, playing
out in federal courts, state
legislatures and Congress.
At its core, the dispute
comes down to personal val-
ues: Recreationists’ and envi-
ronmentalists’ views on open
spaces clash with traditional
uses that have sustained rural
communities for generations.
What’s at stake:
About a million square
miles of public land managed
by the federal government,
mostly in the West, accord-
ing to the Congressional
Research Service.
What do business interests
say?
Many of those who
depend on the land for their
livelihood argue that wildlife
holds more weight than peo-
ple. They sometimes frame
their outlook in patriotic
or religious terms and say
federal land managers who
impose limits are shutting
down lumber mills, cutting
off cattle grazing, preventing
mining and destroying a way
of life in the rural West.
They say that could be
solved by turning public
lands over to locals who
would be better caretakers
than far-off bureaucrats.
They do have some pro-
tections, including an 1872
mining law that still offers
miners low-cost access to
federal land.
What do environmental-
ists say?
Many environmental
groups say mining, logging
and ranching have run rough-
shod for decades on public
land and left a legacy of pol-
lution for taxpayers to clean
up. They say the industries
have wiped out old-growth
forests and overgrazed land-
scapes made vulnerable to
invasive species.
Conservationists accuse
federal officials of allow-
ing the practices that have
scarred the West and fail-
ing to enforce laws. The
most widely recognized is
the Endangered Species Act,
famously used to limit log-
ging in the Pacific Northwest
to protect forests that are
home to spotted owls and
marbled murrelets.
What do outdoor enthusi-
asts say?
The open spaces of the
West have miles of streams to
fish, trails to hike, mountains
to climb and areas to traverse
on snowmobiles. Among rec-
reationists’ biggest fears is
being shut out.
In northern Idaho, resi-
dents so far have torpedoed a
proposed land swap between
a timber company and the
U.S. Forest Service over con-
cerns about losing access to
part of a national forest.
What does the govern-
ment say?
U.S. agencies manage
most of the public land and
try to balance the different
interests, but they frequently
become lightning rods, with
their decisions challenged in
court.
Employees of the
Forest Service, Bureau of
Land Management, Fish
and Wildlife Service, and
National Park Service tend
to have an affinity for open
spaces and a belief in public
service, said John Freemuth,
a Boise State University
professor and public lands
expert.
Who’s the heavyweight?
Congress. U.S. lawmakers
could turn over federal lands
to local control, but state
efforts so far have failed.
A strategy has emerged in
recent years in which mem-
bers of Congress slip land-
use amendments into critical
budget bills. For example,
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson,
R-Idaho, and U.S. Sen. Jon
Tester, D-Montana, attached
a so-called rider in 2011
that stripped federal protec-
tions for gray wolves in their
states.
As a result, environmental
groups have become increas-
ingly watchful. But their push
to weaken the 1872 mining
law has failed, as have indus-
try efforts to weaken the
Endangered Species Act.
Is compromise possible?
Yes. After more than a
decade of effort, Simpson this
summer shepherded through
Congress a compromise bill
that created a 430-square-
mile federal wilderness in
some of central Idaho’s most
pristine country. It limits
development in some areas
but opens it up in others.
It got help passing after
President Barack Obama sig-
naled that the area would be
designated a national monu-
ment if the bill stalled.
In another compromise,
federal land critics and
ranchers supported an order
by Interior Secretary Sally
Jewell last year that aimed to
stop wildfires.
Republican Idaho Gov.
C.L. “Butch” Otter, a critic
of federal land policy, has
praised the order. So have
ranchers, who partnered with
federal firefighters in a plan
to respond quickly to blazes.
Happy days for snowmen...
photo by conrad WEilEr
Snowmen have a reason to smile as the snowpack climbs above
“normal” in Sisters Country.
Money Saving
coupons can be printed
anytime at NuggetNews.com!
Hope for a child. Change for a nation.
The Nugget’s
$37 a month.
All the difference in the world.
Sponsor a Ugandan child
with a local organization at
HopeAfricaKids.com
This ad sponsored by The Nugget Newspaper.
Sisters Saver
Look for it the last week of
every month in The Nugget.
To advertise call 541-549-9941.