GOP Platform Adopts Transfer of Public Lands Language

This week has been an exciting one for the Transfer of Public Lands movement as it has now been adopted into the language of the 2016 National GOP Platform as citizens throughout the country are recognizing that the health, sustainability and welfare of our lands, as well as our people, are dependent upon it.

Fear-mongers, desperate to maintain their power and control over the west have been frantically publishing articles with the same nonsense they have been spewing for years, claiming that the Republican party wants to do away with National Parks and Public Lands. But they know, as should you, that nothing could be further from the truth.

The actual language of this portion of the platform reads (see p. 21):

The federal government owns or controls over 640 million acres of land in the United States, most of which is in the West. These are public lands, and the public should have access to them for appropriate activities like hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. Federal ownership or management of land also places an economic burden on counties and local communities in terms of lost revenue to pay for things such as schools, police, and emergency services. It is absurd to think that all that acreage must remain under the absentee ownership or management of official Washington. Congress shall immediately pass universal legislation providing for a timely and orderly mechanism requiring the federal government to convey certain federally controlled public lands to states. We call upon all national and state leaders and representatives to exert their utmost power and influence to urge the transfer of those lands, identified in the review process, to all willing states for the benefit of the states and the nation as a whole. The residents of state and local communities know best how to protect the land where they work and live. They practice boots-on- • REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016 • 22 the-ground conservation in their states every day. We support amending the Antiquities Act of 1906 to establish Congress’ right to approve the designation of national monuments and to further require the approval of the state where a national monument is designated or a national park is proposed.

Notice, it says that "certain federally controlled public lands" to the states. What lands are those "certain lands"? The American Lands Council Public Policy, which was unanimously ratified by representatives from 14 states, makes this clear:

WE SUPPORT EXCLUDING EXISTING NATIONAL PARKS, CONGRESSIONALLY DESIGNATED WILDERNESS AREAS, INDIAN RESERVATIONS, AND MILITARY INSTALLATIONS FROM THE TRANSFER

True to their word, Utah legislators passed HB 276 in 2016, which specifically declares:

177          63L-8-104.  Declaration of policy.

178          (1) The Legislature declares that it is the policy of the state that:

179          (a) public land be retained in state ownership consistent with the provisions of this

180     chapter;

181          (b) public land may not be sold, except:

182          (i) as consistent with this chapter;

183          (ii) as consistent with local land use plans;

184          (iii) with the approval of the director and the board;

185          (iv) after sufficient opportunity for public comment; and

186          (v) for an important public interest;

Despite the inaccurate representations of the GOP Platform language by extremist groups, who are only interested in promoting fear and confusion, educated people around the country are realizing that this critical issue affects us all. According to Hotair.com,

"Why is the prospect of transferring much of this property to the states which encompass it such a controversial idea? Since when did the Founding Fathers want the federal government to be a landlord on this massive scale? This is hardly a conspiracy theory cooked up at the RNC. It’s a serious issue which is long overdue for a national debate."

Thank you for being a part of this imperative movement. Thank you for sharing this information with your elected officials. Thank you for voting in the types of people who understand why local management matters. Thank you for helping the American Lands Council continue to educate the nation on the Transfer of Public Lands.

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Sherry Timmons Lantrip commented 2016-07-21 23:05:15 -0600
Holly crap! Did someone actually think this input was really going to work. What I read was actually everything that was left out and written between the lines. I like others who have commented found flaws and it’s transparent.
We have to get everyone out of office as they are so freakin corrupt it makes me puk red. Once and if our public lands change hands to state the peaceful, raw beauty will be littered with oil rigs, drilling and other such nasty looking crap. Our beautiful country will be no more.
As I speak we are losing our wild horses and burros along with other wildlife, because of greedy ranchers crying oh no horses are eating everything. They killing off vegetation our cattle or sheep need. But wait what’s this! Their freakin cattle are the only ones destroying the land. Oh you don’t say. We voice our concerns, opinions, and what we the people really want. Do they actually listen to us. Hell No. Why cause they don’t give a flying flipping thing about us.
So yeah for those that want to believe that shit written above is real. Go for it. But don’t let me hear you fucking crying and cussing up a storm cause it ain’t happening the way they told you it would.
EXHIBIT 1: OBAMA TOLD BLACKS OF YOU VOYE FOR ME I WILL MAKE IT BETTER FOR YOU IF I WIN
EXHIBIT 2: THEY VOTED HE WON NOT ONE BUT TWO CONSECUTIVE TERMS.
EXHIBIT 3: OH CRAP NOW WE HAVE A NEW B.L.M.M. CALLED BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT.
EXHIBIT 4: POLICE ARE BEING MURDERED YES EVEN BLACK POLICE
EXHIBIT 5: WHO STARTED THIS MOVEMENT OBAMA
EXHIBIT 6: WHY CAUSE HE LIED TO THE BLACK VOTERS OF CHANGE JUST SO HE COULD DAMAGE OUR AMERICAN DREAMS.
EXHIBIT 7: HE HAS DONE A FINE FUCKING JOB AT NEARLY STARTING WW3.
EXHIBIT 8: ONLY ONE MAN HAD A DREAM, HE WAS MARTIN LUTHER KING.
EXHIBIT 9: KING IS ROLLING OVER IN HIS GRAVE IN TOTAL DISGUST WITH OBAMA WAYS.

So Heather yeah you below wake the fuck up, I mean really WAKE UP. You are being mislead cause they want people to believe everything they write and say to soften the blow when shit really hits the fan!
Melissa Ohlsson commented 2016-07-21 15:09:25 -0600
Well, I live in Nevada if that helps you out, Heather. It doesn’t matter which administration set up multiple uses on public lands… the problem is that the multiple uses WE THE PEOPLE want, (basic recreational use and wildlife preservation) are at the bottom of that list. “Local control of land means that the people of the area have REAL input into what is done with the land.” That sure sounds good and it puts the general public at ease, but when the time comes, the “multiple uses” that prevail will be those that profit the state. Public comments and “input” don’t generate revenue which means that what the people want is not taken into consideration. Unless you are affiliated with a special interest group, (like welfare ranchers) or work for a corporate entity, (like the mining, logging or oil industry) YOU don’t have a say now, regarding how our public lands are used and you won’t have a say under state control, either. The state’s only concern will be how to make the most money from the lands resources and it will sell those resources to the highest bidder… “Life-changing policy directives” will simply be forced on people by their state government.
Heather Brenner commented 2016-07-21 08:23:26 -0600
You both sound like people who are not living in areas with economies that have been devastated and/or prevented from growing by what passes for federal land management. Nor do you live where the feds have been shutting off access to public lands. States manage their lands far more cost-effectively, AND they manage them in such a way that they are far less likely to burn.
As to mining, etc, I strongly suggest you go read the law under which the administration of federal lands was originally set up. Enabling multiple uses, including mining and logging, is part of the deal.

Local control of land means that the people of the area have REAL input into what is done with the land. With federal absentee landlordship, we have NO input. Life-changing policy directives are simply forced on people from thousands of miles away.
Melissa Ohlsson commented 2016-07-20 20:17:07 -0600
Read between the lines people… this language will NOT make public lands available for the public’s use. The opposite is true! “Public land may not be sold EXCEPT…” when special interest groups and the oil, gas, mining corporations bribe your state’s public officials to:
(i) make it consistent with the chapter.
(ii) change the local land use plans
(iii) buy the approval of the director and the board
(iv) ignore, or claim the public comments are irrelevant
(v) define “important public interest” as the money the state receives from selling “your” state public lands to all of the above.

Sure, “WE SUPPORT EXCLUDING EXISTING NATIONAL PARKS, CONGRESSIONALLY DESIGNATED WILDERNESS AREAS, INDIAN RESERVATIONS, AND MILITARY INSTALLATIONS FROM THE TRANSFER” until it no longer suits their agenda and that won’t take long!

Don’t you know who is pushing for state control of public lands? EVERY big corporation that can profit from that states resources. No one is pushing to make public lands available for recreational use by the public… WAKE UP!
Katie Lindamood commented 2016-07-20 18:35:11 -0600
I’m just an average person, but can tell none of this works for me or any of my friends. I was raised in the country & shoot guns…I don’t hunt,fish or rec. shoot. Sounds like u men already have a"man pack"in place. We along w/our men trailride all over the western states. We love to see the game & more importantly the wild horses. And I see we r to have sufficient public comment, that never works. An average person never knows when or where to show up, then given only mins to speak, if we do go! And, don’t worry, public land won’t be sold,“EXPECT”. That sounds a bit fishy to all of us people that want no mining or oil wells on our public land…. Most everyone in office needs to be voted out!!!! Seems like ur all self serving, bribe taking, selfish people.