In the News, April 16, 2015
Today's Headlines:
States Should Take Control of our Outmoded Public Land System; Like Strangers in Their Own Country; Criticism of Federal-to-State Land Transfer Idea is a Sign of Traction; Beware "trickery" behind Fed Land Access Talk.
Read moreIn The News, April 9, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Alaska House Passes Bill Demanding Transfer of Federally-held Land; Sen. Murkowski Amendment Ensures Smart, Well-Balanced Public Lands Policy; Guest Opinion: Priest Lake Presents A Great State vs. Federal Basis for a Public Lands Study; Rural Counties to Lose the Most From Defunded Lands Programs.
Read more3 Minute Message - 04/09/2015
In the battle to transfer the public lands to all willing western states, there are many battles to be fought and sometimes it can feel like an uphill battle in the pouring rain. But this week, there is good news to be had and a list of elected officials who deserve our thanks!
Read moreIn The News, March 31, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Public Lands Debate Marred by Camouflaged Activists; Nevadans Should Have a Say on Land Management Policy; Federal Land Management Not a Good Deal for Americans; Idaho House OKs Interstate Federal Lands Transfer Compact; Forest Service to Hold Open House On Off-Highway Vehicle Use for Lake Tahoe; Federal Public Land Transfers Get a Congressional Boost; County Joins Lands Council; Despite Dems' Misdirection, House Approves Entry Into Federal Lands Group.
Read morePERC Report on Federal Lands Mismanagement
The Property and Environmental Research Center has released a report entitled "Divided Lands: State vs. Federal Management in the West."
Summary
"Nearly half of the western United States is owned by the federal government. In recent years, several western states have considered resolutions demanding that the federal government transfer much of this land to state ownership. These efforts are motivated by concerns over federal land management, including restrictions on natural resources development, poor land stewardship, limitations on access, and low financial returns.
"This study compares state and federal land management in the West. It examines the revenues and expenditures associated with federal land management and compares them with state trust land management in four western states: Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona. The report explains why revenues and expenditures differ between state and federal land agencies and discusses several possible implications of transferring federal lands to the states."
Read moreIn The News, March 9, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Burkett: Land Transfer Makes Sense; Map: Forest-Heavy Idaho Counties Take $26 Million Hit Without SRS; Committee Hears Bill on State Control of Federal Land; Commentary: Studies Contradict Opponents of Land Transfer; Who Will Control Utah's Public Lands?; Whose Forest is it? Bills Seek to Promote State Sovereignty Over Land; Commissioners Urge Land Management Study; Bill to Study Federal Land Management Passes Wyoming House.
Read more3 Minute Message - 03/04/2015
This week, a rally was held in the Utah State Rotunda, attended mostly by members of so-called environmental groups who make their living by suing the federal government over mismanagement of public lands.
The County Seat TV took their crew to the capitol and interviews many attendees, asking the simple question, "what is your definition of, or understanding of the Transfer of Public Lands?" Listening to the answers of attendees reveals the rhetoric of fear that has been promoted by opponents to the Transfer of Public Lands, rather than giving people the facts so that they can make informed decisions.
Read more3 Minute Message - 02/25/2015
Earlier this month, the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) released a Working Paper of Public Lands Report. This independent study compares state and federal land management in the West. It examines the revenues and expenditures associated with federal land management and "compares them with state trust land management in four western states: Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona. The report explains why revenues and expenditures differ between state and federal land agencies and discusses several possible implications of transferring federal lands to the states."
Read moreIn The News, February 24, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Monument or Wilderness? It Makes a Difference to Bikers; State Moves Forward on federal Public Lands Bid; For Pollution's Sake; Study of Federal Lands Proceeds through Wyoming House.
Read more3 Minute Message - 02/18/2015
Throughout the United States, several states are working simultaneously on bills to help improve the health, access, and productivity of our public lands. These bills are helping to look towards the transfer of those public lands to the states wherein they lie, as a means to help preserve them for generations to come, while still providing for the access we all cherish and the productivity we rely on.
Read moreIn The News, February 17, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Missouri: Transfer of Public Lands Champion; Op-ed: Despite Rhetoric, Utah is Quite Capable of Managing Federal Lands; Public Safety Concerns Prompt Emergency Wild Horse Roundup; Rural Lawmakers Back Federal Land Transfer Report; Debate Over Idaho Public Lands Management Sees Shift; Policy Not Politics Should Fuel Public Land Debate; Bills Call for Task Force to Study Federal Land Transfer; Public Lands Issue Debated in Montana Legislature.
Read moreFederal Land Ownership Robs Idaho of its Autonomy
By Commissioner Jim Chmelik
Idaho County, Idaho
Saying Idaho Deputy Attorney General Steve Strack has the final word on the legality of disposing public lands is like saying Stephen Douglas had the final words in his defense of slavery during his presidential debates against Abraham Lincoln.
Read more3 Minute Message - 02/11/2015
"If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed."
- Mark Twain
Biased media. It seems to be the norm these days. In reality, it has always been the case that choosing where to get your news is the most crucial determining factor in what news you get...so choose carefully.
Read moreDivided Lands: State vs. Federal Management in the West
By Holly Fretwell and Shawn Regan
There is a great divide in the United States. Land in the East is mostly privately owned, while nearly half of the land in the West is owned by the federal government. In recent years, several western states have passed, introduced, or considered resolutions demanding that the federal government transfer much of this land to state ownership. These efforts are motivated by local concerns over federal land management, including restrictions on natural resource development, poor land stewardship, limitations on access, and low financial returns.
Read moreIn the News, February 10, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Stop Public Land Sales, Start Studying Transfer; Letter: What are Public Lands?; Battle Brewing Over Changes to Public Land Rules; Thompson Falls Lawmaker Presents Bill Transferring Federal Land Management to State; Editorial Board: Discussion Needed on State Land Use; Bedke Says Law to Extend Federal Lands Committee Coming.
Read moreIn The News, February 2, 2015
Today's Headlines:
Exploring Public Land Transfers; Idaho Panel Calls for Collaboration on Federal Land Takeover; Public Lands Transfer Legislation Advances in Wyoming Legislature; Land Commissioner says his Office Could Manage Federal Lands; Committee Weighs Benefits on Transferring Federal Land to State; Viewpoint: Halting Public Land Sales, Studying Land Transfer Next Step for Montana; Time to Fulfill State's Land-Grant Promise; US Rep. Zinke: It's Time to Take a Stand on Public Lands.
Read moreIntertech Public Land Management Report Tables: Idaho
Research tables providing statistics on Idaho's Public Lands revenue by Intertech Research.
In the News, Nobember 13, 2014
Today's Headlines: Tomorrow's listing decision for Gunnison grouse will ruffle feathers; New organization to help reduce wildfire threat; State, county leaders push for park expansion in San Rafael Swell; San Marcos Wilderness Park Growing; Video: Veterans Day tribute showcases America’s public lands; A perplexing direction taken on BLM lands; Idaho BLM's new artist-in-residence program shows off wildlands in a new way
Read moreIn the News, November 10, 2014
Today's Headlines: Gartersnake protection lawsuit to cite grazing; Cow Prices Jump Over the Moon; Top federal officials gathered in Boise say endangered listing for sage grouse can be avoided; Supervisors endorse making Lake Berryessa a national monument; Federal parks, monuments to waive fees; My Turn: Somerville's opinion hypocritical; A trail divided: Future of Mantua-area public lands stirs debate; Will Cell Phone Companies Ruin National Parks by Installing Wi-Fi in the Wilderness?; Commission asks for congressman to aid in ranching dispute
Read more
Idaho HCR 21 – Study Committee
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND AUTHORIZING THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO APPOINT A COMMITTEE TO UNDERTAKE AND COMPLETE A STUDY OF THE
Read moreIn The News, November 5, 2014
Today's Headlines: Openshaw: Mr. Bureaucrat, may I please have a drink of water?; Healthy Public Lands Mean Healthy Economies | Commentary; Reader View: Feds are the real land-grabbers; BLM plans controlled burns this month; Dianne Feinstein may ask Obama to bypass Congress to protect Mojave sites; Possible fee increases at local National Parks
Read moreIn the News, Nobember 4, 2014
Today's Headlines: Tale of the West and beyond: Where laws end, tyranny begins; DuBois Column; PILT payment needs to be guarantee; Landgrab: Idaho couple fights long land battle with BLM; State lawmaker wants to take over BLM-managed Little Sahara; A new push for protecting public lands in the desert; New Maps Promote Lake Mead National Recreation Area's "Accessible Wilderness"; This Beautiful Bird Might Thwart the Oil and Gas Industry's Drilling Plans
Read moreIn the News, October 29th 2014
Today's Headlines: Sen. Reid quietly moves to block development of 800,000 acres in central Nevada; Ranchers talk transferring fed's land to states; State Sovereignty at Its Most Basic: Control of Land; Feeling pushed by lands ‘poll’? Sutherland Soapbox, 10/21/14
Read moreState Sovereignty is, at its Most Basic, The Control of Land
by Karla Jones
State sovereignty at its most basic is the ability of a state to control its own land. Earlier this month, 95 state and locally elected officials joined a variety of experts from 14 states in Salt Lake City to draft and ratify a statement calling for land currently held by the federal government to be transferred to the states. Officials at the summit included Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell; Utah Speaker of the House Becky Lockhart and state Senator Jennifer Fielder of Montana.
Read moreIn the News October 16-21 2014
Today's Headlines: Commissioner pleads not guilty to charges stemming from ATV protest ride; Richard Leib: Just Leave Us Alone; Simpson Makes Another Run at Central Idaho Wilderness; Grazing Wars: Grass March Cowboys Ride to Capitol Hill; SAN GABRIELS: Locals have mountains of questions on new monument; Lawmakers vent to feds, assert forest fire inaction; The West’s Fight for Self-Government; BLM Employees Charged Taxpayers $799,000 for 'Gift Cards'; Commissioner Leads Charge For County to Jump in Water Lawsuit; Harvey attends American Lands Council conference
Read more
Oct 2014 Press Conference
This 34 minute Press Conference answers many of the questions people have about the Transfer of Public Lands. Share this with your friends, family colleagues and elected officials and help dispel the myths.
