Hundreds of Elected Officials Out West Urge Feds to Protect Public Lands

Outdoor Life

Elected state and local officials across the West sent a letter Wednesday to the Trump administration and members of Congress urging them to take a more balanced approach to public lands management. The letter, signed by more than 300 current and former officials from 11 Western states, comes in response to recent actions by the administration to cut funding and staffing at federal agencies, weaken environmental protections, and sell off or develop public lands.

“We know firsthand that protected public lands sustain our communities and serve as the cornerstone of our outdoor way of life,” the letter reads. “They also host outstanding fish and wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing, and picnicking.”

Public land have recently been the target of budget and staffing cuts as the current administration has attempted to reduce the federal government’s size, scope, and budget while also pushing to expand domestic energy infrastructure and production. Several executive orders to increase oil, gas, and mining activities on public lands and a plan to sell off acreage managed by the Department of Interior for housing developments would ultimately reduce wildlife habitat and access opportunities.

“Increased fossil fuel development on public lands, weakened environmental regulations, and fast tracking or eliminating environmental reviews for proposed projects jeopardizes both our public lands and public health,” the officials said in the letter.

Western leaders also voiced concerns about a U.S. House Budget Committee proposal to sell federal lands to fund other priorities through the budget reconciliation process, as well as proposed changes to the Antiquities Act. Signed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used by presidents in both parties to designate national monuments. Its use has grown more contentious in recent years, however, with critics saying its use leads to government overreach.

The March letter had 313 signatories hailing from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. This included state officials, mayors, city council members, and county commissioners. More than half of the officials who signed the letter call Colorado home.

The letter would have arrived on congressional and Trump administration desks just before hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts rallied at the Arizona capitol Thursday to speak out against the transfer of federal land to state or private control. A similar demonstration occurred in Montana on Monday, where demonstrators gathered to oppose Montana House Joint Resolution 24, a legislative bill that backs Utah’s attempt to take ownership of 18.5 million acres of federally managed public lands.

The elected officials who signed the letter affirmed the importance and value of public lands to their constituents, particularly those who hunt and fish.

“In other countries, hunting is an activity reserved for only the rich on privately-owned land — but here in America, we’re lucky that public lands belong to all of us, and are available for everyone to use and enjoy. But it takes care and resources to keep our public lands safe and accessible,” Ketchum, Idaho city council member Tripp Hutchinson said in a press release. “I am urging President Trump to treat America’s public lands as the important assets they are and to keep our Western hunting heritage alive and well by fully funding our nation’s most precious resources.”

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Source: https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/elected-officials-demand-public-land-protections/