Reading the tea leaves: a new era for public lands?
What effects will the new administration have on RVers who camp in the national parks and national forests? (This post is emphatically not about politics – if you want to rant about the next president or the current one, please feel free to start another thread. I really hope that this thread doesn’t devolve into partisanship!)
I view the change in administration just as I would view a change in the weather – I may or may not like it, and there is nothing I can do about it, but it is useful to think about the forecast. My predictions are based largely on the folks who have already been picked for the cabinet.
I understand that the parks are under the Dept. of the Interior, and the forests are under the Dept. of Agriculture. But my predictions are based on the full slate of appointees, including, for example, the person who will head up the EPA. Those appointments provide some broad guidance: the next administration will tilt toward resource utilization and away from conservation, when compared with the current administration.
In the case of the national parks, I think that we will see an emphasis on repairing the infrastructure (roads and campgrounds) and on developing more tourist facilities. We could see an increase in user fees, as a response to declining tax revenue.
It is even possible that the park service will begin to explore thinning the forests after years of fire suppression, instead of adhering to the practice of prescribed burns. (I am not sure whether the current park rules against thinning are statutory or are the result of administrative regulations, which are easier to change than statutes.)
In the case of the national forests (and also the BLM), I think that we will see a greatly increased focus on resource extraction (drilling, logging, and mining). That will mean new roads. Many years from now, those roads will be available for boondocking and ATV usage. In the short term, though, I think that public use of those new roads will be restricted or banned, in order to avoid conflicts with logging trucks, tankers, and dump trucks. The operations will be noisy and unsightly during the next several years, but the effects will be localized.
I am not sure what is going to happen with the national monuments (such as, for example, the Giant Sequoia NM). I am not an expert on this issue, but it is my impression that many (if not all) monuments were created by executive order, rather than by statute. If that is true, then it could be possible for the next president to rescind some of those orders. That may open up those areas to logging.
It would also be my guess that the next administration will not be expanding the scope of existing wilderness areas nor declaring new ones.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Do you foresee any other changes to the public lands that will affect RV camping?
I view the change in administration just as I would view a change in the weather – I may or may not like it, and there is nothing I can do about it, but it is useful to think about the forecast. My predictions are based largely on the folks who have already been picked for the cabinet.
I understand that the parks are under the Dept. of the Interior, and the forests are under the Dept. of Agriculture. But my predictions are based on the full slate of appointees, including, for example, the person who will head up the EPA. Those appointments provide some broad guidance: the next administration will tilt toward resource utilization and away from conservation, when compared with the current administration.
In the case of the national parks, I think that we will see an emphasis on repairing the infrastructure (roads and campgrounds) and on developing more tourist facilities. We could see an increase in user fees, as a response to declining tax revenue.
It is even possible that the park service will begin to explore thinning the forests after years of fire suppression, instead of adhering to the practice of prescribed burns. (I am not sure whether the current park rules against thinning are statutory or are the result of administrative regulations, which are easier to change than statutes.)
In the case of the national forests (and also the BLM), I think that we will see a greatly increased focus on resource extraction (drilling, logging, and mining). That will mean new roads. Many years from now, those roads will be available for boondocking and ATV usage. In the short term, though, I think that public use of those new roads will be restricted or banned, in order to avoid conflicts with logging trucks, tankers, and dump trucks. The operations will be noisy and unsightly during the next several years, but the effects will be localized.
I am not sure what is going to happen with the national monuments (such as, for example, the Giant Sequoia NM). I am not an expert on this issue, but it is my impression that many (if not all) monuments were created by executive order, rather than by statute. If that is true, then it could be possible for the next president to rescind some of those orders. That may open up those areas to logging.
It would also be my guess that the next administration will not be expanding the scope of existing wilderness areas nor declaring new ones.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Do you foresee any other changes to the public lands that will affect RV camping?
