Transfer of Federal Lands to the States
I am wondering how many RVers are aware of the movement to transfer federal lands to the states? Many western states are pushing this initiative. In Wyoming (my home state) nearly 25 million acres w...
Forum Discussion
dave54 wrote:highplainsdrifter wrote:
?..It is time for all federal land users to decide if their heart lies closer to Cliven Bundy or to Theodore Roosevelt. I am confident the majority will go with Teddy.
Be careful using Teddy Roosevelt in your argument. He created the Forest Service by combining the Forest Reserves in the Dept of Interior with the Bureau of Forestry in the Dept of Agriculture, and intentionally put the Forest Service in Agriculture to get the forests out of Interior (widespread corruption and graft in Interior at that time). His intent was to INCREASE timber harvesting using modern forest science principles and facilitate rural economic development. Rural development is still a primary mission of the Forest Service per several federal laws. Many people mistakenly believe the Forest Service was created to protect the forests from logging and local interests. The opposite is true. The Forest Reserves were not being extensively logged, the large timber cartels were using their influence at Interior to restrict public land logging and keep timber prices high, with the resulting negative impact on rural communities. A secondary reason for the creation of the Forest Service was watershed protection. Proper forest management, including harvesting, increases water yield and quality.
National Wildlife Refuges were created to maintain populations of game animals for hunting, not protect them from hunting.
Teddy's autobiography (now public domain, available as a free download from several sites) explains in his own words his natural resources philosophy. Many people would be surprised by his viewpoints and intentions.
I am not saying Teddy Roosevelt was perfect. What I like about him is that he set aside millions of acres of federal land for permanent protection. This started a trend that added millions more acres. How that land was/is managed was and continues to be debated.
The good news is we are having a debate. If the lands had all been privatized, we would have no say in management...and no access.
