National Policy Updates
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Dangerous Public Lands Transfer
Provision
The 115th Congress capped its first day in session earlier this month
with a vote to give away America’s public lands and waters,
recalculating the costs of public lands transfers and easing current
restrictions for shifting their oversight to individual states or
private interests.
Passed largely along party lines by the U.S. House of Representatives as
part of a rules package, the provision would designate any transfer
legislation “budget neutral,” eliminating existing safeguards against
undervaluing public lands, disregarding any revenue or economic benefits
currently generated and paving the way for quick and discreet giveaways
of valuable lands and waters – including national forests, wildlife
refuges and BLM lands – historically owned by the American people.
BHA decried the measure, introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah.
“As the 115th Congress enters its first week, some of our elected
officials are wasting no time in paving the way to steal our outdoor
heritage,” said BHA President and CEO Land Tawney. “Buried in a litany
of other measures is language inserted by Congressman Bishop that would
make it easier to give away America’s public lands. For sportsmen, this
provision sticks out like a sore thumb. If it’s a fight they want,
they’ve got one coming – and I’m betting on public lands hunters and
anglers.”
Currently the Congressional Budget Office provides estimates of the
costs of proposed public lands transfers by evaluating the economic
impacts of existing uses such as energy development and logging.
Multiple studies show that individual states are ill-equipped to
shoulder the costs of managing lands currently owned by the public and,
if they took ownership of these lands, would ultimately be forced to
sell them to private interests.
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Congressmen from Utah Renew Efforts to Seize Our Public Lands
Just last week, Rep. Jason Chaffetz reintroduced legislation that would
take away over 3 million acres of our public lands and eliminate
hundreds of critical law enforcement jobs with the U.S. Forest Service
and Bureau of Land Management.
First proposed to Congress in 2016 and just regurgitated in the 115th
Congress, H.R. 621 directs the secretary of Interior to sell off and
dispose of public lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
H.R. 622, the Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, also was proposed
by Rep. Chaffetz in early 2016. The bill would “terminate the law
enforcement functions of the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management” and have far reaching negative impacts at a time where law
enforcement on public lands is lacking and serious problems like travel
management and irresponsible OHV use grow unchecked.
Forest Service and BLM officers not only safeguard public safety; they
also protect fish and wildlife, their habitat and important resources
like timber, minerals and historical and cultural treasures like battle
sites, petroglyphs and pictographs.
BHA remains opposed to any attempts to seize, transfer or sell our
public lands! Keep it public and take a stand!
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Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke Advances Through Interior Secretary
Confirmation Process
As members of the Senate met earlier this month to vet Rep. Ryan Zinke,
nominated as secretary of the Interior by the Trump administration, BHA
President and CEO Land Tawney issued the following statement:
“Rep. Zinke, as a sportsman and lifelong public lands user, is well
positioned to appreciate the critical role played by these lands and
waters in our national economy, our outdoor traditions and our identity
as Americans. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers believes that he can be an
effective and positive leader for the Interior Department, and we will
continue to work closely with him with that objective in mind.
“The Trump administration has separated itself from some in the
Republican Party who want to liquidate America’s national forests,
refuges and other public lands. America’s outdoor families expect the
administration to stay the course and wisely manage this world-class
resource. Should Mr. Zinke be confirmed as Interior secretary, BHA
stands ready to help achieve that goal.”
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BHA Fights for Stream Access in Utah
Years of legal uncertainty surrounding public access of Utah streams and
waterways soon could be resolved, as the Utah Supreme Court prepares to
issue a ruling on a controversial state law prohibiting public access on
waters that cross private property.
Earlier this month, the court heard oral arguments on Utah’s stream
access law. At issue is the public’s ability to access waters that flow
across privately owned lands. Some landowners want to bar the public
from fishing, hunting, floating or otherwise accessing these water
resources. BHA urged sportsmen and recreationists to advocate strongly
for sustained and expanded public access opportunities.
“As more and more of Utah’s backcountry becomes developed, the public’s
access to Utah’s streams and rivers shrinks dramatically,” said BHA Utah
member Rachel Dees, who lives in Sandy. “BHA stands in solidarity with
the Utah Stream Access Coalition in the fight to restore the access
rights of all hunters, anglers, kayakers and other recreational water
users.”
In 2008, the Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the case of
Conatser v. Johnson that the use of public waters for recreation and
other lawful activities permits citizens to touch streambeds, even if
they are owned by private interests. In 2010, however, the Utah
legislature passed the deceivingly titled Public Waters Access Act (H.B.
141), which outright closed public access on 2,700 miles, or 42 percent,
of Utah streams and rivers. A district court decision in 2015 restored
public access, yet that decision has been subject to a stay issued by a
state Supreme Court judge. The court’s ruling could bring closure to
this long-running dispute.
BHA Utah Chapter Chairman Josh Lenart urged sportsmen to actively engage
in the fight for public access to public lands and waters.
“BHA understands the need to balance the public’s use of public water
with the rights of private property owners,” said Lenart, of Salt Lake
City. “However, such management decisions should be made on a
case-by-case basis in consultation with the divisions of Wildlife
Resources, Environmental Quality and Water Resources – not by an
overreaching bill that removed public access to nearly half of the
state’s fishable waters.”
BHA has launched a national campaign, Stream Access Now, to uphold and
expand public access to America’s streams and waterways. Act now and
sign a pledge in support of stream access.
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