News you can use

Stewardship, not transfer, needed on public lands

Two years ago, the Conference of Western Attorneys General initiated research into the legality and precedents of efforts to move federal lands from public ownership. Recently, they released their conclusions, which have been endorsed by a bipartisan group of attorneys general of 11 Western states, including Montana.

In a nutshell, they found that this current round of efforts to radically alter America’s century-old legacy of public land ownership has no legal basis in state or federal constitutional law. They soundly rebuked many of the legal arguments that have been put forth in the halls of Western state capitols and in Congress by those who claim that public land should be managed by state, local or private entities.

In Montana, the 2017 Legislature will likely usher in yet another round of efforts by land transfer advocates. They will pursue this in spite of overwhelming popular opposition and having lost handily last time in one bipartisan vote after another. At the same time, state programs that benefit all Montanans, such as Habitat Montana and the Block Management Program, will likely be considered under broader public lands/conservation discussions and proposed legislation.

During this election season, we have all been bombarded by mailings and commercials in which candidates of all political stripes are featured frolicking in the great outdoors, wearing blaze orange or holding a fishing rod, in efforts to show how public land and access friendly they are. When the campaign dust finally settles, we need to demand and ensure that these legislators and other elected officials walk the talk during the upcoming session — and beyond.

While some continue to trifle with land transfer schemes, many Montanans are already working together to find common ground and improve public land management. Organizations such as the Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Project, the Elkhorn Working Group and numerous others have been coming together with state and federal resource management agencies — some for many years — to find ways to address issues and implement projects that contribute greatly to better management.

These activities are apparently unknown to land transfer advocates, who cry about being helpless and having no local say in management decisions. Collaborative work is not easy and these groups struggle with many of the same roadblocks that have contributed to problems in the past. But complex problems rarely have easy solutions and the folks in local working groups and collaboratives have made the commitment to help with the heavy lifting and, in many cases, are realizing success.

We all agree that our public lands can and must be managed better. We are frustrated by the gridlock and the cumbersome, litigation-riddled processes and rat mazes that have contributed, if not caused, the current conditions of many of our public lands and resources.

However, there is a key difference between the extremist politicians and groups advocating for the seizure and sale of public lands and those working for solutions. The latter are Montanans who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty helping to clear and pick weeds and to work with their neighbors — regardless of point of view — toward better land management.

It’s high time for those who want to seize and sell our public lands to stop wasting everyone’s time pushing fundamentally flawed programs. They need to roll up their sleeves and join with other Montanans who are making a substantive contribution by diligently, patiently and carefully helping to craft better stewardship — and thus, the future — of one of the Treasure State’s and America’s greatest treasures: our public lands.

——

Michael Korn of Clancy recently retired from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, during which time he oversaw the Block Management Program, and served as Helena Area Coordinator and Deputy Chief of Law Enforcement. He is a member of the Elkhorn Working Group.

 

Reader Comments(0)