Fie on groups Using and Abusing federal $ to Suck the Life out of Rural Communities

Letter to: National Parks Service 12/ 20/ 2017 

National Parks and Monuments have been the victims of poor management, and inadequate budget allocation for decades. Far too much of the DOI funding has been spent on EPA speculation, research, and over spending, on both the state and federal levels. Funds that should have been used to actually maintain existing park "environment" have instead been wasted on frivolous studies and lawsuits, involving sage grouse, turtles, birds, etc. It's time that the DOI takes back its role in managing actual land, water, its resources, and possibilities for multiple use. If wisely utilized the land, timber, and minerals could actually generate money. 

Public lands and those who use them, should generate part of this financial backlog; however, a bigger question is, how much has been spent paying lawyers who make life miserable for Western states and counties? The curse of litigation provides little benefit to real people who live in the West, nor the land they live by. It only spends more and more government money, while maintenance of parks and facilities degenerate more each year. Fie on the so called green friendly groups and their grants and lawsuits, who use and abuse federal money to suck the life out of rural communities and surrounding public lands
Hopefully, you can rectify this mire of neglect, and the excess of litigation.
   Janet Wilcox

Bear Essentials Nov. 27, 2016

Nov. 20-Dec. 3  Bear Necessities

The election of Donald Trump has NOT slowed down the opposition.  Pro-monument forces are filling newspapers and TV ads with half truths and scare tactics as they push for more National Monuments.  Please, please let your voice be heard. Write, and then respond when others publish articles; follow the news whether on TV, radio, newspaper and exercise your freedom of speech.

Facts relative to the Antiquities act that could be used (Thanks Wendy Black): 

The Antiquities Act is no longer a stand-alone privilege of the POTUS (President of the U.). Since the incorporation of the National Park Service it now requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to implement the obligations that balance human and natural environments. The Antiquities Act is not supposed to be used until an inventory of private inholdings have been done and have been distinguished from lands owned and controlled by the federal government. In accordance with the FLPMA mandates, the Antiquities Act is to be identified and confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected, (not 1.9 million acres). The objects are to be situated on land owned or controlled by the federal government. The Act is limited to objects, items and structures. All others are to be in accordance with FLPMA mandates. There are six procedural requirements that are to be performed in order to enact the Antiquities Act.

1.      Scientific studies to assess the range, occurrence and proper care of objects.

2.      The Secretary is to create and publish inventories that distinguish public land from inholdings, such as; water rights, mining claims, state and private inholdings, grazing allotments, easements and rights of way.

3.      The Antiquities Act is supposed to contain the smallest area compatible with proper care of objects to be protected by said Act.

4.      The corporate or private in holders are to be notified of their rights to participate or relinquish their rights in a timely manner.

5.      Local input is to be sought in what constitutes proper care and management of the objects for protection.

6.      State and local inholdings need to be identified for tax, impaired right of way, affected water rights, safety or any other problems that may arise from premature designation.

--I’ve updated and revised the links on my Bears Ears blog several times, and finally have a pretty good collection of newspaper e-mail addresses (copy and paste) as you send letters out. (https://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/)

--This article in the Huffinton Post needs responses.  The headline reads: “In The Weeks Before Trump Takes Office, Obama’s Mad Dash To Save Public Lands” (scroll down to where it shows how many comments there are…click and join the discussion.)

--A similar article in the Guardian: 

--A very good link provided by Linda Patterson regarding multiple-use of lands. This was a public symposium discussing many different land issues. Two-day event with 18 different topics discussed/ video taped. Very informative, especially for those directly involved in land issues in the west. Use some of these facts as you write.

--Allowing states to regulate the energy resources on federal lands means more efficient and accountable management. States share the cost of the maintenance of federal lands and have regulatory structures to manage federal lands within their boundaries.  Read more about it.

-- Read: Obama exploits Native tribes to further extreme environmental agenda

--Attached is a file explaining The Federal Land Freedom Act: Empowering States to Regulate Energy Will Yield Better Economic and Environmental Results Testimony before Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources U.S. House of Representatives.  This could be the basis of a very powerful letter to the editor.  I hope several of you will write and send letters.

--Come to the Tree for All Dec. 2-3 Wellness Center.   We will have a booth there. 

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition a Non-governmental Organization with no Jurisdiction

The San Juan County Commission approved a resolution on October 4 regarding the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition proposal to create the Bears Ears National Monument. The county resolution states that the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition is a non-governmental organization that has no jurisdiction over land-use planning activities in San Juan County.

The county resolution outlines several key points that Commissioners say are roadblocks to the creation of the proposed national monument. The resolution states that a number of property rights exist in the proposed monument that do not meet the definition of public lands, including 43 grazing allotments, 661 water-right infrastructure, 151,000 acres of state trust land, 18,000 acres of private property, and hundreds of miles of roads and infrastructure which are granted a RS2477 right-of-way.

The resolution adds that the proposal violates at least 18 established planning efforts, including a Memorandum of Agreement with the Navajo Nation. The resolution states that the coalition’s assertion of “rampant looting” conflicts with reports of local and federal law enforcement agencies.

In summary, the county resolution states that the proposal does not meet the “quality, utility, objectivity and integrity standards that are required of federal agencies for decision making.” It asks that the federal government follow existing federal law, which rules out an arbitrary and unilateral designation of public lands.

The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition has asked President Barack Obama to create the Bears Ears National Monument using the Antiquities Act.
The proposed monument could be as large as 1.9 million acres, or 38 percent of the entire landmass of San Juan County. The resolution was approved unanimously by the Commissioners. It is part of a report on the proposed monument that was created by consultants at Stillwater Technical Solutions.

The report outlines procedural requirements, governmental prerogatives, and the required statutory process that would be required for the designation.
The county will present the report to elected federal officials in Salt Lake City on October 10 and to Department of the Interior officials in Washington, DC on October 12.