Federal land transfer movement running out of options
GEORGE OCHENSKI
5 hrs ago
Those with good memories will recall the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion of the '70s and '80s in which those seeking more resource extraction in the West demanded state and local control of federal lands. That “rebellion,” going nowhere, morphed into the misnamed “Wise Use” movement. Same bad actors, same bad goals. When that fizzled, the latest incarnation, primarily centered in Utah, turned to armed occupation of federal lands and facilities by individuals like the Bundys, who believed their god told them to take the land by force. But like all the former failures, fortunately for our publicly owned federal lands, the latest batch of transfer proponents are simply running out of options.
Last week, in a body blow to the land transfer efforts, Western states’ attorneys general voted 11 to 1 to accept a highly technical analysis that found a potential lawsuit seeking 30 million acres of federal land be ceded to the Utah, is unlikely to succeed, despite the state’s unenlightened legislature appropriating $2 million on lawyers.
When you consider that Montana’s Republican Attorney General Tim Fox was among the overwhelming majority of AGs to support the report’s conclusion, it becomes clear that this is not a finding that is tainted by politics or partisan influences. That’s bolstered by the fact that of the AGs from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, seven are Republicans, three are Democrats and one is an Independent.
It is particularly notable that Fox’s Chief Deputy Attorney General, Alan Joscelyn, contributed legal research and analysis to the report, which was two years in the making. While this may seem like no big deal, those familiar with Joscelyn’s past as one of the leading attorneys for mining corporations in Montana will be assured that if a land transfer lawsuit had a chance in court, he would have uncovered it ...
http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/columnists/george-ochenski-federal-land-transfer-movement-running-out-of-options/article_a1e2d5c4-04d9-56c5-bffa-60c1f617345a.html
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