An NPR segment today touched on the efforts of Utah's Rep. Rob Bishop, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/05/513492389 ... p-to-do-it
Less recently, but not too far back, NPR produced two related segments:
Alaska's Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chair Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has been in the news as chair of the Zinke hearings:[Utah] passed a law in 2012 demanding that 30 million acres of federal land be turned over to the [state], lawmakers earmarked several million dollars to mount a lawsuit against the federal government.
full article:
http://www.npr.org/2016/10/19/498427493 ... ton-debate
[In December 2015,] lawmakers voted to move forward with a lawsuit against the federal government over control of 30 million acres of federal land
full article:
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/31/461627724 ... n-congress
https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/01/17 ... very-wish/
Here is Murkowski's 2.3 minute video pitch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By-j_y6jgco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By-j_y6jgco
All that is background to the point of this post, which is: how much land is already under the control of Utah and Alaska? In other words, how much land is not owned by the federal government? My calculations:
Acres under their control already, per person:
Alaska: 197
Utah: 11
Oregon: 5.3
So one could ask, if Alaskans already control 40 times as much land per person compared to Oregonians, why can't they make that work yugely in their favor? why the complaint? shouldn't they be selling off the 145 million acres they already control?
Transfer of federal lands into state or private ownership is pushed by ALEC and ALC. ALC has posted the full text of the GOP National Platform on Lands Transfer that was adopted last July at the Republican National Convention. The RNC calls for all USFS, BLM, and USFWS lands to be sold/given away except for designated Wilderness.
The federal government owns or controls over 640 million acres of land in the United States, most of which is in the West. These are public lands, and the public should have access to them for appropriate activities like hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. Federal ownership or management of land also places an economic burden on counties and local communities in terms of lost revenue to pay for things such as schools, police, and emergency services. It is absurd to think that all that acreage must remain under the absentee ownership or management of official Washington. Congress shall immediately pass universal legislation providing for a timely and orderly mechanism requiring the federal government to convey certain federally controlled public lands to states. We call upon all national and state leaders and representatives to exert their utmost power and influence to urge the transfer of those lands, identified in the review process, to all willing states for the benefit of the states and the nation as a whole. The residents of state and local communities know best how to protect the land where they work and live. They practice boots-on- • REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016 • 22 the-ground conservation in their states every day. We support amending the Antiquities Act of 1906 to establish Congress’ right to approve the designation of national monuments and to further require the approval of the state where a national monument is designated or a national park is proposed.
More at:
http://www.americanlandscouncil.org/gop ... s_language
Committees:
https://naturalresources.house.gov/
https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Murkowski
https://www.congress.gov/member/lisa-murkowski
https://www.murkowski.senate.gov
Rep. Rob Bishop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Bishop
https://www.congress.gov/member/rob-bishop
https://robbishop.house.gov/
Land acreage data from:
http://www.nrcm.org/documents/publiclandownership.pdf
Calculations:
Alaska: 197 = (365039000-219900000)/737000
Utah: 11 = (61441000-16407000)/3970000
Oregon: 5.3 = (52587000-37019000) / 2943000
