June 17, 2012 01:54 PM UTC

Public Lands Are For Sharing

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• by: Konola

Land that is held in trust for the people is called public land. That land may be owned by cities, counties, states, or the federal government. By far most public land is in the west. In Colorado 34.4% of all land is public land managed by the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The U.S. Forest Service manages another 10 to 20 percent of the land.

The agencies responsible for the land are required to consider all uses for the public land when creating their management plans. Traditional uses include recreational use by hikers, rafters, horseback riders, hunters, fishermen, artists, campers, RVers, mountain bikers, jeepers, backpackers, hang gliders, photographers, etc. Another traditional use is grazing for livestock producers-primarily sheep and cattle, although bison growers are staging a comeback, and there are some wild game producers that may or may not use public land.

These public lands are frequently rich in natural resources and in the west contain the headwaters of rivers that quench the thirst of citizens of western states and Mexico. Extraction of the natural resources are governed by the General Mining Act of 1872 and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. The 1872 law deals primarily with hard rock mining, while the 1920 act expands the resources to other types of recovery, including oil and gas.

Extremists on the right have recently suggested selling all public land to the highest bidder. Extremists on the left have staged actions to keep people out of sensitive habitats. Extremists on both sides want their preferred use to be the only use. The NFS and BLM are charged with balancing their management plans so that each side can enjoy their preferred use of the land.

Because so much of the land in the west is public land, congress has a lot to say about how these management plans are designed and implemented. There are currently four bills being presented that would dramatically move the fulcrum in favor of those on the right. One of the bills is sponsored by Representative Scott Tipton.

Tipton introduced H.R. 4381, the Planning for American Energy Act of 2012 and had this to say about it:

“It’s great to talk about the need for an all-of-the-above energy strategy in this country, but in order to make it a reality and turn words into action, there needs to be a plan. The Planning for American Energy Act puts a common sense plan into place by requiring that our nation’s energy needs are met through development of traditional and alternative energy resources with a true all-of-the-above approach that will lower the cost of energy, jumpstart economic recovery, and get Americans working.”

The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy with a goal of achieving energy independence for the U.S. This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to determine additional lands to be used for energy production, which would include national parks and wilderness areas, currently restricted because of natural beauty, cultural sensitivities, and fragile plant and animal habitats.

The bill directs the Secretary of the interior to complete a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) within 12 months of the bill’s signing that would be deemed to comply with all requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for every parcel of land managed by the NFS and BLM. Currently each individual parcel receives its own PEIS, which takes into consideration multiple uses, culturally sensitive areas, and the needs of endangered species of plants and animals.

According to the Checks and Balances Project, a not-for-profit that holds lobbyists and corporate management accountable to the public says this bill

“ignores the balanced land use approach that we’ve developed in Colorado, and instead mandates that energy development be the primary use of all public land. This leaves ranchers, outdoor recreation businesses, watershed protection, and hunting and fishing in the dust.”

They go on to say, “Rep. Tipton’s bill would dispose of the current ‘multiple-use’ mandate under which most of the public lands are managed. Instead, the Secretary of the Interior would be mandated to ‘take all necessary actions’ to reach an objective for energy development on public lands. That objective would be decided by Washington insiders and likely with undue oil industry input, instead of feedback from Coloradans.

So, if you live in Western Colorado because of access to public lands for skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, rafting, hiking, horseback riding, jeeping or other outdoor activities, call Representative Tipton and tell him to put balance back into the management plan.