Approximately 750 people joined in a peaceful rally Saturday on Cortez’s Main Street to protest the policies of the Trump administration. Rallies took place in numerous sites around the Four Corners, including Mancos, Ouray, Bayfield, Telluride, Farmington, New Mexico, and Moab, Utah. More than 2,500 people turned out in Durango and another 2,500 in Montrose. An estimated 5 million protested around the country.
One of the many concerns expressed by protesters was the administration’s handling of federal public lands. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently updated the text of the proposed budget reconciliation bill.
The new version would make more than 250 million acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands eligible for possible sale to the highest bidder.
Unlike the committee’s previous version of the bill, this one seems to allow the sale of lands with existing grazing rights. An interactive map published by the nonprofit Wilderness Society (https://wilderness.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=821970f0212d46d7aa854718aac42310) shows a number of tracts of BLM land in Montezuma County as eligible, including the popular Phil’s World trail site. Much of the San Juan National Forest is also shown as eligible for sale, including lands along the scenic Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Silverton.
More than 14 million acres of land would be eligible for sale in Colorado, as well as 14 million acres in Arizona and another 14 million in New Mexico. Close to 19 million acres would be eligible in Utah.
Tracts would have to be nominated for sale within 30 days of the bill’s implementation, if it is passed. Nominations are to be made by the secretaries of agriculture and the interior.
In May, a proposal to sell off some federal public lands in Nevada and Utah was taken out of the budget reconciliation bill. That version of the bill was narrowly passed by the U.S. House and sent on to the Senate.
However, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, then introduced new text into the bill. Utah has long been a hub of anti-federal sentiment. https://fourcornersfreepress.com/should-federal-lands-be-turned-over-to-the-states-the-montezuma-county-commission-says-yes/
Advocates for the sales say that states could manage public lands better than the U.S. government, assuming the states actually buy some of the lands put up for sale. Monies raised from the sales would benefit the U.S. Treasury, they say. Advocates also argue that the land could be used to build affordable housing.
Critics say very little of the land is anywhere near infrastructure such as water lines, sewer lines, and fire stations. They say it would most likely be sold to upscale developers, who could offer the highest bids, and then would be used for trophy homes. Opponents also are critical of the fact that sovereign tribal nations are not given the first refusal of right to bid on the lands.
Critics also say public lands are immeasurably valuable in the public realm because they used by hikers, cyclists, skiers, hunters, anglers, and many others, they bring in millions of dollars in revenues for tourism and visitation, and they improve the quality of life for locals.
