Fwd: RE: RC: Public Lands: Is bigger better?

[Linda Flemmer <bluewolfranch@yahoo.com>]

FYI - Comments from my husband who is quite active in
following legislation.

I went to the congressional site to try to find the
actual bill - it is quite difficult to find from the
description given by Ms. Fretwell.  It looks as though
it may be H.R.701.

You can read more at the following site:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d106:1:./temp/~bdbDzq::|/bss/d106query.html|

Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf ranch

--- "Flemmer, Michael" <mgf8@cdc.gov> wrote:
 
> Pass this on to your ridecamp buddies.  This article
> does not provide the bill
> number, so therefore it is not easily verified.  The
> text of ALL bills
> currently under consideration is available from
> Congress's website.  Having
> the bill number makes it easier to find.  It also
> makes it easier to tell if
> the report is bogus because there is a certain
> coding and numbering scheme
> for the bills.  Unless people start including the
> bill numbers, I am
> discounting all such stories as e-mail hoaxes and
> urban legends.
> 
> -----Original Message-----

> --- hikryrdg <hikryrdg@evansville.net> wrote:
> 
> > Subject: RC:  Public Lands: Is bigger better?
> > 
> >    With the fires raging our west, and with other
> > management problems that
> > seem
> > to come up every month, I thought this article was
> > very timely.  I'm amazed
> > that the Federal Land Managers tell us all the
> time
> > that they do not have
> > enough money to maintain the trails we have. Yet,
> > here we have a case being
> > made for more land to be managed with the same
> > funds. In other words, we will
> > have even fewer funds in the future for trail
> > maintenance.  As sure as I am
> > siting at this computer, you will then see the
> Feds
> > close more trails due to
> > lack of funding or what ever excuse they may come
> up
> > with.  It seems to me, we
> > have a disaster brewing in Washington D.C.  So
> what
> > to do? Demand more funding
> > for our trails and the public lands we now have.
> > That is if you want access to
> > the Federal Lands in the next 20 to 50 years.  
> > Jerry Fruth, Chairman-AERC
> > Trails Committee>   
> > >
> > >Public lands: Is bigger better?
> > >
> > >by Holly Lippke Fretwell
> > >A bill considered by many to be the most
> important
> > >conservation legislation in years -- and possibly
> > the
> > >capstone to President Clinton's environmental
> > legacy
> > >-- is wending its way through Congress. But watch
> > out!
> > >The $3 billion legislation, known as the
> > Conservation
> > >and Reinvestment Act (CARA), has little to do
> with
> > >conservation, and will, in fact, perpetuate the
> > >degradation of federal lands.
> > >
> > >Why? Because CARA is bass ackwards in its
> approach
> > to
> > >federal land management. While the bill provides
> a
> > >large pool of money for the acquisition of more
> > >federal lands, it provides no funds for
> addressing
> > >critical resource management problems and no
> reform
> > >for our ailing public-land agencies. This is a
> huge
> > >oversight at a time when the poor and declining
> > >condition of our public lands has been so
> > >well-documented that only catastrophic events are
> > >newsworthy any more.
> > >
> > >The fires that raced through Los Alamos this
> spring
> > >and Colorado this summer reveal the perilous
> > condition
> > >of our forests -- unnaturally dense and
> fire-prone.
> > >Forty million acres of national forest land are
> at
> > >extreme risk to uncontrolled wildfire. And that
> is
> > >just one of the problems created by federal land
> > >stewardship.
> > >
> > >In the Great Basin, invasive, non-native species
> > have
> > >devastated millions of acres of grazing lands. In
> > >Yellowstone National Park, sewage spills into
> > nearby
> > >native trout streams. At Gettysburg National
> > Military
> > >Park, rain from leaky roofs soaks Civil War
> relics.
> > >Even our national refuge system is showing signs
> of
> > >neglect.
> > >
> > >Based on this track record, why would anyone want
> > the
> > >federal government to manage more land?
> > >
> > 
> > >Nevertheless, this bill has received strong
> support
> > >from not only Democrats, but Republicans and even
> > >staunch supporters of private-property rights.
> Why?
> > >Because it is pork barrel politics at its best.
> > CARA
> > >would funnel billions of dollars to the states
> for
> > >land acquisitions. Alaska, home to two of the
> > bill's
> > >strongest supporters, Sen. Frank Murkowski (R)
> and
> > >Rep. Don. Young (R), would be a big winner in the
> > CARA
> > >sweepstakes, receiving $163 million annually.
> > >California tops even that, with $324 million
> every
> > >year. Politicians find such numbers hard to
> ignore.
> > >
> > >The federal government already controls one-third
> > of
> > >the land area of the United States and continues
> to
> > >add more than 800,000 acres per year. The pace
> will
> > >quicken much more rapidly if CARA is passed. But
> > the
> > >funds for managing these new lands are nowhere to
> > be
> > >seen.
> > >
> > >Any land manager, whether working for a federal
> > agency
> > >or overseeing a private farm or ranch, knows that
> > >protecting resources comes at a price. A recent
> > PERC
> > >study shows that in 1999 federal land management
> > alone
> > >cost more than $6.6 billion, excluding the costs
> of
> > >facility construction and major repair. And
> > management
> > >costs more than tripled from 1962 to 1997,
> jumping
> > >from $3 per acre to $10 per acre in inflation
> > adjusted
> > >dollars.
> > >
> > >Unlike the federal government, conservation
> groups
> > >recognize that management is costly. Many insist
> on
> > an
> > >endowment to cover management costs before they
> > >purchase any new land. The Nature Conservancy
> > recently
> > >announced a plan to buy a pristine atoll in the
> > >Pacific Ocean. It is raising funds for both the
> > >purchase and for an endowment fund that will be
> > >dedicated to the care and protection of this
> nature
> > >preserve.
> > >
> > >Similarly, the National Audubon Society requires
> an
> > >endowment fund to care for any land that it
> accepts
> > as
> > >a donation. In this way, it guarantees that the
> > lands
> > >will always be protected and that resources
> > dedicated
> > >to existing Audubon lands will not be redirected
> to
> > >cover the costs of managing the new property.
> > >
> > >Conservation groups have sought new approaches to
> > help
> > >them cover the costs of land management over the
> > long
> > >term. The Nature Conservancy has created an
> unusual
> > >partnership with private landowners in Virginia's
> > >Clinch Valley. To protect the ecological health
> and
> > >long-term economic productivity of the valley's
> > >forest, the landowners allow the conservancy to
> > manage
> > >and harvest trees on their land. Dividends are
> paid
> > to
> > >the owners, while the conservancy assumes the
> > >management risks and provides a steady stream of
> > wood
> > >to local mills and businesses.
> > >
> > >The government could learn from these examples.
> It
> > >could sell lands without assets, such as wildlife
> > >habitat or scenic value, and use the proceeds to
> > >manage lands with higher conservation values.
> > >Recreational lands could be made to pay their own
> > way.
> > >
> > >To protect America's most valued lands, we must
> > reform
> > >federal land-management policies and encourage
> > private
> > >conservation efforts. Until then, we should not
> > jump
> > >hastily onto a legislative bandwagon that will
> only
> > >lead us further into the wilderness of mismanaged
> > 
> > >landscapes.
> > >
> > >
> > >Holly Lippke Fretwell is a contributor to Writers
> > on
> > >the Range, a service of High Country News
> > >(<http://www.hcn.org/>www.hcn.org). She is a
> > research associate
> > >specializing in public lands at the Political
> > Economy
> > >Research Center in =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


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