Project 2025 and public lands and environment

Loo.wii

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As public land hunter and user, we have to be skeptical of both sides. On one side you have anti hunter legislation, bans, wolf reintroduction. On the other you have free market, very pro business/rich people, minimal gov’t party. Both can negatively affect us.

I think whatever party is in power, it’s imperative to have hunters stick together. Being divided, highly partisan makes us weak.
I have to preface this with I absolutely love capitalism but we must see the problem with it being allowed to buy votes and influence. You ever notice how theres a starbucks on every corner but mom an pop shops are nonexistent? unregulated capitalism lines our pockets but it dilutes everything into generic mass market BS.

See every hunting brand company ever and how as soon as they are aquired by PE they turn to poop.
 
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PLhunter

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As public land hunter and user, we have to be skeptical of both sides. On one side you have anti hunter legislation, bans, wolf reintroduction. On the other you have free market, very pro business/rich people, minimal gov’t party. Both can negatively affect us.

I think whatever party is in power, it’s imperative to have hunters stick together. Being divided, highly partisan makes us weak.
Absolutely and any time there is a predator hunting ban in my state or another I make comments and a fuss. I show up. Even if it’s not my targeted species. Those are usually ballot box initiatives. Not pushed by politicians. We need to stick together. My concern now is that many have been convinced that it’s okay because it hurts the “other” along with themselves. I don’t know if they’ll show.
 
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PLhunter

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I have to preface this with I absolutely love capitalism but we must see the problem with it being allowed to buy votes and influence. You ever notice how theres a starbucks on every corner but mom an pop shops are nonexistent? unregulated capitalism lines our pockets but it dilutes everything into generic mass market BS.

See hunting brand company ever and how as soon as they are aquired by PE they turn to poop.
Also, what we are seeing and having the ill effects of are not truly capitalism anyway.
 
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I'd prefer public land that I can't hunt over private land that I can't hunt.
Unpopular opinion here but I’d go the opposite direction. The .gov is abysmal at managing just about everything. I’d rather see the power go back to the people in the way of private ownership. All the smaller farmers I know work hard and take pride in their stewardship. Want a place to hunt? Buy some land. Everyone wants a handout around here it seems tho 🤷‍♂️
 

Gila

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And? How is this different from grazing cattle?
Because grazing buffalo needs special fencing for one thing. But the primary reason is that animals that are raised as “zoo” animals that will not be consumed are competing against cattle, elk, pronghorn, deer on public lands. So now we have a private business interest that is ruining our public lands and not contributing food to our economy. When APR started grazing their bison herds on BLM lands, it devastated the cattle industry in Montana. This “we shouldn’t be eating meat in the 21st century” group has caused food prices to soar…
 

Gila

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Unpopular opinion here but I’d go the opposite direction. The .gov is abysmal at managing just about everything. I’d rather see the power go back to the people in the way of private ownership. All the smaller farmers I know work hard and take pride in their stewardship. Want a place to hunt? Buy some land. Everyone wants a handout around here it seems tho 🤷‍♂️
It’s unpopular because large int’l oligarchs are outbidding the local ranchers at estate sales and buying up large tracts (millions of acres) and locking it all up. On the other hand there are interests that could care less what is on top of the land, they want to drill and mine dissolving our public lands in the process..
 
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PLhunter

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Unpopular opinion here but I’d go the opposite direction. The .gov is abysmal at managing just about everything. I’d rather see the power go back to the people in the way of private ownership. All the smaller farmers I know work hard and take pride in their stewardship. Want a place to hunt? Buy some land. Everyone wants a handout around here it seems tho 🤷‍♂️
That becomes feudalism and I think maybe you’re over estimating where we sit on the socioeconomic food chain. The land likely won’t be up for sale to you and me. Just those who paid for access to the sale. Public land isn’t a handout, it’s just a damn good idea, that has made hunting culture great in this country. For every example of good private management I see private lands that look scorched earth. You’re assuming that land will go to small farmers and responsible owners. Which is a huge assumption. I’ve successfully had a day in public land decisions where I live. I like that.

Also, Trump and crew are .gov now. And I think you’d be correct in your assumption that .gov would manage the extraction of and sale of public land abysmally. I don’t think we are buying our 2,000 acre hunting parcels on the cheap or going to be in the room at all when it’s sold. Nothing in the history of the individuals in power says egalitarianism will be the priority in the process.

Resist the gov and the tired narrative of poor management. The public land that I hunt is fantastic, beautiful, and full of game. The surrounding private only has more game after pressure. But the elk and deer return to the public as soon as they can because it’s good habitat managed for primitive use. If there is a problem push for better management and those required resources.
 
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It’s unpopular because large int’l oligarchs are outbidding the local ranchers at estate sales and buying up large tracts (millions of acres) and locking it all up. On the other hand there are interests that could care less what is on top of the land, they want to drill and mine dissolving our public lands in the process..
Sure that issue of large land owners, especially non US based could be addressed though. As far as the mining and oil stuff goes that’s a double edged sword. we 100% need oil and mining, unless you’d like to return to the Stone Age, flip side of that is the damage it’s doing to the land. Balance there is key imo. But I don’t run the .gov. Just my personal opinion. Not trying to kick the hornets nest but I’m definitely on the opposite side of the public land stuff than the vast majority here.
 
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PLhunter

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It’s unpopular because large int’l oligarchs are outbidding the local ranchers at estate sales and buying up large tracts (millions of acres) and locking it all up. On the other hand there are interests that could care less what is on top of the land, they want to drill and mine dissolving our public lands in the process..
Exactly, people think that profitable land use requires sustainability. Why would the owner of land not take the best care of it? But that’s missing the complexity of the economics. If I strip thousands of acres of its value that I bought for 2 million, make 20 million on the sale of the resources, invest that in the next thing and make 10% etc. then what do I care about that initial 2 million investment? It’s still real estate I can loan against and heck if i get sued for pollution etc.. my shell holding corp can go bankrupt and I’ll make a bid to do the cleanup with my other corp.

There is no economic argument for a guarantee of stewardship.
 

Jimbee

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Unpopular opinion here but I’d go the opposite direction. The .gov is abysmal at managing just about everything. I’d rather see the power go back to the people in the way of private ownership. All the smaller farmers I know work hard and take pride in their stewardship. Want a place to hunt? Buy some land. Everyone wants a handout around here it seems tho 🤷‍♂️
Where are you from, who are the people the power would go back to, what do the farmers you know raise, what's the "everyone around here wants a handout" in reference to?
 
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Where are you from, who are the people the power would go back to, what do the farmers you know raise, what's the "everyone around here wants a handout" in reference to?
It refers to the attitude around public land being this amazing thing. 🤣I hope you all took your blood pressure meds today.

Edit:
I’d agree with most Mike Lee on his view of public land if you want to know where I’m coming from. Save your time though you won’t be the one to change my mind.
 
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PLhunter

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Sure that issue of large land owners, especially non US based could be addressed though. As far as the mining and oil stuff goes that’s a double edged sword. we 100% need oil and mining, unless you’d like to return to the Stone Age, flip side of that is the damage it’s doing to the land. Balance there is key imo. But I don’t run the .gov. Just my personal opinion. Not trying to kick the hornets nest but I’m definitely on the opposite side of the public land stuff than the vast majority here.
I see what you’re saying but the administration is asking for foreign investments. Inviting it. Not seeking to regulate it. At all. Sure there is theoretically a way to turn over all the lands to great small stewards but that requires a ton of trust and regulatory oversight to become reality. Not at all what is likely to come from this.
 

Loo.wii

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Unpopular opinion here but I’d go the opposite direction. The .gov is abysmal at managing just about everything. I’d rather see the power go back to the people in the way of private ownership. All the smaller farmers I know work hard and take pride in their stewardship. Want a place to hunt? Buy some land. Everyone wants a handout around here it seems tho 🤷‍♂️
You can distill this argument to. you should only be able to enjoy nature if you can afford it.
 
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I see what you’re saying but the administration is asking for foreign investments. Inviting it. Not seeking to regulate it. At all. Sure there is theoretically a way to turn over all the lands to great small stewards but that requires a ton of trust and regulatory oversight to become reality. Not at all what is likely to come from this.
True it’s unlikely, I never said I agreed 100% with what the current administration wants to do. Like I said I don’t run any of that. That’s just what I’d like to see. I’m not naive enough to think it’s going to happen though.
 
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PLhunter

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It refers to the attitude around public land being this amazing thing. 🤣I hope you all took your blood pressure meds today.

Edit:
I’d agree with most Mike Lee on his view of public land if you want to know where I’m coming from. Save your time though you won’t be the one to change my mind.
Agreeing with Mike Lee pretty much sums it up. Thanks for recognizing the issue.

Public land is freaking amazing. I’ve seen and done things on public land that are worth more than the wealth of nations. I’ve experienced a level of freedom from things, freedom to do things, and freedom to roam unrivaled.
 

Jimbee

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It refers to the attitude around public land being this amazing thing. 🤣I hope you all took your blood pressure meds today.

Edit:
I’d agree with most Mike Lee on his view of public land if you want to know where I’m coming from. Save your time though you won’t be the one to change my mind.
I was genuinely curious with all my questions. I'm trying to understand your perspective.
 

IdahoBeav

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You can distill this argument to. you should only be able to enjoy nature if you can afford it.
Who is paying for the public land we hunt? Are all taxpayers coerced into paying for it? Are we just printing money to pay for it?
 
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I was genuinely curious with all my questions. I'm trying to understand your perspective.
I’d like to see a very small amount of public land. I’d rather see the land be returned to the people. I’m not big on government intervention but they could regulate tract sizes and stipulations on development and usage etc. That’s not ideal but it would address some concerns floated around here. I’m from s rural area where there are still a fair amount of smaller farms. The issue here is they tax is to death at the same time the state is buying more public land which increases the tax burden on land owners. Then they put in bullshit regs on logging and usage of that public land. So yes my opinion is if you wanna hunt great buy some land make it your own paradise. I guarantee you’ll take and care for it better than the government which is just a collection of mostly unintelligent money grifters.
 
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@PLhunter you seem to have accidentally posted a conservation topic in the “complain about predators” subforum. I recommend you contact the mods about getting it moved.

Seriously though, I’ve never understood the anti-public land mindset some people have. I get guys who are positioned to make a ton of money off public lands sell-offs, but why does any average American want to get rid of these lands? Their logic seems to be as simple as “govt=bad, and public lands=govt, therefore public lands=bad”. It completely ignores the reality that these resources are an incredible blessing that are generally well managed, while accepting at face value the arguments of the people who directly benefit from sell-offs.
 
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