Public Land Privatization, What We Can Do

[Rentuh01]

I am sure this scares many of you as much as it does me. Please consider visiting the website below and signing the petition to keep our public lands in our hands. My two year old son is sitting here "helping" me write this and the thought of him having no access to the abundant beauty and wildlife that we fund and work hard to protect is truly terrifying.

National Public Lands Transfer - Sportsmen’s Access

 

[elkduds]

We have to sign petitions, directly contact legislators, and more. I am recruiting land transfer opponents by notifying friends and family who are uninformed RE imminent threat to public lands. When they hear their fishing hole, bike trail, Christmas tree cutting spot, etc, is being taken away, they wake up and support the cause of preserving federal lands. I hope each of you will get others involved and spread the word.

 

[austinphps]

Shouldn't every Rokslider, hunter, fisher, camper, hiker, etc....be looking at this and signing?

 

[TJ]

I received an alert from BHA yesterday and contacted my congressman. Everyone who gives a S##t about this should do the same.

These morons have only been in session a few days and look at what H#LL they're doing.

This seriously pisses me off.

 

[mmccolloch]

I have also signed this. It blows my mind how few people actually realize this is such a huge issue. Being from the Midwest, most of our land is already private, and it makes hunting really difficult.

 

[Superkodiak38]

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

I joined them and used their template to email my Senator and Congressmen

 

[Superkodiak38]

I am sure this scares many of you as much as it does me. Please consider visiting the website below and signing the petition to keep our public lands in our hands. My two year old son is sitting here "helping" me write this and the thought of him having no access to the abundant beauty and wildlife that we fund and work hard to protect is truly terrifying.

National Public Lands Transfer - Sportsmen’s Access

Signed this one too, thanks !

 

[brewer427]

I will say that I dont think hunters as a whole stand up and make our voices and opinions heard like antis do, you'll see a picture on facebook of a big deer or elk get shot and it receives thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, but on the rare post about something that is going to hurt hunting it only receives a few likes and very few comments, its like everybody just wants to bury there heads in the sand and think its out of there hands or everything will be fine and nothing is going to change. I think its a joke how none of hunting companies try and publicly go against laws that are trying to be passed, that would hurt our access and methods used to hunt. I feel that when anything comes up, that is going against outdoorsmen, it should be posted all over hunting companies social meadia outlets to try and inform as many as possible.

I went to the sportsmens access page and seen all the companies that are in a coalition, but what I find aggravating is I view a lot of those companies social media sites and very rarely am I seeing anything posted about land transfers and sells. The only way anything is going to be done is by major players in the outdoor industry whether it be fishing, hunting, mountain biking, you name it, they are going to need to be the ones that stand up in objection to this and let everyone they can know about what's going on. I've spoken to numerous people in the woods and in stores like REI and base camp that had no idea about public lands being sold or traded in back door deals. Unless a VERY large amount of people, not just in the hunting world, come together nothing is going to change. What I find comical is big companies like Cabelas never say anything about political issues, but if sportsmen lose access to fishing and hunting in the western US there buisness is going to suffer greatly...

 

[R_burg]

I will say that I dont think hunters as a whole stand up and make our voices and opinions heard like antis do, you'll see a picture on facebook of a big deer or elk get shot and it receives thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, but on the rare post about something that is going to hurt hunting it only receives a few likes and very few comments, its like everybody just wants to bury there heads in the sand and think its out of there hands or everything will be fine and nothing is going to change. I think its a joke how none of hunting companies try and publicly go against laws that are trying to be passed, that would hurt our access and methods used to hunt. I feel that when anything comes up, that is going against outdoorsmen, it should be posted all over hunting companies social meadia outlets to try and inform as many as possible.

Dude.

This is not being pushed by "anti-hunters".

The vote was down party lines. GOP voted for the bill, Dems voted against.

I guarantee you a whole-hell of a lot more GOP voters hunt... AND are pro gun, which is ironic.

This is about giving the states the right to sell land to large private owners and big corporations. This has nothing to do with people that are for or against hunting.

 

[ezmorningrebel]

hey at least no one's coming for your guns now, right?

 

[topher89]

hey at least no one's coming for your guns now, right?

Haha! Selling public land was in the Republican party platform this year.... is anyone surprised this is what they did their first day?

 

[JWP58]

hey at least no one's coming for your guns now, right?

And there we have it, couldn't have a public land discussion without a post like this in the first 10 posts. Yes you are correct, astute off topic observation.

 

[R_burg]

By the way guys, Zinke voted for it... which goes against his well reported previous stance of being against the transfer of Federal land to the States. This worries me more than anything. I really thought we had an advocate for us in the new administration.


Excerpt from the article linked below:

Zinke, House GOP Approve Rules Change that Would Ease Federal Land Transfers

House Republicans including Montana U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke voted Tuesday night to overturn a rule requiring Congress to calculate the value of federal land before transferring it to states or other entities, removing a significant barrier to limit lawmakers from ceding federal control of public lands.

The provision, part of a larger rules package that passed by a vote of 233 to 190, dictates that transfers of federal land should be treated as having no cost to the federal government, therefore requiring no budgetary offset, even if the parcels generate revenue for the U.S. Treasury through logging or energy extraction.

Zinke, Montana’s lone congressman, was recently tapped by President-elect Donald Trump as the nation’s next Interior Secretary and has opposed transferring management of federal lands to states’ control, even quitting his post as a member of the GOP platform-writing committee after the group included language that would have made transferring federal land ownership to the states a priority.

He characterizes himself as a “Teddy Roosevelt” Republican and made his commitment to preserving America’s public lands a centerpiece in his recent campaign for re-election.

“I was extremely surprised by Ryan Zinke’s vote in support of this rule change,” Brad Brooks of The Wilderness Society said. “This rule greases the skids by removing the biggest obstacle preventing the transfer of public lands. Talk is cheap and votes matter, and this vote really mattered.”

Zinke, House GOP Approve Rules Change that Would Ease Federal Land Transfers - Flathead Beacon

 

[Frito]

Dude.

This is not being pushed by "anti-hunters".

The vote was down party lines. GOP voted for the bill, Dems voted against.

I guarantee you a whole-hell of a lot more GOP voters hunt... AND are pro gun, which is ironic.

This is about giving the states the right to sell land to large private owners and big corporations. This has nothing to do with people that are for or against hunting.

I agree with this. I was just informed about all of this, for I have been in la la land, just trying to plan my hunts. I will try to be more informed for sure, but as far as "party lines" go, I think this is less ironic than you think considering how little it has to do with hunting. I don't consider myself a Democrat or Republican but if the Democratic party were a monopoly, they would probably do away with the non-commercial harvest of game animals completely. But I still know very little about all of this. Time to get involved.

 

[R_burg]

I agree with this. I was just informed about all of this, for I have been in la la land, just trying to plan my hunts. I will try to be more informed for sure, but as far as "party lines" go, I think this is less ironic than you think considering how little it has to do with hunting. I don't consider myself a Democrat or Republican but if the Democratic party were a monopoly, they would probably do away with the non-commercial harvest of game animals completely. But I still know very little about all of this. Time to get involved.

Wild speculation aside, we as hunters, voters, citizens dont need to guess. The vote on an issue we care about was split right down party lines. And regarding your speculation, I was born and raised in NY, where the democratic party is pretty close to a monopoly, and none of my hunting rights were ever infringed upon, and that has never been a concern of mine (gun rights is another topic, obviously). As an example: There are about as many Hunting/Fishing License holders in NY as there are people in the entire state of Wyoming.

In my opinion it goes to show that the gun issue isnt about gun owners. Its about gun lobbyist, who are paid by the gun industry. Unfortunately it seems like our industry doesnt have the same amount of pull.

 

[kingfisher]

"hey at least no one's coming for your guns now, right?"

I believe the point of this was to say what are our priorities? We knew this was on the platform. If we don't have public lands, owning sporting rifles doesn't do us a whole lot of good. But, November 8th is over. What we can do now is make our voices heard regardless of our political party. When our public lands are gone, both Dems and Republicans are equally going to wish we had fought for this. Sign these petitions, post the links on social media, and if you have friends in the Mid-West, or out East, let them know, because most don't have a clue this is even happening. Thanks

 

[Frito]

My speculation is only based on the experience I have. Allegiances to parties aside, I don't see how anyone could agree on the privatization of public land unless it's putting money in their pocket. I'm not defending either party. Just speculating.

 

[kingfisher]

Protect Our Public Land

 

[topher89]

My speculation is only based on the experience I have. Allegiances to parties aside, I don't see how anyone could agree on the privatization of public land unless it's putting money in their pocket. I'm not defending either party. Just speculating.

Of course it is... when corporations (oil companies) can put almost unlimited money into politics and can offer multi-million dollar lobbyist jobs to out-going politicians, why would they not support this transfer? Ethics and morals would be a reason not to but I don't think those exist in D.C.

 

[Frito]

Of course it is... when corporations (oil companies) can put almost unlimited money into politics and can offer multi-million dollar lobbyist jobs to out-going politicians, why would they not support this transfer? Ethics and morals would be a reason not to but I don't think those exist in D.C.

I can't disagree with any of that, and I work for a big oil company....or three. I can tell you one thing though, and it's not speculation, the Democratic party is very much into "big oil", especially our would-be lady president elect. They love putting a nice "green" spin on their domestic oil policies and would-be new taxes but they are in the pockets of bigger players internationally, and those players are some of the most civil rights violating, void of ethics and morals, in existence. Don't mean to derail the thread and turn this into a political argument. I think this is sad though.