Protection For 2 Millions Acres of Public Land Gone

The Secretary of the Department of the Interior helped President Trump slash protection on 2 million acres of public lands during a recent ceremony in Salt Lake City. These posers didn't even step foot on the two national monuments they just shrunk in size. Cowards ... all of them. 

On December 4, 2017, we the people, lost much of the protections on 2 million acres of public lands in Utah. Some will celebrate and other will be disappointed. Me? I'm annoyed more than you can imagine.

From the Patagonia website

But I'm getting old and these lands won't mean as much to me before too long. My hiking and biking distances will surely get to the point I'll be able to do both in a large parking lot. When that happens I'll just trespass at the local Walmart or convenience store.

It's the younger generations that will suffer if this trend of relaxing the "monument" protections of prime outdoor recreation lands for the extractive industries like mining, oil, and gas plus increased ranching activity on our lands.

These are the Trump supporters who would rather see our public lands "shared heavily" with the extractive industry - Idaho Congressional Delegation.

I urge this younger generation to insist your mostly old and gray representatives who rarely if ever, step foot on a hiking trail or bike a single track should keep their fucking hands off our land and not let it fall into the hands of corporations.

You are the crowd that will suffer, so stand up and tell them what you think. Be loud, be proud and be relentless. These politicians will have to deal with your huge numbers in the future but are free to do as they please right now. While I'm not sure they even care about their own constituents, they obviously care about the future of their failing political party. Without your young voice, the Republican raping and pillaging of our public lands will surely continue. Dec. 4, 2017, was the opening salvo. 

Trump Supporters Repent

Look, I have neighbors who sing the praise of our new knuckleheaded president. These same neighbors who hate it when a dog leaves a steaming pile on their lawn or even tinkles in their grass, don't seem to mind when regulations preventing mining companies from dumping mine waste into our local streams and rivers are rescinded. Stupid, mindless Fox News loving imbeciles?

The Republican Theory: Pee on the grass =  Bad -///- Toxic mine waste = Great

Obama's Protections Revisited

On December 28, 2017, this is what President Obama said about the creation of the Bear Ears National Monument. (Emphasis mine)

Today, I am designating two new national monuments in the desert landscapes of southeastern Utah and southern Nevada to protect some of our country’s most important cultural treasures, including abundant rock art, archeological sites, and lands considered sacred by Native American tribes. Today’s actions will help protect this cultural legacy and will ensure that future generations are able to enjoy and appreciate these scenic and historic landscapes. Importantly, today I have also established a Bears Ears Commission to ensure that tribal expertise and traditional knowledge help inform the management of the Bears Ears National Monument and help us to best care for its remarkable national treasures.

Following years of public input and various proposals to protect both of these areas, including legislation and a proposal from tribal governments in and around Utah, these monuments will protect places that a wide range of stakeholders all agree are worthy of protection. We also have worked to ensure that tribes and local communities can continue to access and benefit from these lands for generations to come.

Trump's Fake Protection Proclamation 

“My main concern with monuments to make sure public access is protected, and that hunting and fishing rights are intact. Bears Ears is 1.5 million acres. Is that size the smallest area necessary? What does the local community think?” - Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke

My Promise Stands

If like-minded individuals, including a significant number of the 18-40 year old crowd will fight the Trump Administration and his supporters like the entire Idaho Congressional Delegation over our public lands, I will publicly stand with you. But I won't stand alone.


This story was originally published on December 6, 2017.

Thanks,





Tim Bondy
Freelance Writer & Citizen Journalist

I am currently a proud citizen journalist, aka, "enemy of the American People!"

We Already Share and Use Our Public Lands

Last edited on March 16, 2017

At least two Idaho state legislative representatives are quite excited about the prospects of getting their hands on some, most or all 32 million acres of the federally owned lands in our state. This public lands take-over wet dream is also shared by the right wing conservative majority in other western states with Utah politicians being the most vocal. Locally, Representatives Megan Blanksma and Christie Zito are the noise makers.

The fence between cleaner and pooh-strewn on our public lands of Idaho

Photo Details:
Geographic Coordinates: 42.7709056, -116.298325
Date: March 15, 2016 at 3:48 P.M.
Owyhee County, Idaho.
Land Ownership: The people of the USA.
Photographer: Tim Bondy from Tim Bondy - Freelance Writer

In May 2016, Megan Blanksma and Christie Zito, then legislative district 32 candidates extolled their vision of how great it would be if we could more readily share our public lands with corporations and/or allowed the state of Idaho to "manage" all those lands. We already know Idaho is better known for selling their state lands than properly managing them.

The word "Manage" as used by Blanksma means "being in charge of" instead of  the other definition, "help in the administration of our public lands for all people."

Sharing Already - The Proof Is On The Land
On March 15, 2017, I went on a hike that started on Mud Flat Road in the Owyhee Mountains of southwestern Idaho. The cross-country hike took me up to Peak 5356 and back again. The first half of the hike was on the State of Idaho lands and likely some federally owned BLM grazing allotments also.

During the state and grazing allotment portion of the hike, I shared the land with a massive amount of cow patties. This is quite normal in this portion of the Owyhees. The fence and the lands seen beyond in the above photograph were conspicuously free of the shared cow patty environment.

Once I crawled under that fence, there was no more empty cans, junk or trash. Around the peak however, there were some old cow patties. I suspect these were from cows that migrated up to this area from another grazing allotment to the north and east. So Representative Christie Zito from Idaho Legislative District 23, we are sharing our lands. No more compromise required ... okay?

Finding Nemo the Cow Patty out in the desert is easy

Management For Corporations
Representative Blanksma from Idaho Legislative District 23 wants Idaho to manage, as in take full control of our federal lands. She has no real plan other than an old bill that Congressman Raul Labrador submitted a few years ago. That bill was just a public lands take-over idea.

The only way Idaho could afford to "manage" our federal lands is by selling off a good chunk of it and agreeing to use that money to manage the lands they grabbed from "We, the People." Remember, Idaho won't even fund education properly and local school district are forced to vote on funding levies every few years just so school buildings can be properly maintained.

Call To Action
I know there are a lot of people living in Idaho who wish to keep public lands public. These people come from all walks of life and use some of the 32 million acres of federally owned lands in many different ways.

There are concerned fishermen, kayakers, hikers, ORV users, motorcyclists, birder, hunters, rockhounders and explorers to name just some of the hobbyists I can think of.  If you use our public lands in a responsible and gentle way, please tell your state and federal elected officials to "Keep Public Lands Public ... now and forever."


Originally published on March 16, 2017.

Thanks,


Tim Bondy Freelance
Writer & Citizen Journalist

I am currently a proud citizen journalist, aka "enemy of the American People!"

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