My column addresses
states and federal lands, hauling goods in a monument, Yogi Bear, drones and
EPA poopers
In my May column I wrote New Mexico and other western states had
language in their state constitutions and enabling acts whereby they ceded
control over unappropriated public land to the feds. The language in New Mexico’s constitution
reads, “The people
inhabiting this state do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right
and title to the unappropriated and ungranted public lands lying within the
boundaries thereof…”.
Many,
including myself, had assumed this, along with the inapplicability of the
various Homestead Acts to a desert environment, was the explanation for why
ninety percent of all lands owned by the feds were in the western states. The western states had been discriminated
against because they were required to include the cession language.
It
turns out this is not even close to being correct. Lands were ceded to the feds before there was
even a Constitution.
Recall
that our original colonies were created by grants, some of which read “from sea
to sea”. Those claims were cut off at
the Mississippi River by England
in 1763 when they recognized Spain’s
right to territory in the area west of the river. Of the original thirteen
colonies seven had claims to western lands.
This created friction between those states with land claims and the six
so-called “landless” states, who worried about the size and power the landed
states would bring to any union of states.
Before the landless states would sign on to the Articles of
Confederation they demanded the landed states cede their western lands to the
Confederation.
Between 1780 and
1802 the states of New York, Virginia,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, in that order, ceded a
total of 233 million acres to the feds.
That 233 million acres wound up being in all or parts of ten
states. Yet none of those new states
formed are a “public land” state. For instance,
the feds own less than one percent of Ohio and
only three percent of Kentucky.
Seven of our original states ceded lands to the feds, but those lands were converted to states where the feds have a very limited land ownership. How can this be? I’ll get into the disposal of federal lands next month.
Hauling
in a monument
New Mexico has been “blessed” with two new National Monuments
totaling just under 750,000 acres, so we are paying attention to management
issues associated with that designation.
The Colorado National Monument recently announced
that vehicles containing “hazardous” cargo would be banned from using the route
they have used for decades. “Ranchers and other residents of Glade Park
— a rural community situated on the plateau above CNM — use Monument Road to haul goods, equipment,
hay, fertilizer, livestock, fuel, and other necessities, to and from their
operations” says one publication. In
addition, the decision was made without consulting the residents of Glade Park
nor the relevant county commission.
Welcome to the
world of National Monuments.
Federal wolf is after your sheep
The American
Sheep Industry Association (ASI) tells us that half of all domestic sheep in
the United States
graze on federal lands at least part of the time. The FS and BLM are systematically removing
domestic sheep from grazing allotments in the name of bighorn sheep management
despite the fact there are reasonable solutions to accommodate sheep ranches
says ASI. “In Idaho,
the FS removed 70% of domestic sheep from the Payette National Forest
and one ranch is now out of business and two others reduced their sheep numbers
drastically. Only 10% of FS allotments and 3% of BLM allotments are actually
within occupied bighorn habitat however recent documents indicate the agencies
are expanding the Payette analogy beyond that occupied territory to vast
additional areas through the West. Such expansion of removing sheep grazing
would impact fully 23% of the nation’s sheep production and therefore
jeopardize lamb and wool companies used by all sheep producers.”
Yogi Bear to ban drones
Jonathan Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service has
just issued a policy memorandum that orders the superintendents of national
park areas to prohibit landing, launching or operating drones on federal park
land or water, an area covering 84 million acres. A Park Service spokesman indicated they were
issuing the policy in response to safety concerns, noise complaints and an
incident in which a drone reportedly separated some young bighorn sheep from
the herd. There’s those bighorn sheep
again.
I think we are getting a little closer to the truth when the
spokesman says they designed roads and trails so visitors could enjoy the
park's natural beauty but not impinge on it.
"Now unmanned aircraft let people get into a lot of different
places where we never intended human activity."
That’s close, but I think the Parkies don’t want members of
the public or the media watching them as they go about their daily duties. In other words, they don’t want to be spied
upon.
I know how they feel.
Don’t spit, you may
create a wetland
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have issued a draft rule
that redefines “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act. This is a huge power grab by the federal
agencies. AFBF President Bob Stallman
says the proposal is a serious threat to farmers, rancher and other
landowners. “Under EPA’s proposed rule,
waters — even ditches — are regulated even if they are miles from the nearest
‘navigable’ waters,” Stallman said. “Indeed, so-called ‘waters’ are regulated
even if they aren’t wet most of the time. EPA says its new rule will reduce
uncertainty, and that much seems to be true: there isn’t much uncertainty if
most every feature where water flows or stands after a rainfall is federally
regulated.”
When our Founding Fathers wrote about navigable waters in
our Constitution, I don’t believe they were thinking of toy boats.
EPA employees pooping
in the federal coop
Government Executive magazine reports they’ve obtained an
email from management in Region 8 (Denver) that went to all staff pleading with
them to halt inappropriate bathroom behavior, including defecating in the
hallway. Apparently EPA management was
so concerned about this they consulted with a “national expert” on workplace
violence.
I say what’s the big deal?
EPA has been “pooping” on us for years.
Till
next time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget to check that cinch.
Frank DuBois was the
NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003, is the author of a blog: The
Westerner (www.thewesterner.blogspot.com) and is the founder of The DuBois Rodeo
Scholarship (http://www.nmsu.edu/~duboisrodeo/).
Differing versions of this column appeared in the July editions of the New Mexico Stockman and the Livestock Market Digest.
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