Land policy doc unveiled, criticized

A draft policy that, in part, defends logging interests and easy federal land access is making its way through the hierarchy of Tuolumne County government. It will likely be several weeks before the 80-plus page document — the Tuolumne County Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Federal and State Lands and Regulated Resources — makes its way to the Board of Supervisors, but the policy already has its critics. Environmentalists say it’s nothing more than a way for some to move their pro-development agenda forward and weaken environmental regulations. Supervisor Teri Murrison, who is spearheading the effort to get the policy on the books, didn’t dispute that critique. “It’s not intended to represent environmental interests,” Murrison said of the document. “Environmental interests are already represented by a host of legal statutes and activists.” In Murrison’s view, local interests need to be defended from federal and state regulators, whose actions, she says, hurt the local economy. She sees local interests being convenient access to federal lands for sportsmen — like horseback and ATV riders — and a ready-supply of trees and grazing land to keep the local timber industry, ranching community and tax base thriving...read more