Goodbye to our public lands?
February 13th, 2006
President Bush’s budget proposal calls for raising more than $1 billion over five years by selling off public lands deemed to have little scenic, recreational or resource value [...]
In surely one of the most obscene gestures of this Administration, the current budget proposal calls for selling off hundreds of thousands of acres of public land. Oh, and just to make sure that this vast privatization scheme passes the smell test, the money raised will go to… schools. Public land versus schools? Well, shoot!
We always knew that Bush et al were spending so freely so that they could defund social programs in the future. But, boy, a stroke of genius on their part: now, with massive deficits, they can justify vast privatization as a means to raise money.
Bush et al argue that these lands are less than 1% of the total land owned by the public. Hm. That is specious: indeed, if in 1 year they can sell hundreds of thousands of acres, well, in just a few years that “less than 1%” can add up to a significant chunk. After all, this Administration operates in a “foot in the door” fashion… they seek a “temporary” measure, such as tax cuts or the Patriot Act, and then year after year assume it is permanent. It might be less than 1% this year… but just wait till next year.
They also argue that these lands are “isolated” and have little value (note in the above quote that the target lands are deemed to have little “scenic, recreational, or resource value”… no mention of environmental). Let’s dig a little deeper on this one (on the few published maps showing where the sales will occur):
This sale in Oregon’s Ochocho forest demonstrates that the parcels sold are often not “isolated”. Here, we witness a chunk of the forest literally being hacked off. And, again, while the targeted lands above (in red) might not seem like much… just imagine if such sales become the norm for funding schools. How long can these forest withstand year-after-year cuts?
And, remember, some national forests are totally fragemented (due to a legacy of land give-aways in the past). In those cases, the Administration appears to just give away the entire forest.
We can only hope that this blatant privatization scheme fails.
In the coming weeks, as more ways to fight this become available, I will post them here…
Update: How much land will your state lose?
ACTION ALERT: Tell your members of congress to oppose public land sell-off!
Related posts: For sale: forests in the Gorge, Bend, Tahoe..., Land Auction Update, More on Bush privatization of public lands
8 Comments Add your own
1. Chansenco | February 19th, 2006 at 8:46 pm
Terrifying!
2. Land Use Watch » Pu&hellip | February 19th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
[...] Of course, perhaps the distinction between public and private is increasingly not important. After all, public land is being SOLD and privatized by the Federal government. [...]
3. Land Use Watch » Bu&hellip | February 19th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
[...] Republicans’ obscene “foot-in-the-door” to privatize our public lands gets much worse. [...]
4. Land Use Watch » Mo&hellip | February 20th, 2006 at 1:39 am
[...] The Administration insists that their planned fire sale of 300,000 acres is of “isolated” and “valueless” land. [...]
5. Land Use Watch » Po&hellip | February 23rd, 2006 at 12:01 pm
[...] February 22nd, 2006 Background: In an obscene attempt to privatize our public lands, the Bush administration proposes to auction to the highest bidder “isolated” forestland to pay for rural schools. Hundreds of thousands of acres will be chopped out of Bitterroot National Forest, the Columbia Gorge, and many other national treasures. If this scheme is allowed to proceed, year after year, we can expect our public lands to be sold to make up for the Bush-created national deficit. [...]
6. Land Use Watch » La&hellip | March 1st, 2006 at 3:32 pm
[...] March 1st, 2006 Background: In an obscene attempt to privatize our public lands, the Bush administration proposes to auction to the highest bidder “isolated” forestland to pay for rural schools. Hundreds of thousands of acres will be chopped out of Bitterroot National Forest, the Columbia Gorge, and many other national treasures. If this scheme is allowed to proceed, year after year, we can expect our public lands to be sold to make up for the Bush-created national deficit. [...]
7. Land Use Watch » Fo&hellip | March 2nd, 2006 at 3:26 pm
[...] March 2nd, 2006 Background: In an obscene attempt to privatize our public lands, the Bush administration proposes to auction to the highest bidder “isolated” forestland to pay for rural schools. Hundreds of thousands of acres will be chopped out of Bitterroot National Forest, the Columbia Gorge, and many other national treasures. If this scheme is allowed to proceed, year after year, we can expect our public lands to be sold to make up for the Bush-created national deficit. [...]
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