Federal Overreach: Making the West Wild and Lawless Again
May 2024
Counties Group Seeks to Rein In Forest Service
The Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties submitted scoping comments focusing on the harm that will occur to the forest ecosystems and resident species under the proposed Mature and Old Growth rule. The Coalition pointed out that that the Forest Service rule would violate federal law and the agency’s own regulations.
The Coalition also asked Congress to:
Key GOP lawmakers demand Biden administration explain ‘old growth’ forest management plan definition that exceeds legal authority, conflicts with the multiple use mandate, undermines forest health, and increases wildfire risk
‘Clean Fuels’ Legislation and Regulation are Money-Making Scams
An op/ed questioning the enactment of clean transportation fuels points to billionaires pushing policies and legislation designed to increase their wealth and increase command and control centralized government. These one-size-fits-all rules mandate what kind of fuels we use for transportation, cooking, heating, and food production. While these rules increase consumer costs, they enrich proponents through government subsidies and carbon trading fraudulent schemes.
‘Wild and Scenic’ Designations Sound Great, But Crush Property Rights and Resource Use
Wild and Scenic River designations have created restrictions on private property and water right uses. These designations have adversely affected mining, timber harvest, recreation and livestock use, and other resource uses on federal lands.
Wild and scenic river designations do not increase protections for stream segments. All free-flowing streams and rivers are already under state administered Clean Water Act protections. What really occurs is the authority over the designated areas shifts from private property owners to government agencies through management plans.
National Monument Designations Squeeze the Life Out of Areas They Lock Up
The Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties passed the nearby resolution opposing the designation of the Mimbres Mountains National Monument in Luna County, New Mexico. Residents requested the coalition join with local governments, farmers, ranchers, miners, and outdoor enthusiasts in opposition to the designation.
The 245,000-acre monument is being pushed by special interest groups and politicians from outside of the area. Opponents point to the 30 x 30 agenda as one of the driving forces behind the nationwide proliferation of monument designations.
The Coalition’s opposition resolution was transmitted to all members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation.
The Coalition also notes:
May 2024
Counties Group Seeks to Rein In Forest Service
The Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties submitted scoping comments focusing on the harm that will occur to the forest ecosystems and resident species under the proposed Mature and Old Growth rule. The Coalition pointed out that that the Forest Service rule would violate federal law and the agency’s own regulations.
The Coalition also asked Congress to:
- Demand that the Forest Service coordinate, cooperate and consult with affected local governments for land planning, proposed significant actions and rule changes.
- Ask the Forest Service and BLM to explain their blatant disregard of their statutory authorities and Congressional direction for forest and federal land management.
- Strengthen the direction in the Healthy Forest Restoration Act for expediting timber harvesting and reducing fire, insect, and disease threats.
- Examine the Forest Planning Rules that require returning forest to “pre-settlement conditions.” Also that forest plans are no longer required to set tree harvest targets and provisions for other resource uses.
- Repeal the climate change language in Title XXIV of S.2830 - Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990.
Key GOP lawmakers demand Biden administration explain ‘old growth’ forest management plan definition that exceeds legal authority, conflicts with the multiple use mandate, undermines forest health, and increases wildfire risk
‘Clean Fuels’ Legislation and Regulation are Money-Making Scams
An op/ed questioning the enactment of clean transportation fuels points to billionaires pushing policies and legislation designed to increase their wealth and increase command and control centralized government. These one-size-fits-all rules mandate what kind of fuels we use for transportation, cooking, heating, and food production. While these rules increase consumer costs, they enrich proponents through government subsidies and carbon trading fraudulent schemes.
‘Wild and Scenic’ Designations Sound Great, But Crush Property Rights and Resource Use
Wild and Scenic River designations have created restrictions on private property and water right uses. These designations have adversely affected mining, timber harvest, recreation and livestock use, and other resource uses on federal lands.
Wild and scenic river designations do not increase protections for stream segments. All free-flowing streams and rivers are already under state administered Clean Water Act protections. What really occurs is the authority over the designated areas shifts from private property owners to government agencies through management plans.
National Monument Designations Squeeze the Life Out of Areas They Lock Up
The Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties passed the nearby resolution opposing the designation of the Mimbres Mountains National Monument in Luna County, New Mexico. Residents requested the coalition join with local governments, farmers, ranchers, miners, and outdoor enthusiasts in opposition to the designation.
The 245,000-acre monument is being pushed by special interest groups and politicians from outside of the area. Opponents point to the 30 x 30 agenda as one of the driving forces behind the nationwide proliferation of monument designations.
The Coalition’s opposition resolution was transmitted to all members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation.
The Coalition also notes:
- All special use designations of federal lands invariably result in a reduction of grazing and other resource uses.
- Designations are about locking up lands and have nothing to do with the environment or protections of cultural lands.
| opposition_to_mimbres_peaks_national_monument2.docx |
Another Federal Land Lock-Up At a Glance
The BLM Draft Environmental Impact Statement that is out for comment is considering range-wide sage grouse habitat plans that would impose 11 million acres of areas of critical environmental concern (ACEC) across 10 states. As shown below, alternatives considered by BLM are outlandish and should never have been included into an alternative for consideration.
"Alternative 3 includes the most restrictive measures to protect and preserve greater sage grouse and its habitat. . . All habitat management areas would be managed as Primary Habitat Management Area (PHMA). The BLM would close PHMA to new fluid mineral leasing, saleable minerals/mineral materials permits and nonenergy leasable minerals leasing (development associated with existing permits and leases would not be precluded). PHMA would be recommended for withdrawal from location and entry under the Mining Law of 1872 and would be unavailable for livestock grazing." (DEIS P. ES-4)
The purple in the Map below represents Priority Sage Grouse Habitat in alternative 3 which under the alternative if preferred would exclude livestock grazing.
EPA Threatens Locally Produced Beef
EPA has proposed Clean Water Act Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products (MPP) Point Source Category rule which seeks to massively extend EPA’s regulatory reach to indirect discharge facilities. This flies in the face of the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Sacket v. EPA case by extending its regulatory reach from around 150 MPP facilities to several thousand facilities which do not directly discharge into navigable waters.
Landmark Resource Firm developed comments for Kansas Natural Resource Coalition opposing this rule, and was joined by American Stewards of Liberty, Utah, Montana, New Mexico, and Arizona counties. These comments were provided two weeks in advance at the request of the Kansas Attorney General who drafted comments with 26 State AGs signing on. Dr. Robert Malone published an article on his substack in April citing KNRC work and criticizing EPA’s efforts to extend its reach.
Do You Detect a Pattern Here?
Connect the dots with the stories above and what do you get?
Biden administration locking up precious metals through national monument designations and proposed ‘Public Lands Rule’ which would make it easier to close lands to mining
Lawmakers from Western states accuse Biden administration of pursuing radical resource management plans that will devastate energy production, power lines, pipelines, and roads
Environmentalists working to sidestep Supreme Court ruling limiting Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation
https://gregwalcher.com/2024/03/01/using-a-different-tool-to-control-water/
The ‘Corner Crossing’ problem is bigger than it sounds: “If not reversed, the Wyoming federal district’s court ruling will result in an unprecedented and massive taking of private property for public use without just compensation, contrary not only to the will of the 37th Congress but also antagonistic to the U.S. Constitution and the vision of the founders themselves. It was those men, after all, who recognized property rights as the foundation of American dynamism and wealth creation and as the sole guarantor of individual rights, personal independence, and liberty itself.”