Ridge
Public Lands Policy
Stoner Pond
The Origin and Impact of the Adirondack Northway
"The 175 mile-long Northway between Albany and Montreal, which Governor Nelson Rockefeller officially declared completed ten years later, brought that world much closer."
"For practical as well as political reasons, the last stretch to be completed was the piece that crossed the Forest Preserve between Ausable Chasm and Lake George, an accomplishment possible only after the passage of a constitutional referendum allowing the condemnation of 254 acres."
"As a newspaper editor, my father supported the constitutional amendment, arguing “We need trunk line highways connecting our communities with the great population areas to the north and south.”
"Roger Tubby, the publisher of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, led a committee organized to secure passage of the proposition."
State chided, overruled on disputed Adirondack road closing
If the state just followed the law in closing the road, it would have made their lives much easier.
Cougars Officially Declared Extinct in Eastern U.S., Removed from Endangered Species List
"Eastern cougars once roamed every U.S. state east of the Mississippi, but it has been eight decades since the last confirmed sighting of the animal. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has officially declared the subspecies extinct and removed it from the U.S. endangered species list."
"The decision, announced Monday, is the result of years of deliberation. The agency conducted an extensive review of the eastern cougar in 2011, and recommended it be removed from the endangered and threatened species list in 2015, Reuters reported. The species, also known as pumas, are the genetic cousins of mountain lions in the Western United States and of Florida panthers, which are now found only in the Everglades."
Could drilling rigs pop up in Bears Ears National Monument in Utah?
There has previously been some drilling inside the monument but the last well stopped producing in 1992. Now, there are dozens of old, abandoned oil and gas wells still there. But Ruple is skeptical that drilling could start back up in any serious way.
“That area is just too inaccessible. The oil and gas potential is very low and the cost of getting any product out to a refinery and to market would be very high,” Ruple said.
President Trump and Secretary Zinke Announce Modification to Utah Monuments, Resulting in 5 Unique National Monument Units Totaling More Than 1.2 Million Acres
I worry that too much of the public lands are being locked up as wilderness -- land of no uses. Wilderness area not only restrict mineral use, they also restrict public recreational uses, and often are poorly funded and maintained with no dedicated revenue source. Timber, oil, gas, coal and cattle pay for roads, trails, campsites and recreational uses of land. Trees that are harvested are replanted, coal fields are filled by in and re-planted, oil and gas wells are capped and returned to public use. Cows properly fenced in and herd numbers controlled can maintain proper grass lands. Heck, in Allegheny National Forest, many of the best free campsites are former oil and gas wells. It's not fair to compare land management of 50, much less 120 years ago to what is done today, with much better science and laws. The science on how to properly control graze a land or harvest timber in 1900 wasn't what it is 2017. To the layman, land management may not be easy to understand, especially right after a timber harvest or mineral extraction activity. You have to come back in a few years once the ecosystem is rehabilitated.
If you want free use of public lands, you have to allow for timber and mineral sales. Otherwise, they are going to have higher and higher admission prices, especially as public subsidies aren't guaranteed.