Public Lands Policy

Trump and the National Monuments

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President Trump’s review of National Monument declarations makes a lot of sense. Prior presidents have designated a lot of our existing public lands as National Monuments with little to no public review or discussion on how public land should be used as part of such monuments.

The Bears Ear National Monument is particularly odious. The former president designated the national monument of 1.4 million acres only days before he left the White House — again with little public discussion on the uses of these lands. These public lands, previously open to a wide variety of uses and management strategies will be forever closed off to many uses.

1.4 million acres is a lot of land for a single person to decide should be forever locked up from most public use, with little public input. The entire Catskill Park — both public and private lands  — is only 700,000 acres, so the Bear Acres National Monument is twice the size of Catskill Park, defined by the whim of an executive who was leaving office with zero input of the public or it’s elected representatives.

Public lands belong to all Americans. The public should have a voice on how it’s governed, and no one man, no matter his or her power, should be able to force future wilderness status upon public lands without thoughtful review. While it’s true that National Monuments are not immediately declared wilderness, they are much like so-called “Primitive” Areas in the Adirondack Park, they will eventually be removed of all “non-compatible” features, and most future development of natural and recreational resources will be prevented.

It’s important that public lands belong the public hands, and that we the public should have a voice in the process of governing the lands. The public should have a voice both in natural resource development on their lands — a valuable source of funding to ensure the maintenance of these lands — and recreational use of the lands. Public lands should provide for the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run. This can’t be determined by the whim of one man in the White House as he’s packing his boxes on his final days.

It’s good that President Trump and his Interior Secretary Zinke has ordered a review of lands designated as National Monuments in the past twenty years, with an eye to modify their administration through an act of Congress. This is the lawful way to proceed. The public and it’s representatives should have a voice in administration of the land it owns, to make sure such public lands are administered for the benefit all Americans.

And going forward, the Antiquities Act should be curtailed to be a temporary, emergency-only power lasting only a few months that protects public lands against abuse until further administrative or congressional action occurs. It’s reasonable to give executive agencies the power to classify public lands and dictate their uses after careful consideration of public comments, but Congress should also have the explicit power to review and overturn their classifications, if the executive agency’s decisions are inconsistent with the public’s will.

Trump signs review of national monuments

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WATCH: Trump signs review of national monuments

Over the last 20 years, Zinke said, tens of millions of acres have been designated as national monuments, limiting their use for farming, timber harvesting, mining and oil and gas exploration, and other commercial uses.

Though “by and large,” Zinke said, he feels the designations have done “a great service to the public,” he said he worries about overuse and overreach.

“I think the concern that I have and the president has is that when you designate a monument, the local community affected should have a voice,” he said.

It’s time to undo the federal land grab of Bears Ears

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It’s time to undo the federal land grab of Bears Ears

"When Obama declared the Bears Ears National Monument, he ignored the years of work that Utah’s congressional delegation spent fighting to pass legislation to protect the region through a fair and open process. He ignored the state legislature and the governor. He ignored the stakeholders and local residents who were striving together to find a workable solution. He ignored the best interests of Utah and cast aside the will of the people — all in favor of a unilateral approach meant to satisfy the demands of far-left interest groups."

"With the stroke of a pen, Obama locked away an astonishing 1.35 million acres, a geographic area larger than the total acreage of all five of Utah’s national parks combined. He did so citing his prerogative under the Antiquities Act — a century-old law intended to give presidents only limited authority to designate special landmarks. Instead of exercising restraint under the act, Obama — and indeed, many of his predecessors — wielded this law as a blunt instrument for executive overreach."

"Understanding the history of the Antiquities Act is key to understanding what happened at Bears Ears. The Antiquities Act was a well-intentioned response to a serious problem: the looting and destruction of cultural and archaeological sites. When applied as intended, the law has been indispensable in preserving our nation’s rich cultural heritage. But the law has been abused by past presidents to advance a radical political agenda — all at the expense of the separation of powers."

NYS GIS Clearinghouse – NYS DEC

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NYS GIS Clearinghouse – NYS DEC

The NYSDEC has posted updated trail, roads, asset (campsite/leanto/parking-area), and land shapefiles as of April 7, 2017. If you do GIS stuff, you may want to update your files. There are some big updates to their files, as the DEC has been doing a lot more GPSing over the past summer into the winter.

Is Wilderness the Best Choice?

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Is Wilderness the Best Choice?

My hope is with the new president, we can have a more balanced policies to our public lands, and not be locking them all up as wilderness.

"People promoting more designated wilderness usually tell us we only have two alternatives, wilderness or unfettered development. Not true! We have an infinite number of alternatives between these extremes. Many laws and regulations protect federal lands, and actions affecting those lands must pass high standards of environmental protection and public review."

"Carefully crafted plans that we help develop assure these lands and the ecosystems they support will be sustained for present and future generations. Management emphasis can vary from leaving the land undeveloped to building roads and harvesting trees. Forest managers have access to a full toolbox of management options that wilderness denies them. They can enhance endangered species’ habitat and actively protect it. They can prescribe and ignite fires needed for fuels management. They can thin dense stands of trees, salvage dead trees and remove barriers to endangered fish. AND THEY CAN MANAGE FOR A VARIETY OF RECREATION EXPERIENCES."