Protect Public Lands: Get Informed, Spread the Word.
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Sources and Resources to Protect Wilderness and Public Lands
There is a recent movement to move public lands ownership from the Federal Government to the States. The intent is to actually privatize much of that land. What was once a fringe issue actually became part of the Republican Platform and is being advanced, in particular, by Utah politicians. They are getting significant push back from a variety of sources. See Chouinard and Metcalf's editorials below but, also, the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
This issue could easily get lost in the current craziness. We who love the outdoors need to keep that from happening. We urge everyone to get informed and then use your social media influence to help get the word out. We'll try and use our mailing list to keep folks informed. You can join that in the upper left of the page.
Full resource kit below: click underlined topics for complete list.
Highlights
- The Oil And Gas Industry's Latest Scheme Would All But Privatize Public Lands. The latest oil company scam: "Corruption in its most raw and cynical form."
- Awash In Dark Money, A Western Think Tank Is Leading The Charge Against The Antiquities Act
- In The Withdrawal From The Paris Climate Agreement, The Koch Brothers’ Campaign Becomes Overt
- Shrink at least 4 national monuments and modify a half-dozen others, Zinke tells Trump
- THIS LAND WAS YOUR LAND: Why the battle over public lands is one sportsmen must win
- Outdoor Retailer, Largest U.S. Tradeshow For Outdoor Community, Chooses Denver For All Shows Beginning January 2018. Exit Utah in protest.
- Patagonia's Save Our Public Lands page is a good resource for activists. See the Activist Organizations below for more options.
Click underlined topics to get more details.
Activist Organizations...
- Wilderness Society has a subsection of their website, Our Wild, that outlines their efforts. They also cover the Utah Revolt in a Medium.com piece: Outdoor brands stand up for Our Wild, send open-letter to Drumpf. We stand with them.
- Backcountry Hunters & Anglers: "Now, more than ever before, we need wild lands: places to rekindle the fire at the heart of the human soul. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is a nonpartisan group of sportsmen and -women who are standing up for these places and for the outdoor opportunities they represent."
- Southern Utah Wildeness Alliance.
- Outdoor Alliance has a site, Protect Our Public Lands and a great video.
- Trust for Public Land has information on their home page and a special landing page for this issue.
- Center for Western Priorities. New to me before yesterday. They say "The Center for Western Priorities is a nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization that serves as a source of accurate information, promotes responsible policies and practices, and ensures accountability at all levels to protect land, water, and communities in the American West." Emphasis mine; sounds promising. As far as I can tell, they're primarily pro-fact and anti-bullshit.
- The National Wildlife Federation has a resource page.
- Climate Solutions Caucus. A bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives that adheres to a “Noah’s Ark” membership scheme; for every new Democrat to join the caucus, a Republican must join alongside them (and vice-versa).
- See also: Membership of Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus Has More than Doubled 3/17/17
History...
It's ironic that one of the things targeted in this play for public land is the Antiquities Act of 1906, one of Teddy Roosevelt's signature accomplishments. This recent attack on public lands is a weird turn.
Background and coverage - Pacific Standard's Jimmy Tobias...
- 8/28/17 - Of Course Ryan Zinke Wants To Shrink Our National Monuments
- 7/13/17- Utah'S Anti-Conservation Crusade Is About To Become Very Costly
- 6/15/17 - Will Trump Try To Sink Sage Grouse Conservation?
- 6/14/17 - The Unprecedented Dismantling Of A National Monument
- 5/22/17 - Another Loss For The Land-Grab Campaign
- 5/11/17 - Awash In Dark Money, A Western Think Tank Is Leading The Charge Against The Antiquities Act
- 4/24/17 - Public Lands In Populist Times: An Interview With Representative Raúl Grijalva
- 3/20/17 - The Corporate Money Behind Our Country’s Anti-Public-Lands Politicians
- 3/9/17 - House Republicans Want to Use Taxpayer Money to Help Steal Public Lands
- 1/24/17 - If You Support Public Lands, Steer Clear of Utah - Democrats and Salt Lake City business owners react to Outdoor Retailer show leaving
- 12/7/16 - Public Lands, a Safeguard Against Authoritarians, Are More Important Than Ever
- 11/28/16 - The Big Oil Allies and Beltway Insiders Leading Drumpf’s Department of the Interior — and How to Resist Them
- >> good summary >> 8/22/16 - An Inside Look at Utah’s Land Grab Legal Scheme
- 7/28/16 - In Cleveland, the Conservative Movement Turned Its Back on Conservation
Background and coverage - other...
- Washington Post -9/17/17- Shrink at least 4 national monuments and modify a half-dozen others, Zinke tells Trump
- The Guardian - Series Header: The Land is Your Land
- > for example - 6/6/17- The Land is Your Land: In Montana, land transfer threatens the American rancher's way of life
- Field and Stream - 4/28/17- THIS LAND WAS YOUR LAND: Why the battle over public lands is one sportsmen must win
- Outside Magazine Online - 3/2/17- 3 Ways the Outdoor Industry Can Save the Planet
- Salt Lake Tribune -2/21/17 - When Outdoor Retailer left, Salt Lake City also lost chance to host cycling convention
- Fox13 SLC - 2/21/17 - Democrats and Salt Lake City business owners react to Outdoor Retailer show leaving
- >> at this point the story has broken into mainstream media so I won't try and be complete. Stories are posted and cross-posted creating too much noise
- Outside Magazine Online - 2/8/17 - Moving Outdoor Retailer Isn't About Politics. It's About Money.
- The Guardian - 2/2/17 - Republicans back off bill to sell 3.3m acres of public land after outcry
- Men's Journal - undated - Public Land For Sale! Here Are Some of the 3.3 Million Acres Being Eyed for "Disposal"
- The Guardian - 1/24/17 - Congress moves to give away national lands, discounting billions in revenue
- From the Center for Western Priorities on Medium - 1/24/17 - Far from a “war on oil and gas,” companies thrived on public lands under President Obama: the Drumpf Administration’s plans to undermine common-sense safeguards will harm taxpayers and communities
Boycotting Utah: The Utah Revolt...
- 07/05/17Pacific Standard - Popular Trade Show, Outdoor Retailer, To Set Up Shop In Denver
- 02/18/17The Salt Lake Tribune - When Outdoor Retailer left, Salt Lake City also lost chance to host cycling convention
- 02/16/17OIA Website - Outdoor Industry, Governor Herbert Disagree On Public Lands Protections, Utah’S Recreation Economy (OR leaves UT)
- 02/13/17 Transworld Business - REI and The North Face among companies pledging to remain at Outdoor Retailer
- 02/09/17 Gear Junkie - Following Patagonia, Arc’teryx Drops Outdoor Retailer
- 02/08/17 Peak Designs - A Leader Worth Following. Various companies issued press releases as to why or why they weren't following Patagonia. This one is distinquished by the quality of the comments section that follows the blog post. Worth reading.
- 02/08/17 Outdoor Industry Association: Together We Are a Force – The Outdoor Industry Must Unite and Fight for Public Lands
- 02/08/17 Arc'teryx: Arc’teryx Withdraws from Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City
- 02/07/17 Patagonia: PATAGONIA TO WITHDRAW FROM OUTDOOR RETAILER IN RESPONSE TO GOV. HERBERT’S DECISION TO RESCIND BEARS EARS PROTECTION
- 01/??/17 Outdoor Industry Association: An Open Letter: Together We Can Defend Our Public Lands
- 01/11/17 Yvon Chouinard: The Outdoor Industry Loves Utah; Does Utah Love the Outdoor Industry?
- 01/10/17 Peter Metcalf in the Salt Lake Tribune: Op-ed: Time for Outdoor Retailers to leave Utah and its anti-recreation politics
Outdoor Industry Association policy posts...
- I find the OIU Weekly Newsletter quite helpful. There's a subscription blank at the bottom of this page (though the page loads funky).
- 4/24/17 - Ninety-Seven Percent Of Americans Agree: Monuments Matter
- 4/24/17 - Zinke Recommends Reduction, Possible Breaking Apart Of Bears Ears
- 4/24/17 - Turning Climate Rhetoric Into Political Action
- 4/24/17 - Together We Are A Force: Oia, Outdoor Alliance And Conservation Alliance
- 4/24/17 - Ruckus? Raucous? Caucus. Outdoor Recreation finds its voice in Congress.
- 4/5/17 - Policy Blog: How States Can Drive Federal Climate Policy
- 3/1/17 - Zinke Confirmed as Interior Secretary
- >> note that OIA has started putting out a weekly bulletin. You can subscribe. I'm not going to list every post, only benchmark news.
- 2/16/17 - Outdoor Industry, Governor Herbert Disagree on Public Lands Protections, Utah’s Recreation Economy
- 2/15/17 - Podcast: #ShowUpBeHeard - Interview with OIA Executive Director, Amy Roberts. How divided are the the different companies in OR on strategy and tactics?
- 1/31/17 - 4 Reasons To Be Optimistic About the Zinke Nomination
- 12/14/16 - Policy Blog: Drumpf Taps Zinke for Interior Post : “We congratulate Representative Zinke... He shares the industry’s values specific to the importance of access to and funding for America’s public lands and waters.... We look forward to a collaborative relationship and constructive dialogue with him, but we will also be ready to defend the protection of our shared lands and waters–our American heritage–should they be threatened.”
- Oct 2016 - 20 Must-Win Congressional Races
If we're missing something let us know via the contact form.
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05/22/19
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