Posts Tagged ‘USFS’

What’s The Beef, Part Two: How Lawsuits Shape Land Management Policies

Posted: February 3, 2016 by gamegetterII in .gov bullshit, Uncategorized
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Range management is more a result of lawsuit than science…Special interest groups sue the land management agencies and they agree to settle on terms that do not benefit the general public and are almost never disclosed…

Victor Iverson in Deseret News, January 22, 2016

Sue and Settle

Back in the heyday of clear-cutting, over-grazing, strip-mining, etc, when a generation of passionate environmentalists were inspired by Hayduke and his Monkey Wrench Gang, it seemed that the only way to bring attention to the problems of over-use and degradation of lands was with aggressive, sometimes dangerous, protest actions.  From removing survey stakes and tree spiking to bombings and arson labeled as eco-terrorism, considered one of the greatest threats of terrorism in the United States, environmentalists wanted to be heard.  In desperation to save what they loved, they demanded change in the only ways they felt were left to them.  But then another way was found to effect change in land use policies.

We decided, let’s just sue instead.  It got settled with the Service agreeing to do a wolf study, which led to reintroduction.

That was the moment when we looked at it and said, ‘Wow.’  The environmental movement spent a decade going to meetings and demanding action and getting nothing done.  They were asking powerful people for something from a position of no power.  We realized that we can bypass the officials and sue, and that we can get things done in court.

Kieran Suckling of the Center For Biological Diversity in an interview with High Country News

The use of lawsuits to force the agency overseeing the land or wildlife in question to act has proven to be effective.  And it has been steadily increasing.  When the agency agrees to reach a settlement in these lawsuits, the terms are negotiated behind closed doors, outside of the public’s view, away from the public’s input.  It is referred to as ‘sue and settle.’  Here is a short definition from a report from the US Chamber of Commerce:

Read the whole thing,including embedded links here

 

 

What’s The Beef? Part One: The Anger Over Federal Land Management

Posted: February 3, 2016 by gamegetterII in .gov bullshit, Uncategorized
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The land out here is vast, in some places stretching as far as the eye can see in between homes, towns, any signs of humanity.  It is rugged and dry, and holds a sense of emptiness, of loneliness.  But to the observant wanderer, it is in fact a place full of life, from the twisted juniper trees to the strange-colored lichens spreading over the ground.  One can find traces of the animals that have passed through, coyote scat, rabbit tracks, the remnants of a cougar kill up in a tree, huge bird nests up in the craggy cliff bands.  And, of course, the evidence of people, shotgun shells, broken glass, old appliances, and cows.

People seem to have a habit of taking what they have for granted until threatened with its loss.  It is certainly true when it comes to land use.  We have a long history of over-use, it is evident in any industry that involves using or extracting natural resources.  It begins with discovery, then fortunes are made, and more and more people jump on board, and then, the resource begins to run out.  That is the point at which people either destroy the resource altogether, or take steps to protect and manage it.

It is undeniable that humans impact the environment, our proliferation around the world has clearly changed the land.  It is also undeniable that natural resources are required for our survival.  We need food, water, shelter, just like every species.  And this need, and all the times we’ve allowed it to devolve into excessive over-use of resources, along with the desire to protect what we don’t want to lose, has left us with a decades-old, emotional, sometimes violent debate.

Once again, this debate has exploded out of its usual confines of rural America and into the national spotlight with the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife refuge in Harney County.  Ignoring the very basic fact that nature seeks balance, the media is frantically fueling the polarizing rhetoric.  Either you are an angry, spoiled white guy with lots of guns attempting to grab all of the public land, or you are against the occupation and want the spoiled white guys arrested, maybe even bombed with drones.  Few seem willing to pause long enough in the argument to really listen to each other.  Just what is the beef with Federal land management?

The situation in Harney County presents a good starting place to look at this question because there is a long history of problems there.  Anyone who has paid any attention to the story of the refuge occupation knows that it began with a protest rally in support of Dwight and Steven Hammond, who were sentenced for arson under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act for starting two fires on their land that spread to BLM land, burning a total of 140 acres.  The group occupying the refuge want the Hammonds freed from prison, among other things.  The Hammonds’ battle with the BLM has been going on for decades, long before they lit the two fires that got them branded as terrorist arsons.  And they aren’t alone.

Read the whole thing,including embedded links here

What’s Really Going on With the BLM in the West

Posted: January 20, 2016 by gamegetterII in .gov bullshit, Uncategorized
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The single most important thing you need to understand about the BLM,EPA,USFS,and USFWS is the reason they are pushing ranchers,loggers,farmers,and individuals off of land that’s often been in the families for generations.

The whole clusterfuck is the fault of the environmental-emphasis on the mental-movement,and the endless stream of lawsuits filed against the USFWS,BLM,USFS,and the EPA.

These lawsuits not only cost hundreds of millions,if not billions of taxpayer dollars-the lawyers from groups like the Center for Biological Diversity-many,many more lawyers than biologists-earn a living from these lawsuits.

Groups like The Center for Biological Diversity,Wild Earth Guardians ,Natural Resources Defense Council to name a few of the major serial lawsuit filers,sue and then settle for whichever agency they sued setting aside even more land that is restricted from most or all human activity.

Most of these groups file their suits by abusing the endangered species act-which by the way must go-it’s time to get rid of it to stop this abuse.

Think back to the northern spotted owl,and the 70’s eco-freaks spiking trees,maiming loggers for life,chaining themselves to trees and/or equipment.

They got almost all logging stopped on USFS lands throughout the intermountain west,and the Pacific NW by abusing the ESA.

After all the drama and bullshit-logging was NEVER a danger to the northern spotted owl-a larger,more aggressive species of owl had displaced the spotted owl.

No apologies to the loggers out of a job-or maimed for life when their chainsaws hit a spike in a tree-there was no anti-kickback feature on chainsaws,or cut proof chaps, helmets with face shields back then-if the saw kicked back and hit your arm,leg,head,face,wherever-you got seriously effed up.

None of the people or groups involved ever admitted they were wrong either.

One of the worst abusers of the ESA,and most prolific filers of lawsuits is The Center for Biological Diversity.

They’re who got all the Nevada land around the Bundy ranch closed to grazing to protect the “endangered” desert tortoise-the same tortoise that the USFWS was euthanizing at a tortoise “sanctuary”in the same part of Nevada.

The very same Center for Biological Diversity that sued the EPA in an attempt to ban ALL lead ammo-using junk science,and made up bullshit.

The very same Center for Biological Diversity that passes out condoms with picture of “endangered species”-because they hate humans.

The very same Center for Biological Diversity that got farmers banned from drawing irrigation water from the San Joaquin/Sacremento river delta due to the presence of a 3″ fish-the delta smelt

The very same Center for Biological Diversity that sued for continued ESA protection for the gray wolf-long after the wolf reintroduction fiasco had reached the goal of 300 wolves,or 30 breeding pairs,which caused a decade long legal battle,and took an act of congress to get the gray wolf removed from  ESA protection. Immediately after that loss,the CBD filed for ESA protection for gray wolves in the great lakes area,and the Mexican gray wolf in NM and AZ.

The wolf lawsuits…all 10 pages worth.

There’s another 3″ fish,the Santa Ana sucker,that the CBD filed and won lawsuits over granting ESA protections,and preventing nearly a million people from drawing residential drinking water from an existing reservoir.

The very same Center for Biological Diversity who’s metrosexual members showed up in Burns Oregon,and at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge

Is everyone starting to get the picture? CBD et-al file a blizzard of lawsuits in fed court-mostly in the 9th circus,against USFWS,USFS,EPA,BLM.

USFWS delcares whatever toad,frog,lizard,tortoise,mouse,rat,snake,bird,or fish is the “endangered species” of the day,week,month,year,or decade must have ESA protections and closes off millions of acres of “public” land to everyone except for the enviro-nazis and the few humans who  only want to go hiking and take pictures  are allowed-along with biologists “studying” the supposedly endangered species-so they can file yet another lawsuit falsely claiming the need for continued ESA protection-like they did with the gray wolf in the northern Rockies-as the wolf population swelled to 10 times the goal for removal from ESA protection.

This scam is played out over and over and over-and each time,more “public” land is closed to the public,and more families lose their land,more loggers,ranchers and farmers lose their jobs.

The Center for Biological Diversity is only one of more than two dozen such groups comprised of enviro and/or animal “rights” whackos who continuously file lawsuits in fed.court.

This shit has been going on for over 35 years now-since the first “earth day” in 1970-close to 4 decades of environmental and animal “rights” whackos dictating public lands policies via lawsuits abusing the Endangered Species Act.

This is why sawmills closed,loggers are unemployed,ranchers and farmers and anyone else in the way of the feds settling of enviro-nazi lawsuits is being pushed off of their land.

Those who refuse to sell are treated like the Hammonds were/are being treated.