The massive federal land holdings in the western United States continue to irritate many folks living west of the 100th Meridian. According to Holly Fretwell of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and Montana State University, nearly half of the western states is owned by the federal government including over 60 percent of Alaska and approximately 80 percent of Nevada.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service (NPS) are the federal agencies controlling these lands.
With the federal estate comes the Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with its lengthy and contentious Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, and a host of other laws designed to limit development by means of wilderness or monuments designations, the latter by presidential fiat. These statutes effectively restrict economic activities, especially on BLM and USFS lands which, by law, are supposed to be “multiple use” lands allowing for mining, oil and gas development, forestry, ski resorts as well as recreational activities. ESA and NEPA create de facto and de jure obstacles to economic interests that are not applicable to state lands.
http://spectator.org/articles/62466/earth-day-2015-federal-lands-edition
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service (NPS) are the federal agencies controlling these lands.
With the federal estate comes the Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with its lengthy and contentious Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, and a host of other laws designed to limit development by means of wilderness or monuments designations, the latter by presidential fiat. These statutes effectively restrict economic activities, especially on BLM and USFS lands which, by law, are supposed to be “multiple use” lands allowing for mining, oil and gas development, forestry, ski resorts as well as recreational activities. ESA and NEPA create de facto and de jure obstacles to economic interests that are not applicable to state lands.
http://spectator.org/articles/62466/earth-day-2015-federal-lands-edition
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