Malheur County Federal Land Legislation Take 4, Part 2: The Ugly, the Missing, and the Alternative

July 24, 2023 in 30x30, Administration, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Counties & Federal Lands, Federal Lands, Legislation, Livestock Grazing, Nat'l Conservation Lands

If the recommended critical tweaks are made to remove the ugly parts (grazing “rights” and further exaltation of livestock grazing in wilderness areas) of S.1890, the Senate and the House of Representatives should pass the bill and the president should sign it into law.

Malheur County Federal Land Legislation Take 4, Part 1: The Good, the Whatever, and the Bad

July 24, 2023 in 30x30, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Counties & Federal Lands, Deserts, Federal Lands, Legislation, Livestock Grazing, Other Federal Agencies, Wilderness

With a few critical tweaks, Senator Wyden’s legislation could be a net gain for the conservation of nature for the benefit of this and future generations. Without those tweaks, the bill as drafted is an existential threat to the conservation of federal public lands and should not be enacted into law.

Senator Wyden’s Owyhee Wilderness, and More, Legislation

October 03, 2022 in 30x30, Congress, Bureau of Land Management, Livestock Grazing, National Monuments, Wilderness

third try may be the charm in Senator Wyden’s long effort to enact public lands legislation to conserve wildlands in the Owyhee and lower Malheur Basins in Oregon.

L’Affaire Malheur, Part 2: Backstory and Analysis

January 17, 2020 in Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Counties & Federal Lands, Livestock Grazing, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Wilderness

Malheur means adversity, misfortunate, and/or tragedy, and I believe Senator Ron Wyden’s proposed Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act (S.2828) can indeed be characterized as such.

L’Affaire Malheur, Part 1: The Proposed Legislation

January 10, 2020 in Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Livestock Grazing, Bureau of Land Management

Malheur is the French word for adversity, misfortune, and/or tragedy. It is also, among other things, a name for a county in Oregon, a national forest, a national wildlife refuge, and a river. Senator Ron Wyden’s proposed Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act is indeed a misfortune and a tragedy.

Owyhee Canyonlands: Faux Conservation and Pork Barrel Development

August 11, 2017 in Antiquities Act, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, National Monuments, National Park System

The Owyhee Canyonlands in Oregon are worthy of inclusion in the National Park System, administered by the National Park Service. Now that would be local economic development! The Owyhee Canyonlands are worthy of designation by Congress as an overarching national conservation area with underlying wilderness and wild and scenic rivers where appropriate. The Owyhee Canyonlands are not deserving of a half-assed mineral withdrawal that locks in other harmful uses.

National Monuments: Long-Term National Versus Short-Term Local Interests

December 09, 2016 in National Monuments, Presidents

The people of Boston might make more money chopping up Old Ironsides into souvenirs and leasing out the space on the water to a floating casino, but they can’t. The oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy doesn’t belong to them alone. The people of Washington DC might make more money if the National Mall were converted to condominiums, but they can’t. The nation’s lawn doesn’t belong to them alone.

Nor do the nation’s federal public lands belong to locals alone.