Utah’s lawsuit against the United States is an existential threat to more than 200 million acres of federal public lands.

When political realities come up against ecological realities, the former must be changed because the latter cannot.

Understanding the history of public lands is useful if one is to be the best advocate for the conservation of public lands.

This is the second part of a two-part tribute to Dave Foreman, who recently shuffled off this mortal coil. Part 1 recounted Dave’s contribution to stopping the infamous Bald Mountain Road, a dagger into the heart of the Kalmiopsis wildlands in southwestern Oregon. Part 2 is my take on Dave’s unique contributions to the conservation and restoration of nature.

This is the second of two Public Lands Blog posts that examine the management (and mismanagement) of more than 2 million acres of federal forestlands in western Oregon, administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Part 1 examined the history of rampant clear-cutting of old-growth forests and vast windfalls of revenues to local counties as a result. Part 2 examines the current threats to these public lands from the timber industry and local counties, and the opportunity that could present itself to secure permanent comprehensive congressional conservation of these imperiled lands.

This is the first of two Public Lands Blog posts that examine the management (and mismanagement) of more than 2 million acres of federal forestlands in western Oregon, administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Part 1 examines the history of rampant clear-cutting of old-growth forests and vast windfalls of revenues to local counties as a result. Part 2 will examine the current threats to these public lands from the timber industry and local counties, and the opportunity that could present itself to secure permanent comprehensive congressional conservation of these imperiled lands.

Given the importance to certain local interests of federal public lands owned by all Americans, local interests (often through their local county governments) have come up with creative legal theories as to why they should have control, or at least more control than others. 

America’s public lands are often in need of a good lawyer, and they have one in John Leshy. He has served America’s public lands (and its owners) as an academic, author, and advocate. In his long career, he’s published legal textbooks, written briefs, argued cases, and taught law students, and he was the top lawyer in the U.S. Department of the Interior for almost as long as Bruce Babbitt was secretary of the interior.