This is the third installment of a three-part series on the National Wilderness Preservation System. Part 3 demands a rededication to wilderness for the benefit of this and future generations.

The Bundy band represents both an existential threat and an existential opportunity for America’s public lands. This is the fourth of four Public Lands Blog posts that examine the government mishandling of the Bundys, the Bundys’ legal troubles, the Bundys’ legal troublemaking, and the opportunities for the conservation community to apply political jujitsu on Bundy et al. to advance the conservation of America’s public lands

The Bundy band represents both an existential threat and an existential opportunity for America’s public lands. This is the third of four Public Lands Blog posts that examine the government mishandling of the Bundys, the Bundys’ legal troubles, the Bundys’ legal troublemaking, and the opportunities for the conservation community to apply political jujitsu on Bundy et al. to advance the conservation of America’s public lands.

While federal public land grazing permittees don’t have a property right associated with such grazing, they do have a property interest. Federal grazing permits have monetary value in that they are associated with particular ranches (“base properties”). The IRS taxes capital gains in the value of permits attached to ranch properties when they are sold.