JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 5A
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Selling public lands is a kooky idea
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f all the nutty ideas floating around these parts of saying, “The federal government doesn’t care about this late — procuring an aircraft carrier (Wyoming), land.” The presumptive Republican presidential nomipets as wolf bait (Idaho) and Yellowstone bison as nee Mitt Romney “doesn’t know what the purpose is” of bio-terrorists (Montana) — none compare with Utah on our public lands and would just as soon toss them into an the incredulity meter. Etch-A-Sketch. Seems the Beehive State is abuzz about an effort to Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns has even floated the idea of put a fresh coat of paint on a failed old idea: seizing con- selling national parks to private interests. trol of all public lands within its borders other than naClearly, a primer is in order here. tional parks, wilderness areas, military bases and Indian Public lands provide us with clean water, clean air reservations. and essential wildlife habitat. They are where millions Yes, seriously. of Americans go to hunt, fish, hike, camp, ride, run, ski, Alas, unlike the seasonal silliness in Wyoming, Idaho pedal, photograph, explore or simply find solitude in a rapand Montana, this Utah land grab has some idly shrinking world. They provide hundreds of traction. The Utah Legislature passed a bill thousands of jobs and billions in economic imasserting eminent domain over public lands — pact for rural communities. our lands — and the governor signed it, pledgAbove all, they are the embodiment of AmerJeff Welsch ing to sue if Utah doesn’t receive nearly 30 milican freedom and individualism, places where lion acres by 2015. anyone can go regardless of race, creed, color Federal land managers are shrugging off Utah’s chest or stock portfolio. Our 750 million acres of public lands, thumping as little more than election-year bluster. They much of it established more than a century ago by forefaview it as a Tea Party tent revival of the failed Sagebrush thers with wisdom and vision, set our nation apart. Rebellion of the 1970s, and agree with many legal scholars If you think wilderness locks up land, wait until you are that the takeover will be laughed out of court. met by miles of fences, gates, padlocks, corporate signage Yet the very idea should have us quaking in our hik- and corner posts spray painted in ubiquitous bright orange. ing shoes, hunting boots and waders. Ranchers, outfitters, If you think government programs are European-izing this guides and other small-business owners should also be co- nation, wait until you have to pay a premium to hunt or alescing in alarm. fish on lands your grandparents once freely traversed. After all, parallel conversations are taking place across Do the simple math: More people plus less public land the West as politicians plot to mortgage our cultural heri- equal less access and more crowds on the few equal-opportage and grandchildren’s quality of life for short-term, tunity landscapes we have left. All of which leads to more boom-and-bust riches. rules, regulations and cost for the average American. In Montana, Rep. Denny Rehberg, who apparently Most of us recognize the economic, ecological and spirifeels 32,000 miles of roads on U.S. Forest Service lands tual value of these public lands. A whopping 93 percent of aren’t enough, supports releasing the nation’s few remain- Colorado voters recently polled see them as essential to ing nonwilderness roadless areas — our best hunting and the state’s overall health. fishing lands — for development. It makes you wonder whom politicians favoring land Let’s be clear about motives: These politicians want con- grabs truly represent. trol of our lands so special interests can mine, drill, pave Sell our public lands? Seriously? For anyone who thinks and bulldoze without having to navigate such pesky mat- that nutty idea will sit well with Main Street America, I’ve ters as clean air, clean water and other health safeguards. got an aircraft carrier on Yellowstone Lake to sell you. And the land-grab effort isn’t limited to shortsighted –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– state representatives with visions of lobbyists’ cash danc- Jeff Welsch is communications director for the Greater ing in their heads. Former presidential candidate Rick Yellowstone Coalition. He can be reached at jwelsch@ Santorum vowed to sell public lands to the private sector, greateryellowstone.org
GUEST SHOT
Letters
Continued from 5B
Bad bear jam On Saturday evening, I was in a bear jam in Grand Teton National Park. Virtually all of the people in attendance I spoke to afterward agreed that it was the worst-managed bear jam ever. Several of these people have experienced literally hundreds of jams. It all started with Grizzly 610 and her three cubs grazing peacefully near the road at Jackson Lake Junction, something they have done frequently. Park employees hazed the bears with sirens, horns and noise from their public address systems, mistreated the visitors and generally amped up the chaos and stress of the situation. I have experienced many wildlife jams, and controlled chaos is an apt description of even the bestrun bear jams. This bear jam totally got out of control, and it was quite simply because the park employees involved lost their cool. Even first-time visitors who have not experienced bear jams were offended by the way the jam was managed and by the way they were treated by park employees and volunteers. Many said that park employees were rude and that they felt harassed by them. Many expressed contempt for the park personnel using profanity. I have never before seen such a negative response to park personnel doing their jobs. No doubt, bears are dangerous and unpredictable. Anything that amplifies the stress on bears only increases their danger and unpredictability. To haze bears in close proximity to hundreds of people is plain ignorant and unjustifiable except in rare circumstances. Those rare circumstances were not in evidence during this jam. The viewing regulations put in place last summer are, in my opinion,
a primary reason this bear jam went haywire. Before the new rules, bear jams were more static, because you could stay within your hard-sided vehicle when the bears moved between vehicles while crossing roads. Now park personnel are enforcing a 100-yard rule that is well-intentioned in that the idea is to give the bears space to cross roads. In reality, it puts many more vehicles in motion in close proximity to the bears and to the people watching them. In short, the wellintentioned rules are counterproductive. They create a rolling bear jam that is more confusing to the bears, less safe for all involved, including the bears, and amps up the stress for all involved, again, including the bears. These rules have placed significant added demands on the personnel managing bear jams. Some people are able to deal with those demands, and some are not. I particularly commend Ranger Chris Flaherty and Justin Schwabedissen of the Wildlife Brigade. They are the gold standard of bear-jam management: They are unfailingly courteous and utterly professional, and they don’t lose their cool. They make bearjam management look easy, and I feel safer when they are around. Other park personnel assigned to bear jams are square pegs in round holes. They have neither the situational awareness nor the temperament for the job. These particular individuals are dangerous to the bears and the people viewing them. The park needs to either train these people better or remove them to jobs more suitable for them. Any regular bear watcher knows who these people are, and so must the park. I ask: If the new rules create utter chaos and generate utter contempt for the park personnel involved while also diminishing safety for all involved (including the bears) what good are these rules?
Kent Nelson Jackson
Give Wildlife a Brake ™ The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation is writing in response to last week’s letter from Elizabeth Laden of the Island Park News. Ms. Laden objected to the fact that the foundation has a trademark for the phrase “Give Wildlife a Brake.” For almost 20 years, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions in Teton County has been a core tenet of our organization. This trademark was issued on July 8, 1997. At that time, the foundation had been using the phrase for several years in its various publications, including educational newspaper and radio ads, in an effort to help reduce deadly vehicle-wildlife collisions. The foundation wanted to ensure that it would continue to have the right to use this phrase and not be superseded by another organization that might prevent us from using it. Therefore, we sought and were granted the trademark. In the intervening years, others have created this or similar phrases to raise awareness of wildlife on the roads. We have courteously exercised our right to license other organizations to use the phrase under a simple licensing agreement. The licensing fee we negotiated with the Henry’s Fork Chapter of Idaho Master Naturalists was a very modest $10. Our goal with our signature trademarked phrase is to reduce vehicles hitting and killing wildlife. We know this phrase is helpful to many organizations and thus we are always happy to work with others who may wish to utilize the it. We want the Jackson Hole community to have all the facts regarding the foundation’s trademarked slogan, See LETTERS on 16A
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