Just when I had despaired of finding a course in "Conservation for the Ethically Impaired," along comes Rep. James Hansen to restore my hope with some truly visionary ideas.
As reported in the Feb. 10 Deseret News, Hansen would like to turn over at least a portion of BLM and Forest Service lands to the states. Hansen drools, "If I were governor of the state of Utah, I would be salivating at the mouth because then I would get the royalty on trees, I would get the mineral funds, I could determine how many cows could be put on the ground."Is it saliva or is it foam? Well, don't worry because our eco-minded state officials (like foxes guarding the henhouse) would surely protect their newly acquired stewardships. House Speaker Mel Brown's HB307, for example, would eliminate legal protections for Indian burial and archaeological sites found on school trust lands and make it easier for artifacts and fossils found thereon to be sold. Another example is the recent proposal to sell 1,200 acres of Wasatch Mountain State Park to developers who would build golf courses and luxury homes (temporarily stifled by local opposition). I'm feeling better already.
Hansen would also "be death" on any new national parks and suggests closing some existing ones due to budget concerns. After all, he reasoned before the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, "If you have been there once, you don't need to go again."
Gee, why hasn't someone thought of all this before? This country can't afford to let people use the public lands, so let's limit those freeloaders to a once-in-a-lifetime visit. And those who can really use up the land - the already taxpayer-subsidized loggers, miners, ranchers and developers - should have free rein.
Steve Camp
Murray