Congressman Rob Bishop is well known for his opposition to federally managed public lands — which by the way, belong to you, me and every other American. Less known is that over the past year the congressman’s fight against publicly owned land has taken a turn that shows an equally disturbing contempt for the rights and wishes of private property owners.
Most recently, Bishop railed against a private gift of 400 acres to Yosemite National Park in California. The donated land, a parcel known as Ackerson Meadow that had originally been included in the 1890 park plan, was sold by owners Robin and Nancy Wainwright to a land trust and donated to the park.
After 126 years, this awe-inspiring meadow and surrounding hills is finally part of Yosemite. Congressman Bishop’s reaction to the news was to cry foul, claiming that the gifted addition is illegal and promising to hold the Park Service accountable. Not only was he wrong about it being illegal — gifted additions do not require congressional approval — but he showed no concern or respect for the wishes of the landowners.
In expressing those wishes, Robin Wainwright said, "to have that accessible by everyone to me is just a great thing." Adding, "it was worth losing a little bit of money for that."
The Wainwrights had a lucrative offer from a developer who wanted to build a resort on the property. The land was also coveted by ranching and timber interests.
Back in June, Congressman Bishop traveled to East Millinocket, Maine, to oppose another private land donation to the American public. The founder of Burt’s Bees, Roxanne Quimby, and her foundation sought to donate 87,500 acres of northern forest next to Baxter State Park to ensure that it would be permanently protected.
That generous donation of land, along with a $40 million endowment to help maintain it, hinged on the property being protected as a national park or monument. As chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Bishop made sure that Congress would do nothing to secure the donation. He then went the extra mile — or in this case 730 extra miles from his Capitol Hill office — to stir opposition to the president doing so with a monument designation.
In August, the congressman’s Maine machinations went for naught, as the Quimby property was transferred to the United States and President Obama established the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
In both the Yosemite and Maine examples, Congressman Bishop sided against the actual landowners and their wishes, going to bat instead for the disgruntled developers, logging companies and other parties that coveted those properties.
Bishop’s efforts to do away with the bipartisanly popular Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is due in large part to his objections to private landowners selling their inholdings, which lie within park and forest boundaries, to the United States.
Last year, referring to LWCF, he told the Washington Examiner, “there's no way in hell I am going to allow you just to spend that to buy the inholdings.”
Congressman Bishop’s deep disdain for the nation’s protected lands, his allegiance to special interests, and his disregard for the collective property rights of the American public, now appear to have eroded his respect for the rights of private property owners as well.
Whether public or private, Bishop views the legitimacy of land ownership and property rights through the lens of his own land use preferences — and those of the influence peddlers who support him.
Private property rights have always been a fundamental part of our national fabric. They are supposed to be virtually inviolable, and respect for those rights remains a central tenet of conservatism.
It will take more than one congressman’s feudalistic whims to change that.
David Jenkins is the president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, a national nonprofit organization.