[LoloLibia]

Those of us in Flyover Country already have most of our land owned and locked-up by the Federal government (see map below) but the Obamunists in Washington, D.C. want to grab even more of it in the form of "Wilderness". Most D.C. Sophisticates have never been west of Manhattan and we are tired of them telling us how to manage our land.

He will have a massive fight on his hands.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...ks+western+ire

Wilderness Policy Sparks Western Ire

An Initiative to Expand Protection of Unspoiled Lands Has Drawn Opposition From Energy Companies and Ranchers

By STEPHANIE SIMON

An Obama administration directive designed to preserve more public lands as wilderness is stirring anger in the West, where ranchers, sportsmen and energy companies say they could lose access to acreage they count on for their recreation and livelihood.

The regulatory change, initiated this month, directs the Bureau of Land Management to survey its vast holdings stretching between Alaska, Arizona, California and Colorado, in search of unspoiled back country. The agency can then designate these tracts—potentially millions of acres—as "wild lands."

Protections will vary from site to site, but in general such lands will be shielded from activities that disrupt habitat or destroy the solitude of the wild, according to the Interior Department. That might mean banning oil drilling, uranium mining or cattle grazing in some areas. It also could mean restrictions on recreational activities, such as snowmobiling or biking.

Stephanie Simon explains why the Obama Administration's surprise move last week to give the Bureau of Land Management the power to designate millions of acres as "wild lands" has sparked an uproar among Republicans and would-be developers.

"Americans love the wild places where they hunt, fish, hike and get away from it all, and they expect these lands to be protected wisely on their behalf," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the policy shift late last week.

But the move, which did not require legislative approval, has drawn a hostile response from many in the West. "This harms economic growth," said Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican who takes over next month as chair of the House subcommittee on public lands. "The West is being abused."

House Republicans, who will hold the majority in the new Congress that arrives next week, say they plan hearings on the new policy and perhaps seek to cut funding to the BLM for identifying and managing wild lands.

[hablyShappY]

As you can see, most of Flyover Country is already Federally owned---but it's not enough to satisfy the Obamunists.

http://www.moonbattery.com/government-owned-land.jpg

[cokLoolioli]

Because, of course, designating areas as "wild lands" is a horrible idea when they could be designated as "oil lands" instead, and bring profits to corporations like poor little Exxon, and to millionaires like the Koch brothers. Obviously, those with personal profit motives are better equipped to do what's best for the nation in the long run, and we have proof of this in the fact that they've never, EVER, done anything that has damaged the environment.

[/sarcasm]

[johnbeller]

This is simply a reversal of the Bush administration's controversial abandonment of long-standing wildland preservation policy. That action itself was considered a land grab which essentially handed access to these protected areas over to commercial developers and energy companies.

LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec...rness-20101224

Restoring a policy abandoned by the George W. Bush administration, the top Interior official on Thursday gave the agency that manages 245 million acres of public land the authority to temporarily protect pristine areas of the West.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who issued the order, called it "a new chapter in terms of how we take care of our Bureau of Land Management lands."

Salazar's directive casts aside a Bush policy that was adopted after an out-of-court settlement between then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the state of Utah. Under that agreement, the bureau lost its ability to manage pristine areas in order to preserve their wilderness qualities, pending congressional action. The move potentially opened the lands to energy development and mining.

The bureau will now compile an inventory of "wild lands" and, as part of its public planning process, has the authority to keep them off-limits to development. But the classification can be modified, meaning the lands will not have the same permanent protection as congressionally designated wilderness areas.