In Idaho and the West, sportsmen rally to “keep public lands public”

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February 10, 2015

Idaho is much more than potatoes.

From the inland rainforests of its panhandle, south through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness and out to the high desert and canyons of the Owyhees, Idaho is defined by public lands. More than 60 percent of the state, or 34 million acres, is public lands that offer sportsmen fantastic opportunities.

Anglers enjoy high mountain lakes and streams rich with trout and deep river canyons offering salmon, steelhead and sturgeon. Hunters pursue 10 species of big game on Idaho’s public lands. Upland bird hunters chase numerous species, from Columbia sharptails to spruce grouse.

I’ve spent my life tramping the public lands of Idaho in pursuit of steelhead, cutthroat trout, chukars, mule deer, mountain goats and many other critters. I have experienced the joy of introducing my kids to hunting and fishing here. But these opportunities may not exist for future generations if some groups have their way. Efforts are afoot in Idaho and eight other Western states to wrest public lands from the federal government and put them under state ownership.

America’s public lands – including our national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands – provide hunting and fishing opportunities to millions of Americans. They represent the uniquely American values of freedom and adventure that are the envy of the world. While few sportsmen would say that federal management of our lands is perfect, most of us recognize that the cost of managing these lands would far exceed the revenue they would provide to the states. State ownership would result in these areas being developed or sold.

Transferring public lands to the states and making them available for sale to private interests is not in the best interest of fish and wildlife or hunting and fishing. Once privatized, these lands would become off limits to most sportsmen forever. And Idaho has a history of selling its lands. Nearly one third of the lands given to Idaho at statehood have been sold, resulting in hunters and fishermen losing access to more than a million acres.

Sportsmen are speaking up and asking decision makers to end this discussion that threatens our Western heritage and the freedom to roam America’s wide open spaces. Sportsmen’s rallies already have drawn hundreds of hunters and anglers to state capitols in Montana and New Mexico. More events are planned for Idaho and Colorado.

Join with your fellow sportsmen at the public lands rally in Boise on Feb. 12. Keep our public lands in public hands and send a clear message to your state legislators, governor, and members of Congress by signing the online petition. And if you’re in Denver, Colorado on February 25, consider attending this public land rally too.

Check out the recap and photos from the New Mexico public lands rally on January 29 in Santa Fe, NM.

4 Responses to “In Idaho and the West, sportsmen rally to “keep public lands public””

Mark Steele February 11, 2015

Good comments, Coby. It seems we have fought this battle before…and will continue to. I can’t make the rally, but my support is with you. I wonder where our local District 32 legislators stand in this grandstand play. As of 2010, Idaho was a federal welfare state, receiving $1.70 for every $1 we paid into federal coffers. Much of that money would suddenly dry up if the state owned the lands. When is the last time you saw an Idaho Dept. of Lands range con, or weed sprayer, fire truck, or supervisor? They simply don’t have the funding. Would that change if the state was able to get past the legal and constitutional issues of the feds giving up the land? Good luck at the rally and have a sip of your camp coffee for me!

February 11, 2015 at 6:35 pm

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John a. musgrove February 12, 2015

I’m sorry to tell you but public land Is being locked up by B.L.M. And Forest Service as quickly as they can. Outlawing access by any means them and E.P.A. Can dream up to please the new king in he White House. They stopped logging and mining all they can. The result is piss poor management, causing forest fires and totally ruined areas on
(So called public land) They will outlaw you heating your home with wood or coal because of stupid E.P.A. Regulations , however it is ok to have controlled burns wich they let get out of control and burn millions of acres of your beautiful public land. You need to demand that public land means you own it, not the king Obama.

February 12, 2015 at 3:11 pm

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Jim McGannon February 20, 2015

This nightmare just won’t go away…this kind of legislation is what we are paying our reps to do….just to stay busy in their elected jobs…NEVER GIVE IN!

February 20, 2015 at 5:28 am

Reply
K-Lynn Paul, M.D. February 27, 2015

I believe that all national parks should be given to the highest campaign contributors of politicians and turned into private playgrounds for the very rich!

February 27, 2015 at 1:39 am

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by: John Hamill

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February 9, 2015

New Mexico sportsmen rally to “keep their public lands public”

NM_public_lands_rally1_web — Photo courtesy of John Hamil.

There is a growing movement across nine Western states to pass legislation that would demand the transfer of federal public lands to the states. On January 29, 2015, TRCP staff and members participated in a rally at the New Mexico State Capitol to oppose this very bad idea. The rally was attended by over 250 New Mexicans, some of whom traveled over 300 miles to let their governor and State legislators know that they are opposed to the idea of spending state tax dollars to even study this idea.

Unlike many of the proponents of the land transfers these weren’t paid lobbyists or special interests – they were hunters, anglers, horsemen, wood cutters, campers, Native Americans, and veterans—real Americans who depend on public lands for recreation and spiritual renewal.

While some are frustrated with current Federal land management practices and policies, they recognize that the State of New Mexico doesn’t have the funds or the multiple-use mandates to responsibly manage public lands (e.g., maintain roads/recreation facilities, prevent or fight wildfires, restore areas that are damaged by wildfires, prevent abuses, etc.).

They fear that the State would simply use the lands to promote development and/or sell them to raise the money needed to manage them. They recognize transferring ownership of public lands to the State poses a significant threat to many of their closely held traditions and core values.

NM_public_lands_rally2_web — Photo courtesy of John Hamill.

At a time when many American’s feel disenfranchised by our government and political leadership, at least for one afternoon at the New Mexico State Capitol, common citizens showed up to express their support for something they are passionate about: keeping their public lands public.

The transfer of federal public lands to the states poses a threat to hunting and fishing as we know it today. Sportsmen need to continue to fight to maintain control and access to our most precious resource, our public lands. To make you voice heard, go to www.sportsmensaccess.org and sign the petition to stop the seizure of your public lands. Finally, consider attending public land rallies that are being planned in Denver, Colorado and in Boise, Idaho. This is the time for action not complacency!

by: Neil Thagard

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February 5, 2015

Victory for sportsmen and fish and wildlife in America’s first national forest

The U.S. Forest Service recently issued instructions for the Shoshone National Forest to manage the Francs Peak and Wood River areas, near the town of Cody, to maintain their intact and undeveloped character. This action is in response to objections that were filed by the TRCP and other organizations in March 2014 – objections that prompted a national level review.

Earlier in 2014, last-minute changes were made to the Shoshone’s revised forest plan to create motorized trails in an area that is known to provide valuable wildlife habitat and high quality hunting and fishing. This change would have negatively impacted fish and wildlife as well as the sportsmen and -women who utilize the Francs Peak and Wood River areas. The Forest Service itself identified these areas as containing high fish and wildlife values – the region is home to many species including mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears and black bears. In particular, the Shoshone hosts the largest native population of bighorn sheep in the U.S. forest system, and these areas are important to their sustainability.

During the revision of the Shoshone’s forest plan, the TRCP remained focused on ensuring that science-based analysis is used to conserve valuable fish and wildlife habitats as well as uphold hunter and angler interests. While providing public access to these areas is important, new motorized routes through the key habitat on Francs Peak and Wood River would have diminished fish and wildlife – and ultimately hurt sportsmen.

The TRCP appreciates the U.S. Forest Service’s consideration of our concerns during this review and decision making process. Thanks also are in order to others that were deeply involved, such as our partners at Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Trout Unlimited, Wild Sheep Foundation and Wyoming Wildlife Federation. Without the engagement of a committed group of sportsmen, this decision to conserve fish and wildlife – and further sportsmen’s interests – may never have come to pass.

by: Whit Fosburgh

posted in:

February 3, 2015

Inside the President’s 2016 budget request

fy16_budget — The President’s 2016 Budget Proposal. Image by the White House.

Today, President Barack Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget request to Congress. The president’s call for doing away with sequestration and increasing spending by $74 billion would provide a welcome investment in sportsmen’s conservation priorities. But the president’s budget request is just that – a request to a GOP-led Congress that will assuredly trim his proposals substantially.

Yet the president’s emphasis on increased investment in conservation programs represents a positive start to the federal budget process and certainly suggests an increased urgency by the administration to contribute more toward natural resource conservation. While a complete rollback of sequestration cuts is unlikely, these proposals enable us to see the reference points in the debate between the administration and Congress.

Many of the TRCP’s priorities received level funding or sizeable increases in the president’s budget request:

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act received $34 million, level funding for FY16.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that has historically been raided by Congress, received full funding – $900 million – for the coming fiscal year.
The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program received $70 million, an approximate $12 million increase from FY15.
WaterSMART, a program that invests in collaborative efforts to better manage watersheds and preserve water for instream flow and wildlife habitat, received $58 million, a $7.5 million increase.

An additional $78 million was provided for the conservation of sage steppe landscapes. This funding will be critical in joint state/federal efforts to prevent the listing of the sage grouse and reverse declines in other game species like mule deer.

The U.S. Forest Service would receive an increase of $30 million for the road and trail maintenance backlog, thereby helping provide public access to public lands. The budget would create a new pilot program, called the Integrated Resource Restoration Program, to address urgently needed road decommissioning, trail repair and removal of fish passage barriers, especially in areas where Forest Service roads may contribute to water quality problems in streams and water bodies. Decommissioned roads often cause blowouts and prevent access to the most popular recreation sites. This program is important for both sportsmen’s access and habitat restoration and enhancement. The budget also prioritizes “the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) to foster collaborative, science-based restoration on priority forest landscapes across the Nation.” The CFLRP would support jobs, provide a reliable wood supply, restore forest health and reduce the costs of fire suppression.

Fire_Info_Cut1_web — The proposed budget moves to end fire borrowing.

In addition, the president’s budget includes a vital provision to end wildfire borrowing. This reflects stipulations in the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, legislation re-introduced in Congress this year that would classify the most extreme wildfires as natural disasters, enabling the use of federal emergency dollars to fund their suppression. This provision calls for wildfires whose suppression costs exceed 70 percent of the 10-year suppression cost average to be funded similarly to other natural disasters, restoring upwards of $400 million to the U.S. Forest Service budget. The TRCP strongly supports this bill.

Unfortunately, the president’s budget request would compound the injury Congress inflicted when it cut $402 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Stewardship Program in last year’s “CRomnibus” funding bill. The president’s budget would cut the CSP by $54 million annually beginning in 2017, or $486 million over the next 10 years. Thankfully however, two priority programs at USDA would be well funded by the president: the celebrated new Regional Conservation Partnership Program would receive $330 million; the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, which encourages private land owners to voluntarily open their land to hunters and anglers, has retained $40 million through 2018 as authorized by the Farm Bill.

Sportsmen should consider this budget a victory and sign of renewed interest by the president in conservation investments. This is only the beginning of the debate. Congress will rightly scrutinize the president’s budget request and advance its own plan. As Congress begins this process, the TRCP is ready to make the case that conservation is always a good investment.

by: Jimmy Hague

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From the good news desk: Sportsmen, farmers and feds team up on local solutions that make healthy watersheds

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced close to $800 million in federal funding for locally led solutions to regional conservation challenges via its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The five-year, $1.2 billion federal program was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill to award funds to projects that improve soil health, water quality, water use efficiency, and wildlife habitat, as well as activities that otherwise support natural resources on private lands. In 2015, USDA has awarded $370 million to 115 high-impact projects across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, which will be bolstered by approximately $400 million from stakeholders. TRCP is a proud partner of the following 2015 RCPP project leads: Ducks Unlimited, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and Trout Unlimited.

To read more about RCPP projects improving working lands and wildlife habitat, click here.

Adirondack Mountains 054 Michael Misurek — Image by Michael Misurek.

Water is deeply personal. We tend to take it for granted until something happens to the water we drink or fish in. Even when a chemical spill shut off water to hundreds of thousands of West Virginians, most of us probably looked at it as a tragic news story rather than as motivation to examine whether our drinking water source is vulnerable, if our favorite trout stream is impaired or if our local wetland is at risk of destruction.

That’s why solutions to our water challenges are most successful when driven by local participation: those closest to the water know it best and have the greatest interest in fixing it the right way. However, because local leaders often do not have sufficient financial or technical resources available, locally-driven solutions work best when integrated with resources from a variety of stakeholders, including federal agencies.

Recognizing this federal role in water conservation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture just announced nearly $800 million in funding through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for 115 locally-led solutions to regional conservation challenges. This effort will take $370 million in federal funds and match it with $400 million in funds committed by project partners. Many of these projects will be led by sportsmen’s organizations working together with local farmers and ranchers to protect our working landscapes and fish and wildlife habitat.

Take, for instance, the Verde River Flow and Habitat Restoration Initiative led by TRCP partner The Nature Conservancy (TNC). With $2.8 million in support from RCPP, The Nature Conservancy and five other partners in the Verde River Valley of Arizona will improve irrigation water management and irrigation water delivery on 1,000 acres of working lands, enhance 6,000 acres of riparian habitat, and protect 400 acres of agricultural lands through conservation easements over five years. Easements will be focused on lands that already have significant investment in on-farm conservation practices and are critical to ensure long-term investments are protected. TNC has been working in the Verde Valley for three years already to improve water conveyance infrastructure; now, their efforts will be supercharged with a greater on-farm focus.

As another example, the Colorado River Water Conservation District, along with 31 partners, is receiving $8 million from RCPP to modernize water management for agricultural uses in the Lower Gunnison River Basin. Many local efforts are underway already to improve conveyance and delivery of water as well as improve on-farm irrigation practices. With this grant, project participants will be able to integrate limited, disparate efforts under a coordinated leadership team, including local producers, to achieve greater water efficiency results and multiply environmental benefits. In addition, the partners will target areas with high selenium levels to reduce pollutant levels in the basin, producing water quality as well as water quantity benefits. This project will accelerate progress towards water users’ common goal: utilizing water resources wisely while ensuring healthy fish and wildlife populations and agricultural sustainability.

Both of these examples are localized so it may not be obvious why this new federal effort is so important to anyone outside the chosen project areas. But there are at least two reasons why we all should take note of this new conservation program. First, though the most direct benefits of river and habitat improvements will be felt in the project areas, these benefits accrue downstream, whether it’s through more water being left in the river for fish or fewer pollutants entering the watershed. Second, this model of locally-driven solutions coupled with broad stakeholder support should set the tone for conservation in the future, and the novel solutions it will produce will be replicated nationwide. Even if your favorite hunting and fishing grounds didn’t benefit from this first round of projects selected, the lessons learned from them should be coming to a watershed near you soon.

Want more on RCPP? Check out this handy USDA infographic here.