Trump’s newest cabinet member has opportunity to support habitat and access on the public lands that are part of our national identity

This morning, in a strongly bipartisan 68-31 vote, U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke was officially given the top job at the Department of the Interior, where he’ll be responsible for the management of public lands, minerals, migratory birds, and endangered species. Hunters, anglers, and the conservation community look forward to working with Zinke to support habitat conservation, sportsmen’s access, and increased public involvement in the management of America’s public lands.

“More than ever before, we need to see the Secretary of the Interior act with conviction as the nation’s top champion of public lands and foremost arbiter of balanced management for fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation,” says K.C. Walsh, chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Corporate Council and president of Simms Fishing Products in Bozeman, Mont. “The hunting and fishing community is looking forward to working with Secretary Zinke and his staff to improve collaborative conservation of natural resources that are the envy of all the world.”

From his earliest days in office, Zinke will be faced with charting a path forward for the Bureau of Land Management’s revised land-use planning process, a rule that is supported by the sporting community but faces an uncertain future. The House voted three weeks ago to block the BLM’s new Planning 2.0 rule, which creates greater agency transparency and gives the public three additional opportunities to weigh in on land-use plans.

If the Senate passes a similar resolution under the Congressional Review Act, it would likely prevent the BLM from ever issuing a rule with substantially similar benefits. Sportsmen are encouraging Congress to take a step back and instead let Zinke lead on making further changes to the rule, while retaining its many benefits.

“We encourage Secretary Zinke to simply solve problems constructively: Bring together diverse stakeholders, and find common ground for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and our sporting traditions,” says Whit Fosburgh, TRCP’s president and CEO. “Sportsmen and women stand ready and willing to help shape a positive future for our public lands. We’re just asking that remaining concerns with the BLM Planning rule are addressed through a process that also keeps all of the improvements made to public lands management.”

During his tenure, Zinke will also oversee the implementation of federal conservation plans created to keep the greater sage grouse off the endangered species list.

“We’re hopeful that having a true sportsman in this role will be positive for sage grouse as well as the other iconic game species dependent upon conservation of sagebrush habitat, like mule deer and pronghorn antelope,” says Miles Moretti, president of the Mule Deer Foundation. “Hunters, ranchers, and other stakeholders are ready to work with Sec. Zinke to safeguard many traditional uses of this landscape through collaborative conservation.”

The TRCP and other sportsmen’s groups came out in support of Zinke’s nomination in December 2016, based mainly on his opposition to privatizing or transferring federal public lands to individual states. In June 2016, Zinke was the only member of the House Natural Resources Committee to cross party lines and vote against a bill that would allow states to acquire up to two million acres of national forest lands to be managed primarily for timber production, locking Americans out of our public lands. Later this summer, he resigned as a delegate to the Republican nominating convention because of the party’s position on the transfer of federal public lands to the states. Zinke is also in favor of full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses revenues from offshore oil and gas production to conserve important natural resources and open public access.

More than 50,000 Americans have signed a petition opposing the sale or transfer of our public lands. Learn more here.

There can be no confusion—Western states are in the business of selling public lands to make ends meet

Last week, the Oregon State Land Board voted to sell 82,000 acres of one of the most celebrated public lands in Oregon—the Elliott State Forest. The sale was on and then off and then on again in an ongoing saga, but now its fate seems relatively sealed: The Elliott is the poster child for what could happen to America’s public lands in the hands of individual states.

For Sale: One Public Lands Legacy

The Elliott is considered one of the best recreation areas on the Oregon coast, as it borders Loon Lake and is very close to the BLM’s Dean Creek Elk Management Area and Golden and Silver Falls State Natural Area, providing unmatched experiences for local hunters, anglers, and wildlife enthusiasts. The lush forest and steep hillsides are layered with tall fir and cedar trees that provide phenomenal habitat for Roosevelt elk. Wild trout, steelhead, and salmon can all be found running the cool waters within the forest as well.

In support of the Common School Fund—established in 1859 to benefit Oregon’s public education system—state trust lands like the Elliott are used to generate revenue, mostly through sustainable timber harvest. However, recent restrictions and lawsuits have limited logging, and ownership of the forest has actually been a financial drain on the state, rather than a source of income. The state started talking about selling back in June of 2014.

A Lose-Lose for Our Kids

As a mother, I can speak for the Oregonians caught in the middle—we want to raise our kids camping, hiking, hunting, and fishing in the outdoors, but we also care deeply about our state’s school system and whether it’s properly funded. I would very much like to find a solution for public education, but not at the risk of robbing our kids of valuable time spent on public lands.

For Dean Finnerty, a longtime hunter and outfitter—and a father—what’s happening with the Elliott is personal, too. Last year, I explored some of his favorite parts of the forest with him. As we drove down gravel roads, twisting and turning through stands of trees, he explained the situation from a hunter’s perspective. “The forests surrounding the Elliott are mostly privately owned and during archery season each and every year, all of the private lands are totally closed off to public access. For a sportsmen like myself, the only game in town is the Elliott!”

Dean and I came to a road blocked by a gate with a ‘No trespassing’ sign nailed to a tree. “The land behind the gate is one of several parcels sold by the state early on,” Dean explained. “It used to be a part of the Elliott State Forest, but is now owned by a private timber company. My boys and I used to hunt fall and spring black bear and pursue elk during archery season on that land. Not anymore.”

Don’t Hand Over Our Land

With the sale of the Elliott now official, many other sportsmen will have similar stories to tell. At this point, there is no clear action to prevent the sale. The best thing we can do—both as parents and as Americans who care deeply about the future of our hunting and fishing traditions—is to stay engaged to prevent the mismanagement and sale of other public lands.

A good first step will be keeping our lawmakers from handing more of our national public lands over to the states. After all, Western states have proven over time that they are in the business of selling land to make ends meet. Oregon alone has already sold all but 776,000 acres of the 3.4 million acres it was granted upon statehood. Learn more and sign the petition supporting public lands at sportsmensaccess.org.

It’s up to us to make sure this example ends with the Elliott.

TAKE ACTION and help keep the Elliott State Forest in public hands. 

A rare breed, the anglers who choose to pursue wild steelhead single-mindedly have just what it takes to stamp out threats to public access, especially when some of the best waters are on the line

I consider myself lucky to live in Washington State. As an avid steelhead angler, I’m at the epicenter of some of the best steelhead fishing in the Lower 48 (sorry, Oregon and California.) We enjoy just 13 million acres of national public lands—a paltry amount when compared to other Western states. But with the high deserts of the east and the coastal rainforests of the west side, the splendor of the places Washingtonians have to pursue this iconic game fish more than makes up for what the state lacks in overall acreage of public lands.

Unfortunately, wild steelhead are in serious decline—12 of the 15 populations on the West Coast are listed as threatened or endangered species, and the root cause of their collapse is heavily debated among anglers and fisheries managers. I’ve witnessed hours-long heated discussions about the impact of single-barbless and treble hooks on species survival. In fact, we get so caught up in whether to worry about overharvest, dams, hatcheries, or ocean conditions, that we’re failing to fight for the public lands that provide us with our best days on the water.

When some lawmakers talk about disposing of public lands, they’re talking about trading off your access to places like the mountainous headwaters of Washington’s Methow River in the Okanogan National Forest, which is considered one of the last strongholds for Columbia Basin summer-run fish, or some of the finest runs of summer steelhead in Oregon’s North Umpqua River. They’re toying with your ability to get to Idaho’s iconic Snake River via BLM land or hold a wild steelhead in Alaska’s vast and relatively untouched Tongass National Forest. Even the access provided by Washington’s Olympic National Forest to the river corridors of the Sol Duc and Queets, where dime-bright winter-run fish swim to their natal waters from November through May, could be closed off forever.

You get the point. In state or private hands, the needs of steelhead or anglers will not be a priority on these lands—nor will the interests of hunters, hikers, bikers, or American families. The habitat could suffer under a different management model or inevitable lack of funding for upkeep, creating more trouble for the species that are already in a precarious situation.

Steelheaders are a passionate bunch—you’d have to be to brave the winter conditions we do without blinking an eye. That’s why we could truly be a force in the fight for our public lands. We don’t need to abandon our debate over the best approach for restoring steelhead populations, but we can’t afford to have the rug pulled out from under us in the meantime. As sportsmen, and as steelheaders, the simplest thing we can do to help ensure the future of the species and our fishing opportunities is to speak up for habitat AND our access to America’s public lands. It isn’t an either-or proposition.