The nation just took a big step toward better outcomes — both environmentally and economically — for the more than 50 percent of all land west of the Rockies still under the thumb of distant federal bureaucrats.
In the five minutes it will take you to read this article, the national debt of the United States will increase by about $9.5 million. There are no easy answers to this monumental problem, but there are simple ones.
Western states today are engaged in the same fight to shake off the same federal “monopolizer” of western lands, which “like all monopolies, result[s] in hardships to those upon whom it act[s].” The burning question is: Who has the knowledge and the courage to be the modern-day Thomas Hart Benton?
Nevada currently holds the unenviable record for the highest percentage of federally controlled lands within its borders – more than 80%! But this is not just a Nevada problem; the federal government controls about half of the all lands within the western states. In contrast, States east of Colorado have, on average, less than 5% federally controlled lands. But Nevada doesn’t even come close to the all-time record holder for federally controlled lands within a state.
“We in the East are tired of paying billions of dollars for the federal government to mismanage federally controlled lands in the West,” says South Carolina State Representative Alan Clemmons.
