This winter, an old debate over public lands in the West reignited. Screaming about the Constitution and freedom, a self-styled militia spearheaded by the Bundy family took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. This was just another chapter in a long chain of protests against the idea that the federal government can own land in the West. In 2014, the Bundys and accomplices took up firearms and stood down the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other federal agents. Stopping them from imposing grazing fees and impounding cattle that the family had let run roughshod over public land. It was a battle call reminiscent of earlier sagebrush rebellions and even the 1980 incident when poacher Claude Dallas shot two federal agents dead and went on the lam to become a folk hero to many locals in the rural West.
For the Bundys and other sagebrush rebels the case is clear cut. They don’t believe in public lands (depsite the fact that they graze cattle on them for a price far lower than they would pay on private land). And they feel the millions of acres of BLM, Forest Service and other federal lands in the West should be made private, or at least handed over to individual states. Of course, there is no basis in the Constitution for their childish claims. But they have been perhaps emboldened by some Western lawmakers, such as the Utah legislature, which has passed a bill demanding federal land be handed over to the state (a state, which research has proven cannot afford to manage them). Truly, it’s sad. The Bundys have felt so wronged that they have put themselves in prison (perhaps for life), and many like them still feel that the federal government does not have their best interests in mind.
It does not have to be this way. The truth is that the vast majority of Westerners love public lands. It’s certainly true that public lands are the backbone of the vast and growing outdoor recreation economy, which not only benefits current residents but also attracts new companies and employees to our states. In fact, many towns, counties and private groups are finding ways to work with public lands agencies in order to build more sustainable communities.
Look at Eagle County, Colorado. The Vail Valley Mountain Bike Association (VVMBA) has been working like mad alongside the Forest Service to build new trails. This new singletrack, in turn, brings more business into town, business that is not tied to the ups and downs of extractive industries. The VVMBA has built 13 miles of hiking and biking trails in the West Avon Preserve. It has constructed the Mesquite Trail and Berry Creek in Edwards and plans on re-routing trails in the Endo Valley area this summer. It has been working on The Cougar Ridge Trail system in Minturn, which will eventually create a bike route from Vail’s Game Creek Bowl to town. And it is actually raising $50,000 to pay for a Forest Service ranger to oversee Eagle Trails.
The VVMBA did all this by working with public lands officials, rather than by pointing guns at them. The lesson? Think about creating a lasting community. Public lands are key to that goal.
