opinion

Setting the record straight on public lands

There have been many false opinions and statements from Cliven Bundy and his followers regarding livestock grazing on federal public lands and who rightfully owns them. These are the facts.

The origin of our federal public lands goes back hundreds of years. The original federal public lands were obtained by conquest and treaty agreements from Indian Nations, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Spain, France and England. Some lands were also ceded from the Colonies and other lands were purchased from France, Mexico and Russia as the nation expanded westward.

Two-thirds of the original 1.8 billion acres of public lands acquired by the United States were later transferred to individuals, states and corporations. Other large areas were set aside for national parks and monuments, national forests, wildlife refuges, military lands and Indian reservations. The General Land Office or GLO (one of the predecessors of the Bureau of Land Management or BLM) was established in 1812 to oversee this process of the transfer of public lands.

More: Bundy justice: The price they paid

By the early 1900s, unregulated livestock grazing on public lands led to the loss of plant cover, increased bare ground, severe erosion, deep gullies and the disappearance of springs. To remedy this situation, Congress passed the Taylor Grazing Act in 1934 to bring order to the chaos and degradation that existed. The Grazing Service (another predecessor of the BLM) was established and formed grazing districts which were divided into grazing allotments (areas where livestock are permitted to graze). Initial stocking rates (the number of livestock permitted to graze) and seasons of use were also set for each allotment to protect and improve the range. These grazing districts still form the boundaries for most of the BLM districts that exist today and this system continues more or less to the present time with regulations that govern how grazing permits are issued or cancelled, how adjustments are made and a process for administrative protests and appeals of decisions issued by the BLM.

In 1946, Congress created the BLM by merging the GLO and the Grazing Service. In 1976, Congress passed the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). The FLPMA established a multiple use mandate which means that the BLM is required to manage the lands for recreation, livestock grazing, wildlife, archeology, watershed and other uses and values. The FLPMA also established that from then on, all remaining federal public lands would be retained in federal ownership unless, as a result of the land use planning process, it is determined that disposal of a particular parcel of public land will serve the national interest. This ended large scale transfers of public lands to other entities.

More: Letters to the editor for Jan. 20

More: Letters to the editor for Jan. 24

Today, about 245 million acres of the original public domain lands remain in the National System of Public Lands administered by the BLM. These lands are managed under the principles of multiple use for present and future generations. Contrary to Mr. Bundy's claim that these are not federal lands and that he can use them as he pleases, these lands are owned by all Americans and the authority of the federal government to manage them on behalf of the public is settled law.

Mr. Bundy and his followers would have you believe that the land is theirs for the free taking because it somehow belongs to them, not all Americans. Not only is this an epic sense of entitlement but it flies in the face of the rule of law. If this were truly the case, we would be back to the situation that existed over a century ago where it was first come, first served and you got yours before someone else did. In a sense, this is the situation that exists in the Gold Butte area today. With his cattle still out on the range in defiance of multiple court orders to remove them and pay the grazing fees he owes, they are totally unregulated with the range, wildlife and other resources being severely degraded as time goes on.

Scott Florence is a former BLM District Manager. He lives in Dammeron Valley.