Marti Oakley, Contributing Writer

Activist Post

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a for-profit federal corporation, issued a memo laying out its plans to seize 10 million additional acres across the Western states including, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, California, and Utah. The federal government already claims ownership or control of 84% of Utah and at least 68% of Nevada. The document clearly lays out the propaganda to be used in this land theft, referring to the theft as saving national treasures, pristine areas, treasured landscapes, etc.. Sounds really peachy until you get to the part about mining and natural resources, to be stolen at the same time.

Concealing their identity under the appearance of a “public agency”, BLM uses congress and the executive branch to not only hide what it really is and what it is doing, but to make it appear legitimate; lawful, legal. It is a deception that has gone on since 1906 when the Antiquities Act was passed, which BLM now is claiming as its enabling legislation. The 1906 Act was only 296 words long and said nothing about how to perpetrate theft of states lands and their accompanying natural resources.

The question immediately arises in my mind; “How can the BLM claim ownership of land? Doesn’t the Constitution expressly deny the central government ownership of any land other than insular possessions, territories and the ten square mile parcel of land ceded to it for its existence?” Yes it does, but the Bureau of Land Management is a privately owned corporation and is not bound by constitutional restraints.

The BLM is a duly chartered and registered, for profit corporation which conducts business independent of the central government, and as a private corporation can purchase land and conduct contract business with other corporations, which it does routinely. But, we are supposed to believe that the BLM, operating under the ubiquitous Department of the Interior, is some kind of government agency.

In the memo, BLM corporation talks extensively about its “ownership” of lands and how this back room deal, meant to facilitate the theft of lands inside the geographical boundaries of the states could be implemented. Of great interest to the BLM are the Western states, as a result of the natural resources contained in the land in these areas, which are extensive.

It is these resources that are coveted by the BLM corporation; they have no real interest in preserving anything as is evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of mining operations devastating the landscape and causing contamination of water resources, 550,000 of which are abandoned mines. In addition is the slaughter of wild horse herds across the west to pave the way for more mining operations and pipelines and the selling off of the dwindling water supplies to private interests.

While the country reels from the grossly inflated national debt and deficit spending across the board by both party’s as they each take their turn calling the shots, maybe one of the areas that should be looked at closely is the BLM corporation along with the Department of the Interior (DoI), another privately owned federal corporation.

Neither the DoI nor the BLM act in the public interest or provide any activity on behalf of the public. The DoI and its subsidiary the BLM, are simply the federal corporations used to facilitate the theft of land, mineral resources and water supplies.

All taxpayer funding for these privately owned federal corporations should be halted immediately. BLM proposed funding for 2011 alone is 1.1 billion. DoI is estimated to be in the vicinity of 21 billion for 2011.

This is approximately 22 billion that will be used to wipe out our wild horse herds, to steal land from the states under the guise of “treasured landscapes”. Billions that will be used to privatize public lands and to limit access to our forests. Neither of these agencies should exist. And, we should not be forced to continue to fund what are in effect private corporations dedicated to the theft of state and publicly owned assets.

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http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/anti1906.htm

Treasured Landscapes land theft

http://robbishop.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Treasured_Landscapes_doc.pdf

BLM proposed funding

http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/february/president_proposes.html

BLM funds cut

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=17825

Estimated 21 billion for DoI

http://www.usgs.gov/budget/2011/2011funding_tables.asp

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1787

Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under “General Orders” Calendar No. 530.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-3339

The House introduced H.R. 3339 of the same name, but this bill never made it out of committee. As all bills must originate in the House, I have to wonder how the Senate, yet again, is entertaining another piece of legislation not yet voted on and passed by the House.

Marti Oakley is a political activist and former op-ed columnist for the St Cloud Times in Minnesota. She was a member of the Times Writer’s Group until she resigned in September of 07. She is neither Democrat nor Republican, since neither party is representative of the American people. She says what she thinks, means what she says, and is known for being outspoken. She is hopeful that the American public will wake up to what is happening to our beloved country . . . little of it is left. Her website is The PPJ Gazette