yes, I think they were even in Montana .. red state but they don't want it either ... still fighting I think .. haven't seen anything recent ...
I was surprised because I thought the good people of Montana would want that land to go to the richest two men there ... you know how republicans are .. so I was shocked to read that they were not happy ..
I think John Tester is still around there also ...
GOP bill would sell 70,000 acres of Oregon public land Zach Urness , Statesman Journal Published 2:33 p.m. PT Jan. 31, 2017 |
A lawmaker from Utah has introduced legislation that would “dispose” of 3.3 million acres of public land nationwide, including 70,300 acres in Oregon.
In what some have called the opening shot by Republicans to sell or transfer federal lands, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz introduced H.R. 621 last week to free up resources “for economic development in struggling rural communities.”
Environmental groups denounced the effort, saying Chaffetz is pushing an “anti-American public lands agenda” with the broader goal of privatizing natural treasures across the West, a statement from Oregon Wild said.
The land identified for disposal — meaning sale to private entities or states — includes acreage from 10 different states. The bulk comes from Nevada (898,000 acres), New Mexico (831,000), Wyoming (694,000) and Arizona (450,000 acres).
In Oregon, the 70,300 acres comes in parcels from 19 counties managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The parcels range from 44,533 acres in Harney County to 1 acre in Marion County.
“I think this bill is basically a ‘test balloon,’ to get the effort and conversation moving,” said Jim Moore, professor and director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation at Pacific University. “The land referenced here is pretty scattershot and may or may not make sense. I’d watch for a more focused effort if we’re really talking about this happening.”
'I Dreamed Of Africa' Author And Conservationist, Shot In Kenya
"Republicans move to sell off 3.3m acres of national land, sparking rallies "
April 23, 20172:26 PM ET
Miles Parks
Conservationist Kuki Gallmann speaks at the launch of World Migratory Bird Day, in April 2006. Gallmann was shot in the stomach Sunday while surveying arson damage to her property. TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
Kuki Gallmann, a conservationist best known for her book I Dreamed of Africa, was ambushed and shot while she drove across her conservancy in Kenya Sunday morning.
Gallmann, 73, was shot in the stomach and "severely injured" while surveying her property with rangers of the Kenya Wildlife Service, according to her brother-in-law Nigel Adams and a press release from a farmers' association of which she's a member.
She was flown to a hospital in Nairobi for treatment, and was still conscious and speaking after the attack, according to The New York Times.
Her conservancy, the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, has been the center of a bloody battle for weeks, as a large-scale drought has pushed cattle-herders to extreme measures to try and find grazing land.
"You have nomadic herders who are moving into private wildlife conservancies with thousands of heads of cattle," Peralta said. "And in response, the Kenyan government launched a military-style operation to push the herders out. But what we've seen is an escalation of violence. Police have killed lots of cows. And the herders have responded by burning tourist lodges on the properties."
In fact, Gallmann was said to be surveying arson damage inflicted on her property, when she was attacked.
Members of the Pokot and Samburu tribes have long grazed on conservancy land in Kenya, but over the past few years things have changed. Herders have brought more and more cows, killed other wildlife, and begun to vandalize property. Gallmann's daughter, Sveva Gallmann, told NPR last month that the escalation concerned her.
"That's not just grass," she said. "That is heavily politicized violence. And that is what's much more worrying about this situation."
She added that she doesn't think the herders even own many of the cows.
"There's a lot of, actually, politicians, people within the police, people within the administration storing their wealth in cattle and laundering ill-gotten money through cattle," she said.
In an interview with NPR Sunday, Martin Evans, the chair of the Laikipia Farmers' Association, agreed that the battle between the herders and the Kenya Defense forces is politically motivated.
"It started a year ago," Evans said. "At the time it started, there was plenty of rain, it was nothing to do with lack of grass at that time so yes, I think it's definitely being pushed by politicians."
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's office issued a statement warning politicians in the area not to inflame the situation with "reckless rhetoric."
"Politicians encouraging invasions of privately-owned property or attacks on individuals can expect strong deterrent action in terms of the law," Kenyatta's spokesman, Manoah Esipisu, said.
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