Government moving to seize more land
September 26, 2012 at 8:30 am in Accountability, Crony Capitalism, GAN, House, News, Norman D. Dicks, Patty Murray, Senate by Larry 8 Comments
Retiring Congressman Norm Dicks is sponsoring a bill to annex over 100,000 acres of land into the Olympic National Forest while Senator Murray is following suite.
Norm Dicks (Wa. D) and Patty Murray (Wa. D) toured a Shelton Shell Fish Facility with several County officials last month promoting their latest draft of Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012. It would designate over 126,500 acres of new wilderness in Olympic National Forest including nineteen Olympic Peninsula rivers and their major tributaries as “wild and scenic.”
The Aberdeen and Cosmopolis city councils and Grays Harbor County commissioners have passed resolutions opposing the Wild Olympics campaign, citing negative economic impact and alleging the Congressman’s office consulted with them as a formality, rather than a partner. Carol Johnson, executive director of the North Olympic Timber Action Committee says, “One of the issues with the proposal is that we met with Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Murray staffs and they pretty much ignored all of our suggestions.”
Dicks and Murray maintain they have made compromises to overcome logging and recreation objections. “We’ve tried to make this benefit the area and not do any harm. I think we’ve made this much more acceptable to people on the Olympic Peninsula,” Dicks said.
Public sentiment does not appear to be favoring the proposal. Ben Kuhner, President of the Board of the Kitsap Patriots Tea Party said, “”Kitsap Patriots Tea Party supports the opposition to the Wilderness Act…While we in Kitsap County are not as directly affected as counties to the west of us, we have an abiding interest in protecting the continued access and enjoyment of our lands for all Washingtonians, not just the elite few who will be deemed “acceptable” under ever increasingly restrictive designations.” Signs alleging a federal “land grab” have also been appearing across the Olympic Peninsula
The proposed legislation is now in house committee and the companion legislation is in the Senate but it is unlikely the bill will make it through either the House or Senate this year. Senator Murray said she would continue pushing forward with the legislation after Dicks retires. It is unclear if Derek Kilmer, the Democrat candidate endorsed by Dicks will sponsor similar legislation should he win the seat.
Republican candidate Bill Driscoll, rejects the bill, saying “It makes no sense to push forward a proposal to lock up broad tracts of land without the support of the people who live and work in the affected areas. This is an important decision that will define our region for generations to come. It would be a shameful failure to have a politically divisive plan imposed on us by special interests in Seattle or politicians in Washington D.C.”
Tea Party Patriot Washington State Coordinator Peggy Hutt is more concerned with the makeup of the next Senate. “The only issue here is whether the GOP takes control of the U.S. Senate. If they do, none of the Wild Olympics Bills will make it out of committee in either the House or Senate. If the Democrats hold the Senate, it still will get nowhere in the House.”
-Larry Killion covers Washington’s 6th District for Government Accountability News
HELLO, WE NEED A CHANGE FROM GEORGE WALKER BUSH AND JR. GEORGE BUSH FROM CONNETICUT THAT MADE THIS LARGE FINANICIAL MESS IN THE ”UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”. MR. OBAMA WAS FOUND ON THE STREETS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES ALONG WITH THE ‘MUSLIM COMMUNITIES’ WHICH ARE;T AMERICAN WHAT SO EVER. MR. BILL CLINTON SHOULD RETIRE HIS SPEECHES TO SOME OTHER COUNTRY THAT MIGHT LISTEN TO A MAN THAT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE WHAT SO EVER IN 2012. PLEASE ‘VOTE’ IN THE GREEN INDEPENDENT PARTY FOR COTE’ FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012 IN NOVEMBER 6TH 2012 ‘ELECTION TO THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2012.
Leigh: A) Turn caps button off; it sounds like you are shouting, and B) Learn to speak English; this is America.
I am glad that they are saving our precious wild lands. P.S. National Forest designation does not mean that it can’t be logged or used for recreation. All Tea Party lies…….
Locking up wilderness areas is actually happening everyday without government bills. Multiple land trusts are buying rights to lands and then turning them over to the Federal government. Owner’s think they have control, but all you have to do is actually read the rights that are extinguished to know that government now has complete control and they will begin to stringently exercise it once most of the wilderness land is locked in. Doing so before hand would alert others to the harsh controls that can and will be implemented in the future and reduce the lands that would be available for purchase.
Perhaps States should initiate a buy-back program for all Federal land in their respective states, with the stipulation that all funds would be used to retire the national debt. Buy-back at same price as original purchase–no financial gain to Feds. This might help restore States Rights and retire the national debt at the same time. We don’t need Federal control over our land and its use.
Accountability 101I don’t care so much about federal land except the ‘Oblameya’ administration is determined to prevent new oil leases on federal land. We could be producing more oil. Benefits
1. creating more jobs
2. Increasing world oil supply and glut reduces world oil prices, and prices at the pump.
3. This drastically reduces the flow to terrorist states like Iran.
4. This would greatly help reduce the foreign trade debt by enabling the U.S. to become possibly China’s biggest oil supplier.
5. This would reduce the amount of debt The U.S. owes to China and other lenders by stopping the loss of American dollars
a. At the pump.
b. At the grocery store with reduced cost in transport shipping of goods to market.
c. Same applies to hardware and durable purchases by American consumers
d. Savings for Americans on home heating oil
e. Stabilizes the price of electric bills by keeping electrical generating costs down.
f. Lower gasoline and energy costs stabilizes the cost of state, local and federal government activities which involves operation huge fleets of cars, school busses, police helicopters, military crafts and operations, ships and shipping, travel reimbursements.
g. The cost to Americans attending higher educational intuitions and universities would be stabilized also for reasons a. b. c. d. e. and f.
h. The standard of living, quality of life and the income and savings for all Americans would once again greatly start improving and growing for reasons a. b. c. d. e. f. g. and h of course. And students would be able to pay back their loans, Loans would become more affordable because the government would stop causing the cost of borrowing to go up by borrowing from abroad too much.
Drill it!!
Dear tease iller,are you really this gullable?I think you are swilling coolaid.You need to check the fed gvnt’s record in the past century.It is no longer Of The People,By The People or For The People,it’s FROM the people!Maybe you’ll understand when you see the signs saying”Property of U.S.Government keep Out”.