Public land sale in Utah will have impact on hunters

In recent weeks an addition to the Federal Budget bill from the House of Representatives seeking to sell off about 500,000 acres of public land in Utah and Nevada raised the blood pressures of conservation groups. They argue that the amendment violates the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, something they recently fought hard for.

I’m sure that someone reading this once upon a time hunted or fished on public lands in one of those states or plans to in the near future. Other recreational pursuits in those areas involve off road vehicles, hiking, mountain biking, wilderness camping, etc.

The House of Representatives press types said this addition comes from “budget concerns,” but at the same time talk of buying Greenland floats around Washington. Kind of makes the “budget concerns” look like exactly what conservation groups feel this amounts to - smoke in mirrors.

We all may recall that a recent high court ruling stopped a movement out of Utah to transfer federal lands to the state. Utah than planned to promptly sell those lands off – for budgets concerns. Conservation leaders felt that this centered around a relatively small group of individuals who wanted relatively inexpensive land to develop.

We cannot make more land. So eventually developers get around to the previously less desirable lands, now called public lands - to make money at the expense of hunters, anglers, and wildlife.

Several western states want in on the federal land sell off. What starts there seems to make its way to here. Plenty of “anti-public land” pro golf course and condo types exist in Wisconsin. We observed plenty of these attempts in the last decade. One part of their plan rattles around the halls of elected officials in Madison right now.

Some things that we do outside and for recreation lend themselves well to private lands. Hunting whitetail deer and turkeys do in Wisconsin. In some western states pheasant, elk, mule deer, and antelope hunting do.

For many the cost involved with hunting any or all of those species on private land exceeds their wallet. Non-resident elk tags cost over $1,000 alone in some western states, after travel and gear expenses. A couple more thousand dollars for land access or harvest fees charged by landowners adds up to a lot of cash for a one time, one week hunt. Many hunters either hunt crowded public lands or stop hunting.

But fractionalized private lands, broken up into parcels doesn’t lend itself well to several types of hunting. Hunting big game with hounds, like bear and mountain lion, or big horn sheep, mountain goat, and moose pretty much require large parcels of public land. So do upland gamebird species like chukar, sage grouse, blue grouse, and desert quail. Most waterfowl migration resting areas and even wintering areas fall into the public land catagories.

Most of the fishing that we do involves public access and public waterways. What happens if some connected individual decides that they can develop the public land around Miller Dam and make money ten years from now. Suddenly someone in Washington adds on an amendment to a budget bill and the Forest Service sells them all the federal land surrounding Miller Dam Lake. They then lot it off. Ten years later it’s rimmed with second homes with three wave runners each. What happens to the quality of the fishing?

This is what this item is about in Utah and Nevada. It’s not about the federal budget or affordable housing.

Five hundred thousand acres provides land for a lot of antelope, mule deer, and elk. A lot of recreational trails will go by the way of the dodo and a lot of ranchers will go out of business.

Unlike the ballot initiative from Colorado last November that we didn’t get a say in, we possess influence on this. But the question remains to be seen will we as hunters make our feelings known. If history repeats itself – no. And we won’t know the total implication of these losses for about 10 to 20 years when the after effects trickle into our region of the country.

Plenty of conservation groups decided not to keep the powder dry on this one. They ask you to call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative. They ask you to email too. They ask you to tell them not to sell our land.

Tight lines and please remember, Safe Hunting is No Accident!

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CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN