Utah Rep. Ken Ivory, R-39th, said the American Lands Council’s (ALC) proposed National State Lands Act is the best solution for land conservation.
Ivory argued public lands are better preserved when they are owned by the local state and not by the federal government, arguing for his National State Lands Act over President Biden’s 30x30 initiative, according to an ALC slide presentation.
“You tend to get better decisions when they are made by people closer to the subject matter,” Ivory said, according to the presentation.
In the presentation, Ivory argued local management is more effective than federal management. He said turning lands over to be locally managed will reduce the fires, smoke, polluted water, death of trees and wildlife, economic depravity and unsafe communities. This will be replaced by healthier land, water, wildlife and overall “safe, vibrant communities.”
The National State Lands Act would allow western states to acquire federal lands and would allow them to move at their own pace when buying up these lands, according to the ALC website. They would be required to keep certain lands public and protect mineral, water and grazing rights.
The website also says the income from this land would help pay for schools, roads and other services.
In the presentation, Ivory said western states have proven their responsibility in maintaining lands. He noted western states already own 40 million acres of land and responsibly manage them.
Cost is not a question either. The slides showed western states' revenue per dollar on public lands supersedes the federal government by a rate of 10:1 or higher.
The American Stewards of Liberty said the 30x30 initiative is not about protecting the land. It posed the question of whether private land will be a target for the 30x30 initiative.
“The United States will not reach a 30X30 goal unless policymakers do more to help farmers, ranchers, fishermen and other private landowners conserve lands, waters and wildlife,” a Center for American Progress report, titled How Much Nature Should America Keep, said according to the ASL presentation.
The ASL presentation also referred to the Wyoming Acquisition. More than 35,000 acres were reportedly claimed by the federal government without consent of the Wyoming governor.
Ivory quoted former U.S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland in the ALC presentation, who said man “has three great rights, equally sacred from arbitrary interference: the right to his life, the right to his liberty, the right to his property. The three rights are so bound together as to be essentially one right. To give a man his life but to deny him his liberty, is to take from him all that makes his life worth living. To give him his liberty but take from him the property which is the fruit and badge of his liberty is to still leave him a slave.”
Ivory founded the ALC in 2012, according to its website. The website said ALC aims to promote research and education to advance responsible, locally-led management that enhances public accessibility, environmental well-being and economic effectiveness on public lands.
