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NPS Retirees Say House Legislation Would Gut Antiquities Act, Lead To More Hunting In National Parks

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Legislation currently pending in the U.S. Senate would, if allowed to become law, gut the Antiquities Act that so many presidents have used to preserve and protect valuable landscapes and historical settings, according to the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

The measure is being considered as an amendment to the Farm Bill on the Senate floor and should be opposed by anyone who cares about the special places that are part of the National Park System, according to the Park Service retirees.

The bill's language would gut the Antiquities Act, which was used by past presidents to set aside places such as Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Olympic, Carlsbad Caverns and Acadia national parks.

“Some of this nation’s most loved parks were first set aside and protected as national monuments and were later legislated by the Congress into national parks," said Maureen Finnerty, chair of the Coalition's Executive Council. "The modification to the Antiquities Act would require that any presidential proclamation be approved by the governor and the legislature in the state in which the potential monument would be established. Such a requirement would essentially render the Antiquities Act meaningless as such accord rarely exists.

"Moreover, the president can only employ the provisions of the Act on lands already owned by the people of the United States. It cannot be used on state or privately-owned lands," she added.

Additionally, the group says, H.R. 4089 could open up many areas of the National Park System to hunting, trapping, and recreational shooting. Most national park sites are closed to such activities in the interests of public safety, visitor enjoyment and resource protection. The House defeated an amendment to the bill that would have specifically excluded all the 397 units of the National Park System from these activities, which are already legal and appropriate on millions of acres of other public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

“NPS has long governed units of the National Park System based on the principle that hunting, trapping, collecting specimens and other uses that extract natural resources from park area ecosystems are not allowed, unless Congress has clearly authorized such activities," said former Glacier Bay National Park Superintendent Cherry Payne, a member of the Coalition's Executive Council. "This longstanding principle has been confirmed by the courts.

"H.R 4089 would eliminate this principle because it would recognize that hunting, trapping, fishing and collecting are to be affirmatively supported and facilitated on all federal lands," she added. "As a result, H.R. 4089 would stand NPS management policy on its head, creating a presumption that consumptive uses are the norm, and must be allowed unless expressly prohibited.”

Comments

I thought it would be helpful to know who sponsored and cosponsored this bill, so here's a web page on that: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4089


Anonymous - whoever he or she is - simply does not understand or appreciate that units of the National Park System and other public lands exist and are created for ALL the people of the United States, not for local or statewide citizens anywhere. This person goes on and on trying to get around this basic fact. These resources are set aside and protected so they can be enjoyed by the great-great- grandchildren of "Anonymous" without having been altered or degraded, in many cases in fact having been restored from the negative impacts of human beings who want to use them for specific selfish interests to the detriment of their long term protection for everyone.

There is really no point in debating "Anonymous." During my long over career I encountered this sort of viewpoint many times, and these folks have a mind set trhat will not change.

o


"these folks have a mind set trhat will not change."

We are no more intransient than you.

You believe the feds can do a better job than the states. I don't. I think the evidence is on my side.


In Utah, the Feds are doing a much better job than anything the Utah loonislature tries to do.


Really? Care to give any specific examples?

As I remember, Utah has a balanced budget. The Feds haven't had one for four years and have run at a Trillion + deficit every one of those years. You want to brag about the record of the Forest Service or BLM?


If you lived in Utah you'd understand. In the meantime, continue trolling. It's fun bugging trolls.


And once again you fail to give any specific examples - unlike those that gave specific examples of the higher cost of LEEDS (much less net-zero). Do you need a fork for that humble pie?


Americans have a long history of being a very nationally short-sighted. We seem to have significant problems when it comes to looking forward. Witness the destruction of our railroads in favor of super highways and the trucking industry and our reluctance to do much of anything about low fuel efficiency in our vehicles. We tend to hang on desperately to the old ways, no matter what the old ways may be costing us. I tried today to find an article I had read some time ago about how much money is lost by our dependence upon an inherently inefficient system of transporting goods. Unfortunately, I couldn't locate it. But the cost is astronomical.

I've spent a lot of time the last couple of days trying to learn more about LEED buildings and have learned that there are literally thousands of sites out there. Most of them, it appears, support the idea that greater efficiency is needed -- for many reasons. It also appears that, depending upon how fancy a builder wants to go, the cost of building using basic LEED principles is very close to that of traditional building. As with any other technological changes, expenses tend to drop sharply as those technologies achieve wider use. There was an item on TV news this evening telling us that "Green" housing is becoming something prospective buyers of new homes in Utah are looking for in increasing numbers. That's good news. Maybe their wisdom will help drive the housing market in new directions.

Time will tell. But in the meantime, let's not be afraid to look for things that will improve life for all of us, and particularly for generations to come. Our reluctance to get busy on research into alternate fuel and energy sources has already put America at a great disadvantage in the global market in that area. We will have no one to blame but ourselves when China or India or some other far away nation puts the clamps on us as a result of our short sightedness. Even our food supply is being moved overseas.

Get back to us in fifty years. By then, we'll know who's right and who's wrong. I just hope my grandkids will be able to live as good lives as the one I've had. But I'm worried.


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