The
“western states” in 1828 (IN, IL, MO, AR, LA, FL, etc.) banded
together and relentlessly sent petition after petition, resolution
after resolution, delegation after delegation to Washington
complaining that (i) Congress was not disposing of their public lands
as promised at statehood, (ii) as a result these “western states”
could not generate sufficient revenues to fund education, (iii) they
couldn’t grow their economies, and (iv) they were denied access to
their abundant minerals and natural resources.
Because
they simply refused to take “NO” for an answer regarding the duty
of the federal government to transfer title to their public lands, by
1854, Congress passed the Graduated Price Act paving the way for the
transfer of nearly all of the public lands in their states. You can
learn more about the resolve that led to this 1828 success story in
securing the transfer of the state’s public lands by clicking
here, here,
and here.
The
success story of these 1828 “western states” banding together to
secure the rights and benefits promised them at statehood is both
instructive and inspiring for the circumstance of today’s western
states where the federal government still maintains an iron-fisted
control over their public lands.
Utah,
for example, is perpetually last in the nation in per pupil funding
for education. In fact, it would take more than $2 billion a year
for Utah to close this education-funding gap. Moreover, Utah relies
on funds from a fiscally unsustainable federal government for more
than $5 billion a year of its $13 billion budget.
Utah,
and the other western states, have an abundance of resources to
provide for education equality and to secure our economic
self-reliance (click here and here)
if only the federal government would honor the same promise it made
and kept with all states east of Colorado.
Why
would today’s western states allow this fiscally reckless federal
government to retain control over our public lands and our future
where the promise is the same for the disposal of our public lands as
it was with the 1828 “western states?” Could it be that all we
lack is a general knowledge of our public lands history and our
rights, and the 1828 Resolve to not take “NO” for an answer?
Learn more about our public lands history and rights at
www.AreWeNotAState.com.
Utah
has taken the first step this year in refusing to take “NO” for
an answer by passing the
Transfer of Public Lands Act which sets a deadline of December
31, 2012 for the federal government to work with the state toward the
orderly transfer of all public lands to the state to be managed by a
Utah Public Lands Council. The Public Lands Council is charged with
maintaining the existing rights and expectations that have accrued in
the lands over the 116 years that the federal government has failed
to honor its promise to dispose of the public lands. The bill also
protects Utah’s national parks and other important natural heritage
sites while paving the way for the development of Utah’s abundant
natural resources to close Utah’s education funding gap and to
secure the future economic self-reliance of the state.
Why
shouldn’t today’s western states have the same rights and
benefits to their public lands that the 1828 “western states”
relentlessly secured for their state and their future?
Written
by Rep. Ken Ivory (sponsor of the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act)
Utah
House of Representatives
No comments:
Post a Comment