Western County Alliance provides updates

Ken Brown, director of Western Counties Alliance in Murray, Utah, of which Lincoln County is a member, gave an update on various issues including the on-going public land efforts by western states at the County Commission meeting Jan. 6.

He said Western Counties supports the current work on public land transfer from the Bureau of Land Management. The American Lands Council continues to address the issue.

Brown said the land is not in production like it needs to be, which is part of the reason, he said, the federal government is $17 trillion in debt. ?So much goes out, nothing coming in.?

The idea from the American Lands Council and Western Counties Alliance would be to get hold of the public land and put it into production for the benefit of the nation. ?They very best way to protect the land, is well-managed multiple use,? Brown said.

He also talked about the growing problem with wild horse/burro populations. The herds need to be reduced, but in one case he mentioned, the New Mexico State Attorney General has filed suit to stop the reduction of wild horse populations on public land. ?But,? he added, ?there are those in society who would like to see the numbers increased and less numbers of domestic livestock grazing.?

Sage Grouse is an issue in Lincoln County, as well as many other western states, is the possible listing of the bird as an endangered species and cutting off sage grouse hunting.

He said the real problem, so often ignored by wilderness proponents, is predator control. His thoughts were, if sage grouse are listed, ?then multiple use of the land will pretty much go to zero.? He noted a special meeting in Washington D.C. to address the questions again is scheduled for Feb. 28.

In regards to the wilderness issue in Lincoln County, he suggested Commissioners get together with leaders from White Pine, Esmeralda and Mineral County to talk about issues and then present them to the BLM.

Commissioner Kevin Phillips said he was informed of a piece of ground near the Atlanta Mines, north of Pioche, that was identified to have ?wilderness characteristics, and therefore considered to be wilderness and to be treated as such, and facing possible further restrictions on the development of the Atlanta Mine, and have to be address in a National Environmental Policy Act document.?

Brown said the directive came from the 1966 Wilderness Act, which when it became law, ?the criteria for evaluating public land was part of that.?

Ty Chamberlain, from the Caliente BLM office, said the NEPA process might mean mitigation is needed, but normally would not preclude the development of project.