2014-04-19

Push for Devolution of Power in the American West

The more power is concentrated in the federal government, the stronger the desire for secession will grow. The more power that is devolve to state and local governments, the weaker the desire to secede.

Western lawmakers gather in Utah to talk federal land takeover
It’s time for Western states to take control of federal lands within their borders, lawmakers and county commissioners from Western states said at Utah’s Capitol on Friday.

More than 50 political leaders from nine states convened for the first time to talk about their joint goal: wresting control of oil-, timber -and mineral-rich lands away from the feds.

"It’s simply time," said Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, who organized the Legislative Summit on the Transfer for Public Lands along with Montana state Sen. Jennifer Fielder. "The urgency is now."
One interesting aspect is the Kelo decision by the Supreme Court, which said land could be taken if it would benefit the public by raising tax revenue. Previously, it was understood that only land needed for public use, such as a road, could be taken by the government, but in the Kelo decision, land was taken away from a private individual and given to a corporation that was expected to develop the land. I've wondered if any states or local governments might try to seize federal or state property on the same grounds. Much of the western United States is undeveloped in part due to federal control over the land.

The summit was in the works before this month’s tense standoff between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management over cattle grazing, Lockhart said.

"What’s happened in Nevada is really just a symptom of a much larger problem," Lockhart said.

Fielder, who described herself as "just a person who lives in the woods," said federal land management is hamstrung by bad policies, politicized science and severe federal budget cuts.

"Those of us who live in the rural areas know how to take care of lands," Fielder said, who lives in the northwestern Montana town of Thompson Falls.

"We have to start managing these lands. It’s the right thing to do for our people, for our environment, for our economy and for our freedoms," Fielder said.
The desire for local control is a global phenomena, from Venice to Catalonia and now to Utah.

A study is underway at the University of Utah to analyze how Utah could manage the land now in federal control. That was called for in HB142, passed by the 2013 Utah Legislature.

None of the other Western states has gone as far as Utah, demanding Congress turn over federal lands. But five have task forces or other analyses underway to get a handle on the costs and benefits, Fielder said.

"Utah has been way ahead on this," Fielder said.
This is good from the standpoint of stability. Anytime power is devolved, the local people will spend their time exercising their new power/freedom. If refused, they will not give up, but grow more emboldened and search wider afield for solutions, including secession.

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