Say goodbye to our national parks.

[ffr]

Last edited Fri Jan 27, 2017, 07:43 PM - Edit history (2)

While we've been obsessed with tRump's media circus act, Paul Ryan has been quietly slipping in legislation to sell off our national parks in a round-about way.

The House just made it a lot easier to sell off national parks

The U.S. House of Representatives just made it easier for the government to sell or give away national parks, national forests, and other public lands.

A new rule, written by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT), establishes as fact that any legislation to dispose of public lands and natural resources would cost taxpayers exactly $0. This paves the way for the new Congress to get rid of vast swaths of public lands — all at the expense of the American taxpayer.

Under Congressional Budget Office accounting rules, the House is required to account for the cost of any legislation it considers. Now, the House does not need to even estimate any financial losses from giving away public land. Bills to dispose of public land will skip several steps in the normal legislative process, coming up for a vote without any discussion of the costs and benefits. The House approved the rules change by a vote of 234 to 193 on Tuesday.

Since the move applies only to House rules, it is not subject to approval by the Senate or a presidential signature. It is effective immediately. - Think Progress

Some of our last glimpses before nature's beauty is auctioned off to the KGOP elite corporations.

[Angry Dragon]

1. just a MOB of assholes

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Bastards.

[workinclasszero]

3. All will be sold off to friends of Trump for pennies an acre

Clear cut and strip mined into oblivion.

I guess if you can afford it this summer visit your favorite National Park before it disappears.

[Bettie]

5. I was actually thinking of taking my kids to the Smithsonian this summer

before it is gone.

I'm wishing we hadn't put off the driving vacations, because time is running out. Right at the 100th anniversary of the national parks system too.

[workinclasszero]

9. Franklin was right

A republic, if you can keep it.

We gave it away starting with Rayguns IMO.

National parks are wastes of land to republicans, there's money to be made citizen!

[Bettie]

4. But, just think of all

the minimum wage jobs at the fancy once percenter resorts they'll put up.

Of course, I've heard that the really fancy resorts only like to use foreign workers...like that one in Florida.

[TheBlackAdder]

6. Paul Ryan's kids will live with their shithead father's legacy.

.


Selling yourself for money only goes so far.


.

[fishwax]

7. disgraceful. traitorous.

[BSdetect]

8. Tell any buyers we will tqake them back at their cost. No compensation.

Fuck these turds.

[Wellstone ruled]

10. Follow the money.

Phil Anschutz has personal interests via Xantera Corp.

[sarcasmo]

25. Always the #1 rule with politicians, follow the money.

[2naSalit]

32. and they already have cornered the market for

concessionaires in nearly every park... take Yellowstone, for example, they're all over that place and are buying up the towns outside the entrances and running off all the locals. And then there are the Chinese investors who are buying whatever Delaware North/Xanterra don't buy. Folks complained that it wasn't like Dinsneyland and a Walmart was 100 miles away, so now they will have just that. Sad thing is that many of the parks, YNP in particular, are the throbbing heart of important regional ecosystems, once they crash, the whole region will be ecological toast.

If this madness is not stopped and reversed immediately, (ha!), then we sure can just kiss it all goodbye.

[Wellstone ruled]

35. Here you.

Most people never question the why and where for around National Parks and Monuments. No someone who went toe to toe trying to protect the YNP from these groups.

Locally we have Zoin and Bryce,as well as the Gold Butte and Lake Meas Areas. Same thing is quietly happening. BTW,these names surface in conjunction with this. Harry Reid's son,Jason Chaffetz,Orin Hatch,Mike Lee,Cresent Hardy,and of course several of the Casino owners.

Notice how the Utah Delegation wants Bears Ears and The Grand Staircase removed from the Monument Status. That is all about the Oil and Gas leases,just sold in those two areas. Secondly,major Uranium deposits that are not on Navajo Lands.

Like I say,folks do not see the real damage being done to our National Parks and Wilderness Areas. Understand the new Fees for Park use is suppose to be jacked way up.

[2naSalit]

40. Absolutely.

I have been "in the trenches" out here for decades. I'm right here next to YNP and a national forest and several wilderness areas, I am contemplating what I will do at this point, whether to be come a refugee, emigrant, mercenary or martyr... whichever it is, I feel my country have become a pariah and oppressor who has now betrayed us all.

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. All public lands buildings....This some heinous shit!

[Docreed2003]

12. From preservation to full wholesale within a hundred years...

I wish Teddy Roosevelt was around, just to whip these guys butts

[spanone]

13. this is just a fucking disaster.

[ffr]

14. I want to get in on this too. There's no reason why, given economic viability,

any of us wouldn't have as much right to own public lands as the next guy. It all depends on who comes up with a plan and executes it first.

The KGOP is turning over ownership of our public lands to the states, many of whom may see short-term gains buy auctioning off parcels to the highest bidder, so why not get involved too?

My plan would pivot around the centerpiece that I would take better care of these treasures, I mean public burdens, than the public. Better me than them!

[ffr]

15. Exact wording of legislation.

--- 35
1 (q) TREATMENT OF CONVEYANCES OF FEDERAL
2 LAND.—
3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the One Hundred Fif
4 teenth Congress, for all purposes in the House, a
5 provision in a bill or joint resolution, or in an
6 amendment thereto or a conference report thereon,
7 requiring or authorizing a conveyance of Federal
8 land to a State, local government, or tribal entity
9 shall not be considered as providing new budget
10 authority, decreasing revenues, increasing mandatory
11 spending, or increasing outlays.
12 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
13 (A) The term ‘‘conveyance’’ means any
14 method, including sale, donation, or exchange,
15 by which all or any portion of the right, title,
16 and interest of the United States in and to
17 Federal land is transferred to another entity.
18 (B) The term ‘‘Federal land’’ means any
19 land owned by the United States, including the
20 surface estate, the subsurface estate, or any
21improvements thereon.
22 (C) The term ‘‘State’’ means any of the
23 several States, the District of Columbia, or a
24 territory (including a possession) of the United
25 States.

BILLS-115hres5-PIH-FINAL.pdf

Brought to you by the Republican brand of these United States.

[struggle4progress]

16. "Ride the Old Faithful Ferris Wheel, near the former site of the famous geyser,

which is now being relocated to Florida's Disney World, so that more Americans can enjoy its natural splendor! See a 1:10 model of a majestic Sequoia when you visit our new lumbermill! Marvel at the Grand Canyon reclamation project, which replaces thousands and thousands of landfills in cities and towns across America, while providing employment opportunities for countless displaced Sanitation Engineers!"

[MoonRiver]

17. I knew this was coming if they took over, but it is so heartbreaking.

[lpbk2713]

18. I can just imagine deer and black bear looking like NASCAR drivers.

Decorated with logos and advertising.

[pokerfan]

19. Goodbye...

Glacier NP:


Mt. Rainier NP:


North Cascades NP:


Olympic NP:


Crater Lake NP:

[Ohioblue22]

20. we would havee lost them anyway cause there was no difference

between hillary and trump or so i heard

[ffr]

31. I remember that being said, right about the time of PizzaGate.

So it must have been true. That Nasty Woman!

[ProudLib72]

21. What are the advocacy groups saying?

Sierra Club? You think they will let any parks be sold off? They will definitely go to war before that happens.

[ffr]

23. Dunno, but surprisingly Hunting and Fishing groups are sounding the alarm.

Congress just made it easier to sell off federal land, including national parks

<snip>

John Gale, conservation director for the advocacy group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said that he’s worried about access for sportsmen. He believes that there’s a further danger in segmenting ecosystems through state-by-state development.

“70% of the headwaters of our streams and rivers in the West are on public lands,” he said. “Rivers and migratory corridors don’t follow state boundaries.”

The incoming administration hasn’t been clear about where it falls on transfers. Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, tapped to be the next Secretary of Interior, voted for the rules package, but in the past he’s been against land transfers. President-elect Donald Trump has spoken out against reallocating federal land, but he’s also met with prominent pro-land transfer groups.

Nevertheless, bills proposing land transfer will now have an easy route to passage, as they won’t need to be backed by any financial justification.

The entire rules package passed on party lines, but it runs counter to legislation that passed both the House and Senate in November, the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016.

Signed into law in December, the legislation requires the Department of Commerce to count the over half a trillion dollars from the outdoor recreation economy in the country’s GDP for the first time.

“It’s not just natural resources that are on the auction block, but jobs,” said Gale. “For a party that prides itself on being fiscally conservative ... they’re talking out of both sides of their mouth.” - BusinessInsider

America's treasures up for auction or to be given away. Aren't Republicans just the party you want to hug and thank?

[Initech]

22. I'm done playing nice with the GOP. Fuck them all!!!!!

[ffr]

24. Remember how you're feeling now when someone says both parties are the same.

Yeah, me too.

[Blue_true]

26. What republicans haven't taken into account

Is that many national parks are integral parts of the local economy, as they exist now. What do republicans propose, turning the land over to scrub cow ranchers like Clive Bundy and shutting out recreational hunters, skiers, birders, ect? Do they suggest turning them over to mining companies or oil companies? Exactly
Why to oil companies need to drill in national parks when modern drilling technology can allow them to tap oil there from outside the park, closer to home, during President Obama's term vast reserves of oil were found, reserves that will last for 25-30 years without a single new discovery - do those fools think that Clean Energy technology will not have made giant leaps forward during that time, potentially making oil redundant? The one area where doing exploration in national parks may be of some value is in the search for more Rare Earth metals, but even there, Scientists are rapidly developing alternatives to Rare Earth metals for use in magnets and electric motors.

[elleng]

27. Alt National Park Service

'Hello, we wanted to take a moment to let you know who we are. We're a growing coalition of 52 National Park Service employees from nine different National Parks. We formed to ensure the protection of the environment for future generations to come. We were forced into a media blackout, hiring freeze, policy changes, and possible reduction in funding. We are here to stand up and speak out against the current administration. We all refuse to be silenced while we watch everything we love crumble. Join the movement at www.altnps.org -Arches, Everglades, Shenandoah, Yosemite, Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.'

https://www.facebook.com/AltUSNationalParkService/?fref=nf

[Maru Kitteh]

28. I will lay down and die under the tracks of the tank or bulldozer at Glacier National Park

if they try to take it. I mean that in utter and complete sincerity. Without question.

This land is sacred, and worth dying for.

[MadDAsHell]

29. It isn't ours. It should be given back to the native Americans.

[ffr]

30. What a liberal thing to say. Don't you want to own Niagra Falls State Park?

It would be all yours and you could charge whatever you wanted. You could dam it up and ship the water via aqueduct or pipeline to the desert southwest, where your relatives now own the Grand Canyon. They'd divert their water elsewhere too. The highest bidder takes all!

[former9thward]

39. Are you willing to give back your home to the Natives?

[Crunchy Frog]

33. If the Dems ever return to power, they'd better take all of that land back for the American people.

No compensation, and possible prosecution for the thieves who "bought" it. If they don't, then I consider them worthless.

That's all.

[LeftInTX]

34. I bet Trump has never been to a national park

Heck, I wonder if he has ever been to Central Park?
(This guy is not a normal person)

[Coventina]

36. Can there be a lawsuit brought against this?

Dear God/dess I hope so....

[ffr]

37. You could do that, but then people in that other country that have opposed those in power

seem to have a bad case of stunted life expectancy.

Kremlin COVERED-UP Murder of KGB Chief Who Did Trump Dossier
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028552587

Trump dossier: intelligence sources vouch for credibility of report's author
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141663297

Before the fall: America's public lands on clearance rack
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028552922

[First Speaker]

38. If necessary, the American people should take direct action to save the parks...

...up to, and including, armed occupation. Fuck it. If the Bundys can do this, why can't we in an infinitely worthier cause? I'm a sick old man, so I'd be more than willing to go to the front line. It doesn't much matter what happens to me, if I can help save the country for the generations coming after, and I'm entirely serious. The way things are going, it will be dishonorable to just go on existing, doing nothing, while everything falls to pieces. And I'm pretty sure "direct action" would be supported by the American people...