(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Allemand Right. Wrong. Wingnut. A Colorado and Wyoming State Open Thread, 10/30/2023 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-30 Just having a little bit of fun at a Wyoming state legislator’s expense, since he’s being reliably right-wing but wrong, and I’m sure it’s not the first time. Today’s Colorado State Open Thread has some to do with Colorado, but more to do with our neighbors to the north in Wyoming. A legislator isn’t supposed to substitute his judgement for the truth, and he (she) isn’t supposed to substitute only one type of judgement if there’s another, more responsible judgement that will follow the law and the mission of a federal agency. I know there are many readers who are here to push for a more balanced environmental agenda, especially one that will help to not cater solely to those dedicated to destroying Mother Nature for the sake of a few more dollars in a very few pockets. This evening’s Open Thread was sparked by an article in the High Country News, which, as my dedicated readers know, is one of my favorite news sources for in-depth and thoughtful reporting around the western part of this country. The article was sent to me in a newsletter they send out titled Landline. This particular mailing is titled “A Sagebrush Rebellion flares up in Wyoming?” Those of you old enough may remember during Reagan’s presidency the response to responsible stewardship of American land by ranchers and miners in the west was called the “Sagebrush Rebellion” and it was desperate to halt all of the environmental measures being taken by Jimmy Carter’s administration, as well as Nixon’s before him (remember the EPA and such measures as NEPA (1969) and the Clean Water Act (1972) were passed and signed under Nixon). But we all know Nixon was a RINO before being a RINO wasn’t cool anymore. Reagan would hire multiple people who were part of the “Sagebrush Rebellion” anti-federal government movement like James Watt and Ann Gorsuch-Burford, hmm, that middle (maiden) name sounds familiar. I wonder from where?. Well, now, Mr. Allemand is now saying “This is probably the biggest disaster in the United States, affecting more people than the Civil War, Pearl Harbor or 9/11 combined,” Wyoming state Rep. Bill Allemand said. “I urge everyone to call the governor and ask him to stop this state-killing … plan.” Of what calamity was Allemand speaking? Was it the state’s suicide epidemic (highest rate in the nation)? Or perhaps the ongoing opioid crisis? Nope. The state lawmaker was referring to the new resource management plan proposed by the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs field office, which recommends increased protections on portions of a 3.6-million-acre swath of public lands in southwestern Wyoming, including the sparse and spectacular endorheic* basin of the Red Desert. Oh, the horror. *Endorheic lakes (terminal lakes) are bodies of water that do not flow into an ocean or a sea. Most of the water that falls to Earth percolates into the oceans and the seas by way of a network of rivers, lakes, and wetlands. — per Wikipedia I feel safe in saying that Mr. Allemand has been carried away on the northern end of a southbound jackass made secure by rope ties of hyperbole. From PBS.org, about the Civil War, when the overall population of the US was 31 million people in 1861: More than 3 million men fought in the war. Two percent of the population—more than 620,000—died in it. In two days at Shiloh on the banks of the Tennessee River, more Americans fell than in all previous American wars combined. The International Spectator has an article online comparing the US responses after Pearl Harbor (2403 dead, thousands injured) which brought the US into WWII and 9/11, which brought the US into the Global War on Terror (about 3000 dead on 9/11 and hundreds of thousands dead in the years following). Yeah, Mr. Allemande doesn’t think, he just wants to help his oil, gas, mining and ranching folks. Screw the people who are visiting nature and recreating. The mission of the Bureau of Land Management has never been (at least officially) to be the Bureau of Livestock and Mining, but that has been how many people around the west have come to see the BLM. Their mission has always been to balance use of the land they manage between livestock, mining, yes, but also recreation and making sure the land isn’t permanently harmed by the various uses put to it. That means they’re not supposed to allow people to go run their ATV’s, trucks, dirt bikes and livestock all over the land, leaving it degraded for wildlife. They’re not supposed to turn blind eyes to pot hunters looking for Native American artifacts or carving modern day grafitti over thousand year old petroglyphs. Mines aren’t supposed to be abandoned to Mother Nature so that toxic chemicals like Arsenic (used for gold mining) leaches into surface and underground waterways. Forests aren’t supposed to be clear cut, leading to erosion and bare hillsides. Now the BLM’s Rock Springs office is trying to ever so slightly adjust the priorities of their district so that recreation and conservation of the land are not ignored in favor of the mining interests. The article has detailed information, but the tie-in to Colorado is here: In other words, the BLM is basically trying to balance conservation and development — i.e., manage for multiple uses — just as Congress ordered it to do in 1976 with the Federal Land Policy Management Act. The BLM has formulated similar compromises in western Colorado, where it’s looking to put 1.6 million acres off-limits to new oil and gas leasing, and southeastern Utah, with a balanced motorized recreation plan in the canyon country around Moab. You can comment on the plan here until Jan. 17, 2024. In the meantime, I’d appreciate your commenting down below, or, if you want to see the near miss on gun violence, you can go to my other diary from today about the gunman found dead in Glenwood Springs — www.dailykos.com/… The floor is yours... [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/30/2202545/-Allemand-Right-Wrong-Wingnut-A-Colorado-and-Wyoming-State-Open-Thread-10-30-2023?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/