Show sv i 1 ti n J Q J y Q B x PI y r 1100 r r G. unu Hatch By U.S. Senator Federal Land Management Western Discrimination k L 1 u a h afteL hf I arrived in the Salt Lake the land I i that is now Utah was ceded to the United it There was no reason to think that I Washington was going to hold on to that I r land forever since the federal government was seen as the temporary custodian of these lands until they could be disposed s of Over the that i way of thinking has and the f policy of the has become to hold the land in If Utah has been fortunate enough to have been acquired by the United States in as Nebraska was the Louisiana things might have been The federal government owns only percent of the state of because its policy has changed since the hold 66 That s 35 million out of the 53 million acres in the The policy reversal was po advanced by 1867 when Alaska was purchased from Russia that the Washington barons 96 of the acreage of that It would not be quite such an unbearable situation to havo the government hold the land if it weren't for the way it is Since 1964 federal bureaucrats have been tying up mineral r and energy resources through i interpretation of environmental legislation and combined with designations to land-use to a single It is just such a threat that hangs over Utah And Utah is not President Carter has proposed massive land set-asides and condemnation of agricultural holdings above a certain size throughout the West in terms of the 1 water Hundreds of bureaucrats with less real experience on the land collectively than the workers on the smallest Western cattle ranch are considering a reorganization of natural resource functions affecting the well-being of the People in the West recognize the need to preserve the beauty of their states and are confident of their ability to government should seriously consider ceding federal lands back to the Several bills have been introduced to attempt return of federal lands to individual The bills which are currently before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee would give control and operation of the lands to the states Land management can best be exercised by local state governments the individuals closest to the |