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Show Biff offtF more than we cam chevJ Have you ever thought how we got in the mess we're In? It wasn't easy you know. For many years we went along, prospecting with a burrow, herding sheep and cattle on public lands, with pretty much everyone tending his own business. But someone got the bright idea of building roads, to give better access. Another An-other wanted to improve a spring to get more water. Some decided we should uproot up-root trees and reseed to give more grazing graz-ing land. Sheepmen wanted more sheep, less cat-tlel cat-tlel Cattlemen wanted more cattle, less sheep! Miners didn't want either one! They demanded something be done! States with public lands especially Western states with lots of public lands asked the federal government for help. The Dept. of Interior was born. Soon there was the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The Taylor Grazing Act and multiple use concept. Grazing permits, oil and gas leasing, and mineral royalties were collected to pay the bill. Everyone was happy almost! Along came the recreationists. An affluent af-fluent society that demanded access to all public lands. They included people from all walks of life, including those above who had traditionally used public lands. The bureaucrats responded. They multiplied mul-tiplied quickly to meet demands of each diverse interest. They were mediators. They made plans, they mapped, reseeded, improved water, recorded geologic information. in-formation. They listened. They promised something for everybody. Did it matter that less than 25? on the dollar was returned re-turned to the land? Since everybody was going to the bureaucrat, there was little discourse between be-tween the diverse interests. The promise was always there just as soon as we get the funding. Innocently we set back, waiting year after year smug that our pet project would be approved in the next allocation. If it didn't, it was the fault of the administration or legislature not the bureaucrat. Each year the bureaucracies grew stronger. Soon they were bigger than any other Industry. They began drafting legislation. They became experts on all things dealing with public lands. Their legislation became law. New bureaucracies were formed, EPA, ERDA, FEA, OSHA, EDA, and many others. More legislation I was passed, more laws, more rules and regulations. How else could the legislature satisfy the demands of the many special interests? Everybody wanted a hand -out. So what if we only got two -bits out of a dollar so long as I get mine! In the past there has been little discourse dis-course between the many diverse interests. Maybe it's time we begin talking to each other instead of all the bureaucrats. That's what PLUC is all about, diverse interests talking and working together for the mutual interest of all. There is no free lunch. If the bureaucrat can keep us apart and fighting among ourselves, the time is not far away when the bureaucrat will be prospecting, pros-pecting, mining, running cattle and sheep, and drilling for oil and gas. We'll all be in the breadline,, still waiting for a hand -out. Isn't that a little more than we bargained for? "Red" |