THE LUNCH DISCOURSE ON THE PUBLIC LAND TRANSFER MOVEMENT IS SOLD OUT.
Only those who have RSVP’d will be able to attend.
America’s public lands and waters—the millions of acres of mountains, rivers and forests that provide recreational opportunities from hunting to hiking to skiing to fishing, and that form the underpinning of the outdoor recreation economy, the third largest economic sector in the US—are owned by all its citizens. This uniquely American heritage and birthright, which includes our national parks, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, national forests, rangelands, and historic sites, is the subject of a multifaceted campaign to transfer public lands to state control or to private ownership.
In 2012, Utah passed a suite of bills that demanded the transfer of most of its public lands to the state. In Wyoming, the State Legislature recently passed legislation to study the co-management of public lands; the Wyoming Republican Party has passed a resolution in favor of transferring federal lands to state management; and four Wyoming counties have used taxpayer money to buy memberships in the American Lands Council, a group that advocates for the transfer. Though the campaign has been officially opposed by four counties in the state, including Teton County, where Federal public lands make up more than 97 percent of the area, its viability is being explored here as well as in other states across the West.
Moderated by Luther Propst, the Chairman of the Board of the Outdoor Alliance, this lunchtime discussion examines the players, politics and mechanics behind the public land transfer movement, and the opportunities for unification it offers to conservation, outdoor recreation and land management organizations across the country.
Panelists:
Participation in the Lunch Discourse is available to fifty people on a first-come, first-served basis. Only those who have RSVP’d will be able to attend.
Randy Rasmussen
Kiersten Iwai
Luther Propst
Whit Fosburgh
Tania Lown-Hecht
