THIS LAND WAS made for you and me. Or so the Woody Guthrie song, a staple of children’s elementary school musical concerts, goes.
But a member of Congress doesn’t sing the same tune and is interested in setting up a land sale of epic proportions, a disbursement of territory the size of Connecticut, 3.3 million acres across a vast swath of 10 western states.
Federal lands in Washington were not on the list of parcels deemed “disposable” by the author of House Bill 621, Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). But if this is allowed to occur without a fight, how quickly will we see public lands sold out from under us here in the Evergreen State?
Chaffetz claims the land, maintained by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), served “no purpose for taxpayers.” He also introduced a companion bill to strip the U.S. Forest Service and BLM of law enforcement responsibilities, effectively hamstringing the agencies’ abilities to effectively manage public lands and potentially putting people in danger.
These lands are used for hiking, fishing, hunting, cycling and many other forms of recreation as well as leased for timber, gas and oil extraction. The large sections of land also provide natural corridors for large predators and game animals to traverse in the search for food.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives changed its rules so that the sale does not have to make money for the federal government. Many of the thousands of parcels have impediments to disposal such as hosting endangered species and wetlands or having cultural significance.
An Interior Department employee, Mike Pool, who weighed in on a version of the bill in 2011, told the Guardian that selling those 3.3 million acres “would be unlikely to generate revenue.”
For the federal government and its taxpayers, yes, but somebody will get paid off these deals and we will never get that access back.
Selling off individual chunks of land also can create access problems and seal off larger portions of national forest land from hunters, effectively turning once productive areas into private reserves.
Hopefully our collective fog will lift and we will remember the refrain: “this land was made for you and me.”
Benefit auction, dinner
The North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers are selling tickets for the club’s annual fundraising dinner and auction at SunLand Golf &Country Club in Sequim on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for a social half-hour and perusal and bidding on silent auction items. The event itself begins at 5 p.m. and is open to all members and friends of the club.
Proceeds from the auction provide the majority of funding for the annual Olympic Peninsula Kids Fishing Day traditionally held in May at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim’s Water Reclamation Pond, and also for natural resource scholarships awarded to area students.
The ticket price is $16, and the preferred method of purchase is to email webmaster@psanopc.org. Those interested in attending also may phone 360-681-4768.
Silent and live auctions of salmon, halibut and bottomfish fishing trips, gear, tackle and more are planned.
A spaghetti buffet dinner, with choice of marinara or white clam sauce, plus garlic bread, tossed salad and dessert, starts at 5:30 p.m. A no-host bar will provide beer, wine and spirits.
Attendance is limited to 180.
All attendees will be entered into a drawing for a door prize.
For more information, visit www.psanopc.org.
Derby tickets
The North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers is a certified publicly supported organization with tax exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Derby tickets on sale
The annual Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby is coming up Feb. 17-19, the Friday through Sunday of President’s Day weekend.
Tickets ($40 plus any applicable service fee) are for sale online at gardinersalmonderby.org and at a host of retailers here on the North Olympic Peninsula and beyond.
The traditionally strong blackmouth chinook fishing grounds off nearby Protection Island usually produce the winner.
Marine Area 9’s continued closure to blackmouth fishing shouldn’t impact the derby.
The nonprofit salmon derby generates funds to support emergency and other services that benefit the Gardiner community.
Anacortes’ Danny Davis claimed last year’s $10,000 grand prize with a 20.7-pound blackmouth chinook.
Anglers will be entered into a drawing for a fully equipped 22-foot Hewescraft aluminum boat with trailer — a prize worth more than $85,000.
________
Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
