Republicans Channel the Bundys With Federal-Land Bill

[Eleanors38]

3. Some potential allies in the battle to stop privatization:

Hunters and fishers.

The leading "hook & bullet" magazines -- Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Petersen's Hunting, etc. -- have called for pushback on efforts to divest public lands at the federal level. They see through the smoke and know that even if states take over these lands they cannot manage them due to GOPer defunding at state levels, and the lands would be spun off to mining, ag, energy interests and developers. The upshot: public lands of hunting, fishing and all outdoor activities would be sold off, and you would pay through the nose for the "privilege" of using the land; in the case of hunting, it would return to a European/royalty model. The National Wildlife Federation is a strong force in this coalescing alliance.

Some here on DU may wish to consider setting aside their objections to hunting and human recreational use of public lands lest they become unwitting allies of very powerful economic interests who would gladly support hunting bans on many properties to speed the transition process.

Please note that a massive mining proposal in Alaska was thwarted by outdoor interests -- including the Safari Club and fisher associations. The mine's tailings would have ruined fishing streams and disrupted wild game.