New Congressional "Action Group" Misses the Mark on Public Lands
New data show public lands not to blame for education funding woes
DENVER-- Utah Representatives Rob Bishop and Chris Stewart today announced a “Federal Land Action Group” designed to find ways to give away or sell-off American lands.
In response, Jessica Goad, Advocacy Director at the Center for Western Priorities, said:
“This new group and its goals are an affront to every American who shares in our national heritage. It’s well-established that turning over our national lands to the states would be extremely costly to taxpayers and would seriously restrict access to the places where we recreate. Members of this group are wasting their time and are doomed to lose in the court of public opinion.”
CWP also released new research today detailing how many Western states have more private and state lands per capita than Eastern states. Goad explained:
“Our national parks, forests, and lands are not to blame for any state’s education funding problems, and yet they are being used as easy scapegoat for Western politicians. In reality, Western states have more taxable private and state lands per capita than many Eastern states. Rather than undermining our public lands, politicians should instead look for other solutions to their states’ budgetary woes.”
For additional resources, please visit americanpubliclands.com.
