Calls to sell off our public lands have been growing at an alarming rate, and unfortunately, many who support the land seizure movement have been taking a more and more extreme stance in making their case.
It’s OK to disagree – there is no one answer to our management of public and state lands – but it is not OK to make people who think differently than you feel like they are in danger.
This was most prominently illustrated with the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, when armed extremists took over public lands and refused entry to the American people. This extremist act unfortunately ended in bloodshed, and it’s important to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
The public now has the opportunity to speak out against extremism on America’s public lands.
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., is holding a forum on the growing anti-government extremism on public lands. The forum will discuss the emergence of this movement and the government’s efforts to confront these dangers.
The public is welcome to submit comments prior to the forum, and I encourage everyone who is against this extremism to do so. The requirements to submit comments are as follows: email comments as a PDF attachment, saved using the name of the organization/individual submitting the written comments. Write in the subject line: Forum — Countering Extremism on America’s Public Lands. Please include contact name, organization (if the submission is being submitted on behalf of a group), phone number and email address in the body of the email.
Submissions will be accepted through Friday, June 10, and made public at a later date. All comments should be emailed to nrdevents@mail.house.gov.
The growing extremism around this issue is dangerous and antithetical to progress. Show your support for ending extremism around the public lands transfer issue today!
Susan Torres
Albuquerque
