Recently Rep. Jeff Hurd referred to public lands mismanagement, and his desire for public lands decisions to reflect the local communities rather than having these decisions made in Washington, D.C., by people who know little about our local needs (Herald, July 6).
This is pure nonsense.
I moved to Durango in 1999 to begin my 21-year federal land management career, and was interested to see how local our decisions were. In 2009, I became the Columbine District Ranger/Field Manager, responsible for decisions on public lands spanning Durango to Red Mountain Pass, the Piedra River to the La Platas. I held this position for 10 years, and cannot begin to count the number of encounters I had with our local public that affected my decisions.
I worked with dozens of ranchers, Purgatory and Silverton ski areas, miners, outfitters and guides, people wanting to start new businesses, one who started a new lumber mill, bough cutters at Christmas time, county commissioners, and volunteer groups who maintained trails and educated our children. My decisions were deliberate and thoughtful, and most were appreciated by our local folks because they had a voice in my decision.
Hurd is clueless when it comes to how much local control there is on our public lands, and is simply spouting inflammatory rhetoric hoping no one calls him out. Republicans are attempting to dismantle the agencies and frustrate the public by lack of services so they can privatize these lands, and when this happens, local input is lost forever.
Matt Janowiak
Durango
