I never thought much about federal land out west and really didn't realize how significant it was. Here's a map of the US public owned lands:
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.....and here's a map of lands held by the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Mangagment:
Posted on 04/16/2014 3:12:56 PM PDT by xzins
Federal Land Retention and the Constitution’s Property Clause: The Original Understanding (Conclusion)
Robert G. Natelson*
Conclusion
Considered from the vantage point of original meaning, both the conservative and liberal interpretations of the “other Property” portion of the Property Clause are partly correct. The liberals are correct in that the Constitution – not just arguably, but clearly – authorizes permanent property ownership outside the Enclave Clause. The clarity of this result flows both from the text of the document and from comments made during ratification. Moreover, the liberals are correct in suggesting that those lands are subject to a public trust and cannot be ceded to the respective states without compensation. Federal land disposal, like federal land management, must serve the interest of the entire country.
On the other hand, the conservatives are correct about another aspect of original meaning. As understood at the time of ratification, the Constitution did not permit the federal government to retain and manage land indefinitely for unenumerated purposes. Massive, permanent federal land ownership would have been seen as subversive of the constitutional scheme. The federal government’s authority to dispose was unlimited (except for trust standards), but its authority to acquire, retain, and manage was not: all the latter functions could be exercised only to serve enumerated powers. To be sure, Congress would have considerable discretion as to how to effectuate enumerated powers, and reasonable exercises of discretion were not to be questioned. At the end of the day, however, all federal land not “necessary and proper” to execute an enumerated power was to be disposed of impartially and for the public good.
I should not be understood as saying that the framers and ratifiers meant to require sale on the open market or to the highest bidder as the only way of disposing land for the public good. That was the method appropriate in 1788, perhaps; but they would have understood that in later times the “proper” methods of disposition would vary according to the needs of the country and the nature of the land.223 In future years, the public interest might justify disposing of (on suitable terms) agricultural lands to homesteaders, mining lands to miners, and environmentally sensitive lands to other public entities or to nonprofit environmental trusts. Generally, though, the Constitution’s original meaning was that lands not dedicated to enumerated functions were to be privatized or otherwise devolved on terns that best served the general interest.
For the entire study go to link and then go to full screen.
http://constitution.i2i.org/sources-for-constitutional-scholars/federal-land-retention-and-property-clause/
*Professor of Law, University of Montana; Senior Fellow, the Goldwater Institute; Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence, the Independence Institute; President, Montana Citizens for the Rule of Law. I am grateful the assistance of the following individuals: for review of the manuscript and helpful suggestions, Professor Jonathan H. Adler, Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Elizabeth J. Natelson; for secretarial assistance, Charlotte Wilmerton, University of Montana School of Law.
“China wants real assets for their ever-depreciating dollars, and they want more than just gold. This is why they’re buying ports, farm land, mines and land for industrial development. That land has to be handed to them via the eminent domain process.”
And if we refuse to give them land as collateral, what will the ChiComms do? China, for all its manufacturing, is still an emerging economy. (India will be the No. 1 economy in Asia by 2030 because of demographics.) The ChiComms don’t have the logistical means to attack America. Further, the entire country is being held together by commie duct tape and spitballs.
Most are not following the labor situation in China, but I can tell you that the laborers in the factories are really, really pissed. One wrong step by the ChiComm crony capitalists and the whole country will blow up in their faces.
The ChiComm private equity funds have collapsed. Asian private equity is moving away from China in favor of other emerging economies in SE Asia and India. The central bank is dumping the yuan for hard assets like gold.
I’m interested in your take.
This would not have occurred if that MORMON fella had gotten elected.
Oh; wait...
HArry Reid is a Mormon...
Never mind.
the ends justify the means? Could not the state or county make the same accommodation?
Bundy needs to give a bumper sticker for a couple dollars contribution to his fees and legal expenses. Something like “I STAND WITH BUNDY”
Bet he’d have all his needs met in no time
Mitt Romney: Barack Obama’s Clone.
I am glad he didn’t win — I can imagine how things could be worse-off if he had.
Bet it was a very MOOOOOving experience
Had one of those a few years ago: hit the bulls eye cause I udderly couldn’t steer clear. Went to the ER my Drs name was Mark Mannship
All True!
“Mitt Romney: Barack Obama’s Clone.
I am glad he didn’t win — I can imagine how things could be worse-off if he had.”
Well, for one thing, I don’t think Romney would have sent 50 IQ BLM apes to attack a Mormon in Nevada. I could be wrong about that, but I don’t think so.
To all of those “copy and paste” scholars here who have argued this issue with me... Time to get on the right side and join the fight.
Ah ha. That sums it all up IMHO.
I had never realized it before, either. That map of Nevada is just about solid red. How can that be for a state that's been part of the union for about 150- years?
Be good to have you ponder the study at the link, digest, and comment. The article's bottom line to me is that the longer the Fed holds land, the less defensible becomes their holding. What do you think?
thx for posting. that is great stuff. next series Income tax: how the supreme court redefined the word income so that today we think our wages gained in exchange of our time and labor are labeled income. another series on “right to travel” why you don’t need a license to exercise your God given right to travel in a personal conveyance! not a vehicle. And there is no concept of “States Rights” states don’t have rights only people. Sates have delegated powers to protect our rights. all of them endowed by my creator! I’m thinking a great part of our political corruption in washington is going to be fought here. just by looking at the map.
He could have done something far, far worse: issue ObamaCare 'waivers' to the States.
If that happened, there would be a LOT of power attracted to the executive, in the form of:
Nice State you have there — you're going to vote the way I tell you, or you'll lose your ObamaCare exemption.
Thanks, will have to read that in depth. I have about 70 open windows on this stuff, but I’n chunking through.
I do real estate, among other things, in Nevada. Reid has unwittingly opened up a can of worms regarding how he acquired his own 200 acres in Searchlight (mining patents bought likely in 1973 at $2.50 an acre under 1872 mining law). I covered as much as I could here and in my book:
http://www.futurnamics.com/reid_bundyranch.php
But I suspect a crafty land attorney could rip Harry a new one if he looked deeper. I see a broken chain of ownership on Reid’s house parcel that raises eyebrows. Can go into latter.
I’ll read it.
Would the land attorney have to be from NV?
Maybe there’s a freeper that can help!
(The "Junction" was just a gas station when I was there in '63.
The fella that picked up this scrawny Hoosier said I was lucky he came along, as only about 4-5 vehicles a day came along the highway...
No, it can be any attorney familiar with federal land and BLM land use. Mining and Grazing rights, but also general deed transfers.
Here’s one thing that popped out. The Reid homestead and mine lot was owned shortly by one of his aids, breaking the chain of Reid family ownership. What’s up with that?
More than likely held in trust so Reid wouldn’t have to lie about his assets or to keep it safe from being impounded during a lawsuit. Has he or his family ever been sued for large sums of money or investigated for money laundering. The use of real estate sales to pass large sums of money is common.
There are some reporters who have investigated. The FBI has a report hidden from 1982. Also a current bribe investigation in Utah that I think I can help turn very ugly indeed.
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