Correct, the donation is only in the sense of the consideration for the transfer of the deed. Fed mgmt means taxpayer money.
As long as the gov has the authority to designate a monument or park, that process can be used. I actually would like to see the government get out of the “park” business. Gov needs to acquire property to perform functions, but beyond that I would rather see freedom in action, which also means someone may do something with the property others won’t like.
I don’t see what the large fed presence is, other than acreage. Parks and monuments have some Dept of the Interior personnel, but they seem to be relatively few in number per site.
I lean pretty far to the right on property rights. That means I should be able to do what I want with my property even if the governor, legislature, and public majority object to it.
It also means that others may do something I don’t like w/their property. I can accept that tradeoff because I believe, in aggregate, everyone is better off that way because it represents freedom.
I acknowledge that not many rights are “absolute”, meaning there is a balance of rights, e.g. my right to free speech doesn’t include shooting people as an expression of my ill feelings for them.
If they wanted to donate their land to a lumber company, I wouldn’t have a prob w/that either.
Leaning far to the right on property rights has nothing at all to do with whether or not the federal govt should assume ownership and operate a “National Monument” — that is a quite separate public policy debate.
For instance, suppose I own some rather marginal property of little historical or scenic appeal to anyone. Just because I have every “right” to donate this property to the federal govt does not mean the govt policy should require the Dept of the Interior to accept my property and pay tax dollars year after year to operate there.
My “right” to dispose of the property as I see fit does not confer any right for me to demand that the federal govt accept my property, nor does it give the govt any inherent reason to want to accept my property. The latter depends entirely upon whether it is well justified for the federal govt to create a new “National Monument” and operate it for the public.