Posted on 02/19/2016 1:04:30 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz promised Nevada voters he will transfer control of federally-held lands back to the states if he's elected.
"If you trust me with your vote," Cruz says in a new ad revealed Thursday. "I will fight day and night to return full control of Nevada's lands to its rightful owners, its citizens." Cruz criticizes fellow GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump for his reluctance to champion state control of federal land.
The ad begins by lamenting the fact that the federal government currently controls 85 percent of the land in Nevada, including the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on the Colorado River, Great Basin National Park, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Basin and Range National Monument.
Conservationists have criticized such transfer proposals in the past, calling them financially irresponsible and terrible for the environment.
"I can't help but think that if Theodore Roosevelt could see the current scam being peddled to American sportsmen he'd be fighting mad," wrote Field & Stream editorial director Anthony Licata last year.
He added: "Simply put, state treasuries cannot afford to manage these lands...These game-rich areas that currently belong to all of us will be developed or sold to large corporations, degrading critical habitat and locking out millions of sportsmen."
Such criticisms are unfounded, proponents of state control of land say, because the expense would not be more than that borne by the federal government.
Chris Edwards, director of federal and state tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, told The Daily Caller News Foundation Cruz's views regarding state ownership of public land is notable. There's no reason to believe state governments can't more efficiently control their own land, he told TheDCNF.
"To say that state governments could not afford to manage federal lands is nonsense. Indeed, state governments generally manage their own grazing, timber, and recreational lands to earn a positive net return for taxpayers," Edwards said.
He added: "By contrast, federal land is so poorly managed it loses money for taxpayers. So transferring land from the federal to state governments would be a win-win as land would be better managed and taxpayers would gain."
It's just as expensive for the federal government to use the National Park Service to wrangle more land under federal control, press secretary for House Committee on Natural Resources Elise Daniel said Friday.
"The Park Service is falling behind about $300 million annually on deferred maintenance and the total backlog among all land-management agencies is around $20 billion - yet the Obama Administration keeps trying to acquire more land," Daniel told TheDCNF's Andrew Follett.
Most of the candidates jockeying for the GOP presidential nomination share Cruz's sentiments.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential campaign is promoting an ad promising Kasich will transfer land management back to Nevada from Washington, D.C., and assures Nevada's conservative voters that "John Kasich says this land should be your land."
In January, as a militia was holding up a wildlife facility in Oregon for land management purposes, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio echoed Cruz and Kasich’s sentiments during an interview with the Des Moines Register's editorial board.
"I most certainly believe that the federal government controls far too much land in the Western parts of the United States especially," he said. "The state of Nevada is an example - it's almost entirely owned by the federal government. And it goes well beyond the legitimate need of land ownership for defense purposes, for example."
The White House classified three new national monuments earlier this month, all of which are located in California's desert.
The designations of the Mojave Trails National Monument, Sand to Snow National Monument and Castle Mountains National Monument, according to the White House website, appropriate nearly 1.8 million acres of desert sand underneath the yoke of federal rule.
Why should tax payers pay so hunters have a place to hunt? Or tourists have a place to visit?
Why should they rob my state cause they screwed their own up?
He cant promise that.
And people are hip to these types of goofy promises being just that.
Like how is he going to do that anyway?
Another stupid idea by a lawyer who thinks he is an executive.
If the administration can declare an area to be a wilderness area, why can’t a further administration rescind this?
Federalism...can’t get more constitutionally conservative then that.
Clear choice America: conservative Cruz or Code Pink, 9/11 Truther, Birther, Obamacare and Hillary loving American POW hating RINO Trump.
Ted....If it happens, it’s going to be because the people of Nevada file against the Feds.
Cruz is great at promising things. However, when it comes to actually delivering something he is a complete failure.
So every state that has land returned to it by ‘executive order’ sits on pins and needles every presidential election cycle hoping to keep their lands?? That’s nuts. Congress needs to act on returning Federal lands.....not holding my breath.
So, is Cruz protecting the lands along the Red River the BLM is trying to take from our/his fellow Texans?
Yes, Cruz is also involved in the Red River feud
After a busy few months trying to impeach Attorney General Eric Holder, increase carbon pollution, and wipe out limits on campaign contributions, Tea Party favorite Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is now working to sell off America's national forests, parks, and other public lands.
On Tuesday, Cruz filed an amendment to the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 (S. 2363) to force the federal government to sell off a significant portion of the country's most prized lands in the West. The amendment would prohibit the federal government from owning more than 50 percent of any land within one state, and requires the government to transfer the excess land to the states or sell it to the highest bidder."....
And how is he to do this as one senator? Even a successful filibuster requires the help of other members and their staffs in the upper chamber. Please give me your AMAZING plan that forces the hand of a majority leader to bring legislation to the floor to a vote. For that matter, what’s your plan to bring legislation to a sub-committee chairman to a vote? Please do tell.
Cruz is great at promising things. However, when it comes to actually delivering something he is a complete failure.
I don’t like the ‘highest bidder’ part. The federal government is able to sell of land as makes the most sense to it. That land east of the Mississippi was deemed valuable for individuals to build a life.
There is no reason that cannot be true of land west of the Mississippi. Plenty of it can support families.
So every state that has land returned to it by ‘executive order’ sits on pins and needles every presidential election cycle hoping to keep their lands?? That’s nuts. Congress needs to act on returning Federal lands.....not holding my breath.
And Congress will act right after Planned Parenthood is defunded. IOW, never.
I like his position on this.
He’d be my Number 1 if I felt like he was more believable.
As it is, he’s a close second.
Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
Summary The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of
land in the United States. Four agencies administer 608.9 million acres of this land: the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department
of the Interior (DOI), and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. Most of these
lands are in the West and Alaska. In addition, the Department of Defense administers 14.4 million
acres in the United States consisting of military bases, training ranges, and more. Numerous other
agencies administer the remaining federal acreage.
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