Lawmakers, experts, and advocates from around the western states gathered in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday, August 5, for the Public Lands Strategy Summit to discuss actions being taken to bring equity to the people of their respective states.
At issue is equal access to the lands and better management of natural resources within their mostly rural states, conducted at a local level by experts using the volumes of scientific data currently available.
Rising concerns about the health of state and local economies, as well as the destruction of the landscape, wildlife, and natural resources shape the core of their actions. Arizona State Representative Brenda Barton, (LD6), stated, “I believe that we have begun the process to make Arizona a whole state.”
Gathering some of the greatest constitutional experts in the country, the effort is co-founded by Idaho County Commissioner, Jim Chmelik and Doyel Shamley of Veritas Research. Because lawsuits from an array of environmental organizations has led to the mismanagement of these resources and the decline not only of economic prosperity but also the health, safety, and welfare of our rural communities and our country as a whole, the group is left with a lawsuit as one of their only remedies.
The group offers the 2012 fire in Idaho County, as an example as to why action is necessary. In that case, “246,000 acres burned and along with it 1.3 billion board feet of timber was destroyed. This timber had a value of $390,000,000.00. The economic multiplier in the timber industry is 5-7. Using just a multiplier of 3 the net gain to the local economy if the timber could have been salvaged would have been 1.17 billion dollars to Idaho County and the surrounding communities,” notes the group.
Listen Commissioner Chmelik discuss the summit on the James T. Harris Show here
Officials and western counties including Shoshone, and Washington in Idaho, and Mohave and Apache in Arizona are supporting the effort along with several representatives from both Arizona and Utah.
“We have a great legal argument to make. This is an issue of fairness, we don’t have the same rights as the people of the other states. They get to enjoy full ownership of their land, our people deserve the same opportunity,” stated Commissioner Chmelik. “It’s about better access, better management, and a brighter future for our children.”