I don’t know how many times I need to write this, but Utah’s Senator Mike Lee is at it again, trying to do away with your public land. His thoughtful analysis of why we don’t need public land this time? Border security, and why we need to absolutely do away with the Wilderness Act in order to do so.
If that feels like it’s an even bigger stretch than usual, it’s because it is, and he’s quickly running out of reasons to convince Americans why we don’t deserve our public lands. You’d think he’d give it up already, especially since he absolutely knows that any sort of touching of public lands will basically rain hellfire and brimstone onto his office’s voicemail and his staff, yet I suspect Lee just does it for the love of the game, versus caring whether he’s re-elected or not. The man is a walking, talking Captain Planet villain if I’ve ever seen one.
But let’s dive into Lee’s latest asinine excuse of why the Wilderness Act as it sits, is bad, why it’s bad for border security, which it isn’t, and why we should all just shut up and give our public lands away to the highest bidder, which we absolutely shouldn’t. Let’s examine his proposed Border Lands Conservation Act.
God, this man gives me a raging headache whenever I see his name pop up. Hey, Mike Lee. Not one acre.
First and foremost, Lee, along with Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, Texas Senator Rafael “Ted” Cruz, Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, and Florida Senator Rick Scott, are the folks proposing new legislation to combat the Biden Administration’s open borders by giving our wilderness areas over to Customs and Border Patrol, who will then build roads into those areas. They’re the folks wanting to take your public lands away.
I’ve linked their contact information to each of their names above for you to voice your opinions more easily, too.
“Biden’s open-border chaos is destroying America’s crown jewels,” stated Lee in the announcement on the Border Lands Conservation Act, adding, “Families who want to enjoy a safe hike or campout are instead finding trash piles, burned landscapes, and trails closed because rangers are stuck cleaning up the fallout. Cartels are exploiting the disorder, using these lands as cover for their operations. This bill gives land managers and border agents the tools to restore order and protect these places for the people they were meant to serve.”
And if that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is. Firstly, Biden’s policies weren’t open door. And Wilderness zones are where anyone crosses borders because they’re Wilderness zones. They’re rugged terrain, harsh landscapes, and are only habitable to animals and a select few idiots like me who want to chase those animals. But Lee, along with his cohorts listed above, are pretending that the prior administration is still in charge, and that our Wilderness zones are now some insane battlefield. They just aren’t.
But more importantly, this is just a back door way at then selling off those lands to developers because they no longer would have the Wilderness Act’s protections, and be able to then build roads so mining, gas and oil, and other extractive industries could access them. Something that’s implicated in the text of this Act.
According to their own admission, the Act “Authorizes border access roads on federal lands, coordinated with Customs and Border Protection and local partners, to enable agents and first responders to quickly reach problem areas. Establishes a standing Border Fuels Initiative to reduce hazardous fuels and mitigate illegal-camp wildfire threats. Streamlines authorities so CBP can conduct security measures in areas with overlapping without needless delay. Clarifies that conservation lands cannot be used as migrant encampments, preserving resources for visitor access and habitat management.”
That first bullet is what’s important, as Wilderness Areas are roadless. They’re designed to be roadless so that the ecosystems remain untouched and pristine, and that’s good, even for us off-roaders. Why, because we already have some 600,000 miles of off-road trails throughout the country, and much of the outdoors is accessible to us. We can stand to sacrifice some possible roads for the greater good. But most importantly, these newly developed trails for border patrol, which is horseshit to begin with, wouldn’t likely be accessible to us. And, as Lee has shown in the past, would lead to him attempting to sell off our public lands to mining, i.e. the Ambler Road in Alaska, or housing development.
The dude just hates public lands with the fire of a thousand suns. To that effect, our friend Rachelle Schrute over at GearJunkie put it best about Lee, in that “Mike Lee keeps recycling the same message: public lands are government overreach, wilderness is a waste, and only deregulation will save us. He’s wrong on all counts. Public lands are the backbone of rural economies, the lungs of wildlife habitat, and the last truly bipartisan value left in this country. Hunters, anglers, and backpackers have all lined up against this bill. Conservation groups from Utah to Montana are calling it what it is: a backdoor attack on the Wilderness Act. Nobody is fooled, except maybe the people who want to be.”
And here’s where I’m going to tell you to contact your representatives. Here’s a link to contact them in the House, here’s how to contact the Senate, and you can even send them a fax here, because you know these ancient ghouls still have fax machines hooked up somewhere. So write to them, email them, and call them, because our public lands should not be touched, no matter what.
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