Category: Natural Resources

Walk into any Republican meeting and you see it – folks 50 years and older (like Diane and myself) who are primarily concerned with the future for their children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, many young people (those same kids and grandkids) are too busy, too apathetic or simply don’t see how politics affects them and so they tend not to participate in such events.

I want to challenge young people – even though you may be skiing in Bend or going to college in Ashland, and even if you feel that the issues you hear on the news don’t affect you, they do and they will. I wager that most young people saw Bundy Ranch on the news but didn’t see how a grandfatherly rancher’s fight in Nevada affects them, and so brushed it off.

A few days ago, however, I recorded a podcast in which we discussed the change to the BLM’s mission statement that’s disturbing and chilling. Right on the heels of that recording, I saw in the Bend Bulletin that the BLM is removing more than 500 geocaches from Bend-area wilderness, and then that the National Park Service is restricting personal recording devices. My kids geocache, and hike and fish and bike and love the wonderful playground that Oregon has to offer. But for how long will they be allowed to enjoy so-called public lands?

If you are a young person or have young people in your life – even nieces, nephews and grandkids – it’s up to you to communicate how these changes affect all of us, no matter our age. Young people are looking for work, playing hard on the weekends and typically “too busy” for politics, but they must be warned about what this federal overreach means for their lifestyles. They may not be ranchers or hunters, but they are hikers, bikers, geocachers and campers. They may not have cared when the forest was closed to OHV traffic, but they need to know that’s only the tip of this deadly bureaucratic iceberg.

To the young folks I’ve met on the trail – College Republicans, Campaign for Liberty, Young Americans for Liberty – thank you for helping communicate these concerns as well. You are the future of our Republic, and we are grateful for your passion and energy as we fight this battle.

A lot of people are asking about my stance on the Bundy Ranch issue in Clark County, Nevada, where the BLM and citizens recently had a stand-off over cattle grazing rights. Many people are pointing out that Cliven Bundy has not paid his fees to the Federal government, and that may be true, although there are several arguments to both sides of the issue. (I’ll put some sources at the bottom of this post).

However, what is not contentious is the atrocious treatment of private citizens by the BLM, the bullying of rural Americans by radical environmentalists and the overwhelming injustice that is Federal monopoly of our public lands.

It seems clear that we’ve reached a point in our history when private citizens and small-business owners are increasingly forced to make public scenes just to survive. Because of the labyrinth of laws, the convoluted nature of crony capitalism and the politically-motivated restrictions on our ways of life, the West in particular is gasping for air and some folks feel, as Mr. Bundy does, that resistance is the only option.

Here in my hometown of Klamath County, we are seeing a very similar chokehold on water rights, livelihoods and ranches that have been passed down for generations. Seeing politically-correct allies control the water and starve out family farms and ranches is heart-breaking and unjust. As Americans and as country folk, we believe we live in the land of opportunity, and we believe in the power of honest hard work. However, those ideals are slipping away. Will we bequeath an indebted, overgrown and overbearing police state to our children, or a land of freedom, opportunity and open sky?

I support the Bundy Ranch, not because they haven’t made mistakes or because their approach has been perfect, but because I think they are a touchstone for a serious debate in American life. I believe the bullying of small-business and rural America by the Federal behemoth has gone on too long. I think we need to demand that our public lands are actually returned to local control, not padlocked by some faraway bureaucracy for a politically-motivated reason. Oregon, let’s learn from the Bundys and start standing up for our own forests and land-rights, or the BLM will come knocking on our door, as well. As we’ve seen, they don’t ask nicely.

Learn More

The Blaze: In His Own Words Here’s Why The Nevada Rancher Refuses to Recognize Federal Authority

The Dana Show: The Real Story of the Bundy Ranch

TeaParty.org: BLM Flip Flops “No Deal” on Dropping Actions Against Bundy

Brenner Brief: Desert Tortoise Admiration Society 

Godfather Politics: Harry Reid, Son’s Solar Power Scheme Linked to Bundy Ranch Standoff

Brenner Brief: Cliven Bundy Stands Up Against BLM and Wins

I received a note from a supporter that I would like to share.

This was written by someone who has worked tirelessly for public access to the mountains and forests that our tax dollars pay to keep open. The anger and frustration voiced by this man and others is what keeps me motivated to make change for Oregonians. This individual will not be satisfied with empty rhetoric or false promises. For too long we have shrugged aside do-nothing representation and allowed too many excuses about Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

It’s time to start dismantling the Federal tyranny over our open places and lifestyles.

Here’s his letter complete with the graphic which he enclosed:

“Greg Walden’s record on keeping your mountains open – 12 National Forests in his district. 10 are closed to cross country travel, thousands of miles of roads closed, thousands of Oregonians locked out. All during Greg’s tenure as our ‘representative’.??

Is he actually doing something to address a problem that’s keeping him employed? Think about it, if he never fixes it, then he keeps getting to run these ads saying – send me back to DC and I’ll get it right this time.??

I for one don’t believe him,and I’d been told in the past the man was a liar and I didn’t want to believe it, but unfortunately, over the last two years I have learned differently.”

I want to bring to your attention a bill put forth in Utah to transfer Federal control of public lands. While many people fear that the state is no better than the Federal government, I think it’s essential that we start by bringing these lands into the most local arena possible for better management and control. This means states, counties and private owners need to have a say in our lands, and we need to start that process.

In Utah’s bill, in lines 99 through 120 or so, it references the “leadership of United States Senator Thomas Hart Benton from Missouri” which is paramount to this discussion. Benton County Oregon was named after this Senator because of his work in helping to settle Oregon.

Back then, he was spot on in his logic and arguments and this is the exact same fight today.

Please take the time to read this bill and the sample one at ALEC, here. We are not alone in our fight for the right to enjoy, use and prosper from our public lands – we must band together and prove that we will not back down on this issue. With your help, I’m convinced that Oregon can shake off the chains of the Federal bureaucracy.

Only then will our kids and grandkids have access to the mountains and forests that we call home.

As most Oregonians know, Klamath County (indeed, most of the 2nd District) is in a season of severe drought. Add to this politically motivated backroom deals, and a radical environmentalist agenda with lots of out-of-state clout and capital, and this is a scary situation for rural Oregon.

The problem is simple – we have limited fresh water. Animals and people alike need fresh water for survival, and droughts are part of Earth’s natural cycle. Therefore, we should prepare for such eventualities with dams, reservoirs and other water storage facilities, and we should share the water between all interested parties, not use the strong arm of government to pick politically-correct winners and losers.

Last year, before I was in this Congressional race, I gave a presentation on this topic to the Jackson County Americans for Prosperity group:

Klamath County Commissioner Dennis Linthicum on Natural Resource stewardship for a more prosperous economy from US~Observer on Vimeo.

And, just last month, Congressman Tom McClintock gave similar thoughts to California Americans For Prosperity:

I hope for the chance to be colleagues in the House with Rep. McClintock and other common-sense conservatives like him. We have to stick up for our food producers, outdoorsmen and others who share and make a living from natural resources. What’s happening in Klamath County and Central California should serve as a warning – we must change our representation and alter our course before it’s too late.

For more information on the specific issues in Klamath County, please read Erika Bentsen’s excellent piece in Western Ag magazine here.

Last week, The Baker City Herald editorial staff wrote, “Rep. Greg Walden has gotten right to the heart of the debate over managing national forest and he only needed to write a four-page bill to do it.”

However, it’s time for a reality check, because although I applaud his effort, it seems clear that Walden only threw this piece of legislative silliness onto the House floor because I am on his heels, chasing his lackluster votes. I have heard for years from hunters, farmers, ranchers, loggers and outdoorsmen worried about their forest access and concerned with the deafness of Washington bureaucrats. They tell me of their frustration in writing endless letters to Walden’s office and their local papers, along with their attempts at “public comment” debacles.

Do you really believe that Representative Walden was suddenly moved by his love for our freedoms as Oregonians, or does this seem politically-motivated to you? Why have our forests been padlocked for years and why has his office been bragging about his ineffectual votes, until now?

The Travel Management Plan comes from an agenda started 10 years ago. That’s when Republicans owned the executive and legislative branches of the federal machine. Yet, this debacle has been growing like a boil beneath the surface and is now, ready to explode. Is this what it takes to get Washington’s attention?

It’s easy to see that this bill is an attempt to score political points without creating real change. Mr. Walden’s bill re-enforces the root problem – a profound disconnect between the boots on the ground and the shiny shoes in the hallowed halls of D.C.  He makes the mistake of assuming that keeping power in the federal bureaucracy while giving purely political head-patting bonuses to county commissioners will fix the problem.

As a county commissioner, I can tell you right now that we need much more than this weak attempt – we need ownership, real-world budgets and the ability to open our forests to all kinds of uses without federal overreach.

It’s time for Oregon legislators and our US Congress to explore new options. I believe that we should be transferring all federally managed lands into the various jurisdictions where those lands are contained. We should be giving the resources back to the people with real action, not symbolic four-page bills.

In order to bring back economic vitality, we must sync Oregon’s immense forests with real-world, economic conditions at the local level. A bold strategy, like this, is the only solution big enough to insure the longterm productivity of our vast renewable resources. Washington’s bureaucratic management of natural resources within our state’s boundary is not serving our 2nd Congressional District interests. It’s time for a real change.

The hunters, packers, foresters, campers and OHV users who enjoy these forested areas of Eastern, Central and Southern Oregon, know the history of these lands and know better than others what proper care entails.

Let Oregonians bear the full responsibility for preserving these lands for future generations and allow each of us the privilege of “securing the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.”

As I’ve shared many times, I own a small cattle ranch east of Klamath Falls, and the health and sustainability of rural livelihoods is a very important issue to me. The issues I want to address require serious reform, not small, impotent acts. We need to be willing to stand up for our way of life and the inheritance we want to leave future generations of cattlemen and agriculturalists. The time to address these concerns is now, with firmness, confidence and hope.

Rural Oregonians are demanding change on these five issues, and I stand with you:

1. The Massive Overreach of the EPA

Rural counties in Oregon are struggling to maintain sensible budgets, a reasonable standard of living and viable livelihoods for their citizens – and the Environmental Protection Agency seems bent on making those goals almost impossible. With endless resources, a bully pulpit and an agenda that focuses on good optics rather than sensible policy, the EPA is a dangerously out-of-control force in rural America. As concerned cattlemen and citizens, we need to demand oversight of the EPA and a representative that sees its bureaucratic overreach for what it is – a criminal abuse of power and a force that could easily rob us of our agricultural legacies and freedoms.

Right now, there are very few voices in D.C. demanding reform at the EPA, and those that do are accused of “wanting dirty air and water”. Clearly this is not the case, but rural communities should not be bullied, simply because we have less population (and time) to fight back with. Farmers and ranchers feed America, and our allegiance should be to their interests, not the insatiable appetites of Washington power-brokers.

2. Wolves in Oregon and ESA – Endangered Species Act

By now, everyone has heard the horror stories of good intentions gone awry: wolves attacking livestock outside of Yellowstone, school-children forced to wait for the bus in protective steel cages in New Mexico. These stories are symptoms of a larger problem – a government that refuses to allow the true stewards of the land – farmers, ranchers and other natural resource experts – to have a say in the management of these animals. As people who make our living on the land, we understand how to protect the natural habitats of wildlife, and we can all testify to the protective power of domestic livestock for wild game.

As Western Cattleman recently pointed out, “Environmental groups try to portray farmers and ranchers as enemies of the environment, greedily using the water and other natural resources—to the detriment of wildlife.  They try to make it a black and white issue: the farmers against the fish and other endangered species.  But as one resident of Klamath Falls stated, agriculture and small family farms are true stewards of the land, caring for wildlife and natural resources as much as they do their domestic production.”

This is an essential point – just as we now understand that loggers were not harming the Spotted Owl, ranchers should not be used as a political whipping boy for a rabid environmentalist cause. In Oregon, we’ve already seen what faulty logic and bad policy can do to a once-thriving timber industry, and we cannot allow that to happen to the family farms and ranches that feed our communities.

3. Property Rights and use of Federal Lands

Every rancher knows that land equals prosperity and success in agriculture. Many farming and ranching families leave little more than land and a legacy of knowledge to their heirs, and this land needs to be protected. Individuals and family farms need the security of knowing that their children and grandchildren can pursue the family business and continue in Oregon’s great tradition of agriculture.

Currently, over 50% of the west is owned by the Federal government, and many ranchers rely on that public land to run their livestock. With the political pressure mounting against American agriculture, however, we need to protect these lands and return them to local power. No bureaucrat in DC should be allowed to revoke grazing rights, and we should be working toward a more free and fair system for future agriculturalists.

4.  CWA – Clean Water Act

Current legislation in the form a a House Resolution, H.R. 2421, is titled, “A Bill to To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the United States over waters of the United States.” With typical arrogance, the national bureaucracy is investing in new legislative methods to control and regulate your land in untold ways.

This bill redefines the term “Waters of the United States” by removing the word “navigable” and extending legislation to include all “activities affecting these waters”. This creates the potential to restrict farmers, ranchers and other landowners’ property rights. We’ll see massive legislative burdens on local agriculture, more bullying by big-government bureaucrats and more expense for small farms and ranches. It’s very easy for a legislator from the suburbs to enact grandiose clean-water ideals – it’s something else entirely for the farmers and ranchers who have cows to feed, hay to bale, tractors to fix and bills to pay to live up to these unattainable standards.

Ranchers are already over-burdened and over-regulated – we should not be forcing them to comply with even more legislation. Ranchers and farmers understand the value of clean water for themselves and their livestock, and these rules only create false choices and cause unnecessary hardship on an already hard-working community.

5. Water rights, both quantity and quality

Any rancher knows that without water, crops don’t grow, animals don’t survive, and agriculture suffers. In my hometown of Klamath County, we are seeing the devastating effects of politically abused water rights and the massive economic destruction that follows. Western Cowman magazine states that “Environmentalists argue that the Klamath valley should never have been farmed—that farming put too much stress on the land. But as Kimberly Strassel pointed out in her Wall Street Journal article, the West is primarily arid. ‘Its history is one of turning inhospitable areas into thriving communities through prudent and thoughtful relocation of water.

If the Klamath farmers should be moved, why not the residents of San Diego and Los Angeles, not to mention residents of the Southwest and parts of Montana and Wyoming?’  All of these communities survive because of irrigation—water that some people think should go to environmental use.”

Our representatives should be on the forefront of all of these agricultural issues, giving our rural communities a voice and fighting for the rights of those who feed us. Right now, many politicians are conveniently silent, trying to play political games with your livelihood. This is wrong, unjust and immoral. We need to speak up for agriculture and rural America, while we still can.