Thread by @SenMikeLee

WATCH LIVE: Major speech on public lands policy at @SutherlandInst: “Federal Lands and Royal Forests." facebook.com/SutherlandInst… #utpol #SIPublicLands

How did it come to pass that nearly half of the land in the West is owned by the federal government, compared to just 5 percent of the land in the East? #utpol #SIPublicLands

Throughout the 19th century, Lawmakers sought to facilitate expansion of the nation by acquiring land—and then transferring it to the people, so they could live out their lives as responsible citizens of the republic. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The cornerstone of this policy was the Homestead Acts which transferred 270 million acres of land out of federal control and into the hands of ordinary Americans. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The Homestead Acts were an engine for middle-class opportunity and growth and set the American standard for the disposition of public resources. #utpol #SIPublicLands

But by the time Utah and other states entered the Union, Congress had turned its attention elsewhere. Manifest destiny left us behind. #utpol #SIPublicLands

While Easterners and Midwesterners had almost-total control of the land within their boundaries, Western states like Utah entered the Union on inferior terms – as tenants to negligent landlords. #utpol #SIPublicLands

When Utah came into the Union in 1896, Section 9 of its statehood enabling legislation declared that public land located within the state “shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said state into the union.” #utpol #SIPublicLands

The promise to sell federal lands in Utah is right there, enshrined in federal law. But, unlike states farther East, the commitment to us was never honored. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Take Illinois and Missouri, for example. At one point, the federal government controlled more than 90% of their land. #utpol #SIPublicLands

While they were ultimately successful in petitioning Congress to transfer their public lands from federal to state management, Western states have not been so lucky. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Fifty, sixty, even seventy percent of the land within Western states’ boundaries was – and remains – controlled by Washington. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The first westerners were optimistic about federal control of western lands. Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot advocated for active management of the land, in cooperation with local interests. #utpol #SIPublicLands

But in the 60s and 70s environmental activists began exploiting public fears about overpopulation and pollution. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The activists used land-use restrictions as an “all-purpose tool for stopping economic activity,” in the words of political scientist R. McGreggor Cawley. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Between the mid-1960s and 1980, the amount of wilderness rose from 11.5 million acres to 82.7 million acres—an increase of 716% in less than two decades. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The amount of grazing on federal land went into steep decline, causing an exodus from the range that was never reversed. #utpol #SIPublicLands

And in 1976, Congress formalized federal control over federal lands by passing the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. This repealed the Homestead Acts and completely upended federal government’s public land policy. #utpol #SIPublicLands

No longer would it be the official policy of the United States government to sell back the land and entrust it to the people. Instead, the policy would be to keep the land for itself. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Things have only gotten worse since. An even more extreme environmental movement, an alliance of privilege between celebrities, activists, and corporate elites now want to save the Earth at the expense of our rural communities. #utpol #SIPublicLands

They delight in seeing vast swathes of untouched lands, fulfilling their idyllic notions of the West where they can jet in, spend a few days at the cabin, take pictures of animals, and then retreat to their enclaves on the coasts. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Locals aren’t as lucky. While tourism has contributed much to the West, communities can’t survive on it alone. It is a complement to – not a substitute – for broader economic development. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Rural Americans want what all Americans want: a dignified, decent-paying job. A family to love and support. A healthy community whose future is determined by local residents—not by their self-styled betters thousands of miles away. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Our immediate task is to rein in that government and reclaim a space for ordinary Americans to live in freedom. I am working on three specific bills to do just that. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The first, the Protecting Utah’s Rural Communities Act, would protect Utah from future Antiquities Act abuses by giving Utah the same protections currently enjoyed by Wyoming and Alaska. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Specifically, my bill would prohibit the president from designating or expanding a national monument in the state unless both Congress and the state legislature pass resolutions approving the designation. #utpol #SIPublicLands

The second bill I plan to introduce is a new Homestead Act – one to help ordinary Americans in the 21st century. #utpol #SIPublicLands

This “new” Homestead Act would allow states, local governments, and individuals to petition the government to use federal land for affordable housing… or education… or health care. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Finally, our long-term goal must be the transfer of federal lands to the states. And that is the aim of the third bill that I intend to introduce. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Small reforms here and there are important. But we have to start pushing for what we actually want. We must fight to return these lands. #utpol #SIPublicLands

We have the opportunity to honor the promise the federal government made to Utah and Western states when they joined the Union. #utpol #SIPublicLands

When ordinary Americans control their communities and land, it is good for both. When the federal government wields exclusive control, it is good for neither. #utpol #SIPublicLands

Let’s insist on a reassertion of the American people’s control over their government and of their land. #utpol #SIPublicLands