my buddy pombo again

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hard rock mining makes the oil industry look like Greenpeace

 

Land Sale Bill Ignites Passions in American West

 

December 07, 2005 — By Laura Zuckerman, Reuters

MISSOULA, Montana — A Republican congressman under fire for crafting a bill to

sell public land to mining interests defended his proposal Tuesday, saying it

would ensure the viability of the mining industry and help develop the economies

of rural communities.

 

" This is not a public land giveaway; that is undeniably a false statement by

opponents, " Rep. Jim Gibbons of Nevada said of provisions he and Rep. Richard

Pombo, a Republican of California, shepherded into a budget bill that the House

passed last month.

 

The proposal has ignited a firestorm of protest in western states whose

economies are fueled by the multibillion-dollar tourism and recreation

industries that depend on public lands.

 

" A lot of fiction is being promulgated and misconstrued by those who are

anti-mining, " Gibbons said.

 

Opponents argue that some of the West's prime recreation grounds could be sold

to companies with mining claims or anyone who wants to establish them, even if

there is no proof of mineral wealth.

 

House and Senate negotiators are scheduled to begin hammering out a compromise

budget when Congress reconvenes next week. The land sale measure lifts an

11-year ban on the sale of public lands to mining companies and boosts to at

least $1,000 the cost per acre from $2.50.

 

Gibbons said the aim in retooling the nation's 1872 mining law, originally

crafted to promote mineral extraction and settlement in the West, is to protect

domestic mining so that the United States does not have to depend on foreign

sources.

 

The bill allows lands surrounding claims to be sold for undefined " sustainable

economic development " to benefit rural communities, and some translate that to

mean expensive housing enclaves or exclusive ski resorts.

 

Opposition has united odd bedfellows, including ranchers, environmentalists,

off-road vehicle advocates and other outdoor enthusiasts, many of whom are

calling the measure a land grab.

 

WESTERN COMPLAINTS

 

The Democratic governors of six western states have written to the Senate's

budget panel to register their dismay, and conservation groups in Montana

launched a series of television commercials Monday.

 

Outrage over the bill has risen to fever pitch in Montana, where U.S. Sen. Max

Baucus, a Democrat, is leading the call to squelch the mining measure. " It's an

abominable idea, " he said in an interview Tuesday. " Our public lands are for the

public. "

 

Backers of the measure say it would authorize at most 360,000 acres for sale,

funneling roughly $158 million into depleted federal coffers. Opponents say

wording in the bill opens for sale millions of acres across the West, including

some of the West's most prized landscapes.

 

A case in point in western Montana is Rock Creek, a blue-ribbon trout stream

that draws tens of thousands each year to recreate in an area made famous for

its abundance of cutthroat, elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

 

The recreation site also is home to more than 3,700 mining claims, all of which

could be sold, if the measure becomes law.

 

 

Being a pacifist between wars is as easy as being a vegetarian

between meals. " --Ammon Hennacy