Oregonians in Action, the “property rights” group that brought us Measure 37 six years ago, has come up with a new bright idea – and it’s a real doozy.
OIA wants Oregon to emulate Utah, whose legislature in its 2009 session enacted a law that supposedly gives the state the power to use eminent domain to seize land held by the federal government.
“In the upcoming session of the Oregon legislature, Oregonians In Action will work with the Oregon legislature to pass similar legislation in Oregon,” the group said in a news release today. “This legislation would provide the biggest economic boost for rural Oregon communities in decades.”
It definitely would give a big boost to the bottom lines of corporations if they could get their hands on the federal lands in the West. The federal government owns 55% of the land in Oregon and 60% of the land in Utah. In Oregon, much of the federal land is rich in timber; in Utah the prize is minerals.
Lamenting that timber and other resources that used to form the backbone of rural economies “are now locked away by federal laws and regulations that have gone too far,” OIA calls for Oregon to enact a law similar to Utah’s House Bill 143, under which “Utah state agencies are given the authority to condemn federal property. Ownership of that property would be transferred from the federal government to the state government. Once acquired, the state would manage the property for the best interests of Utah residents. That may mean that the land is retained in state ownership, or it may mean that Utah would sell the property to private citizens.”
That last bit about selling the land off to private citizens is particularly intriguing. It’s not hard to imagine politically well-connected timber, mining, ranching and other interests working out some pretty sweet deals for themselves.
“In either event,” the OIA news release continues, “land that is currently mismanaged and neglected by the federal government would be transferred to either state government or private citizens, who would make use of the land to create jobs, revitalize rural communities, boost the economy, and balance state and local budgets. What a concept.”
Indeed.
“There is no reason why the Oregon legislature cannot follow Utah’s lead,” the OIA says. But I can think of a couple of good reasons without even trying.
In the first place, the constitutionality of the Utah measure is extremely doubtful. Even the state’s attorney general doubts it. Its real purpose, as described by columnist Lee Benson in the Desert News, is “to spark a lawsuit that will get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule more clearly … on the issue of the sovereign land rights of states. Already, $3 million has been set aside to pay the lawyers.”
In the second place, Oregon ain’t Utah … thank God.
This article appears in Apr 29 – May 5, 2010.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
This appears to mean that a private citizen, whether American or foreign, could buy forest land in Oregon owned by the Federal government but acquired by our state government, who could then sell it to whomever.
If this is true, then China could spend the dollars they hold to buy up forest land in Oregon. Oh brother, this is indeed a horrible thought. We have never been defeated in war, but now we are selling our nation and letting millions of foreigners just walk across our borders and make themselves at home. No other country in the world is that stupid, just US. Our hope is not with Democrats, or Republicans, but with God; Whom our country has unfortunately replaced with the god of money and greed. We have turned our backs on God, and we will surely get what we deserve.