“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.” So reads the Declaration of Independence’s 10th specific complaint against King George III.
We learn in American History that this Declaration precipitated a Revolutionary War, and after paying a high price in human life, a new, constitutionally limited government, ruled by “the people,” formed to replace the monarchy in a new United States of America.
Now, fast-forward 247 years. Consider the government staffing, appropriations, state obligations and land use changes all forced by one federal initiative, “Sage Grouse Recovery.” These birds and their mating discos (called “leks”) complicate powerline and pipeline routes, deny forage, limit vegetation and weed control, block roads and trails, and even threaten access to essential minerals.
To some, it appears swarms of officials are still commissioned by a remote and disconnected government, threatening policies that sap our economic vitality. Did we lose the War?
No. But defense of liberty today requires more than a ready musket. Our society has become broadly representative, minority opinions no longer discounted off hand, and our understanding of the natural world has gloriously expanded and deepened. These happened not “in spite” of our battle against the British king, but more likely are a direct consequence of winning that fight.
The federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in December of 1973, having passed the Senate unanimously, and the House by a vote of 355 to 4. Even the conservative champion Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater voted for it.
And, yes, “progressives” of the 1970s saw in the ESA an opening, a way to replicate a “great success” of the Soviet Union: a national land use plan. William K. Reilly, editor of “The Use of Land,” published to sell the National Land Use Planning Act, claimed the new ESA would “make every acre of America no longer serve selfish interests,” demanding instead “careful societal oversight and control.”
But the National Land Use Planning Act failed. Jimmy Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan. The progressives’ hopes never materialized. They now content themselves to fight over tracts of land one spotted owl, one desert tortoise, and one sage grouse at a time.
In Reagan’s early presidency western “sage-brush rebels” fought the ESA with three letters: S S S — shoot, shovel and shut-up. But even that redneck slogan informed true conservationists. They realized supportive, willing-participant landowners offered many endangered species their best hope.
Which partially explains the unique status of sage grouse today: “precluded from listing” in hopes that governors, wildlife managers, public land users and private landowners will work voluntarily to recover grouse, avoiding the juggernaut of the ESA’s uncompromising rules putting everyone out of business.
Which begs the question still: For those of us who “love liberty” what is the right thing to do about sage grouse? The answer is not easy. And that is the answer.
Easy politics are cheap. Fake conservatives celebrate a strike for “liberty” when banning Drag Queen Story Hour. But no one in Raft River, Malad or Montpelier will likely experience “more freedom.”
Hard politics requires out-of-the-box thinking, innovation, bringing in new partners, examining the other side’s point of view, and making tough decisions that aren’t slam-dunk wins for anyone. It’s very much a “how Churchill described democracy” solution — the worst, except for every other solution.
In another country, with a different Constitution, it is simpler: He who has the “government’s gun” wins. America demands collaboration, people with differing values working together within a framework provided by law. It is rarely pretty, doesn’t fit well in a tweet, but it is how real liberty works.
(3) comments
Like thousands of acres of windmills and solar panels won't impact the sage grouse....democrats
Are officially the dumbest people on earth.
Wait until your home insurance goes sky high
Because your electric car is a fire hazard.
Everything democrats touch they screw up....
Ethanol is a fraud and not cost effective, yet
It's such a boondoggle for congress getting
Donations from corn farmers.....we can't get
Rid of the subsidies. The entire leftist green energy agenda is one giant scam, tax payers
Get poorer from subsidies to electric cars, solar
And wind industries.....and China gets richer selling us the parts. Only in America.
You're FOS. The failure of programs like the CRP is based on the fact that the program was based on the grain market not conservation or hairy legged liberalism. It was sold to the public as inclusive policy which makes it unforgivable when you watch the way that the ground is put back into production without consideration for thirty five years of tax payer support. There is no consideration for upland birds and sage grouse or big game for that matter. You should really STFU and educate yourself if you care about animals like you say you do.
There goes the "taxpayer" spouting off about his tax dollars being misused.
Welfare recipient complaining about socialism. Only in America.
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