Area Congressman Suddenly Remembers He Lives in Ut

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Area Congressman Suddenly Remembers He Lives in Utah

Jason Chaffetz wants to sell off federal land, but he's also a gun owner. Wait, what?



By Charles P. Pierce
Feb 3, 2017

One little victory was scored on Friday when Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the least excusable man in Congress, was forced by a public outcry to withdraw a bill that would have accelerated the process of selling off public lands and hastening the day when we have to pay 50 bucks to see the Progressive Insurance Old Faithful Geyser.

Word got around and Chaffetz, never a profile in courage on his best day, backed down. From Vox:

But this week, Chaffetz decided to yank the bill after a fierce backlash from hunters, sportsmen and women, and conservationists on both the left and the right.

Privatizing public land, it turns out, is a lot harder than it sounds.

Chaffetz announced on Instagram that he was pulling the bill, HR 621, saying, "I'm a proud gun owner, hunter and love our public lands." He insisted that the lands he wanted the government to sell off are "serving no public purpose," but that "groups I support and care about fear [the bill] sends the wrong message."

No, it sends exactly the right message, and a huge number of conservationists and (yes) hunters got that message loud and clear.

Conservationists and hunting groups noted that selling off even small parcels of land to private interests could cut off public access into national forests for hunters or campers.

But perhaps more relevant, many groups seemed to see this as a gateway to a much bigger fire sale of federal lands down the road.

The precise lands in play here were less important than the larger principles at stake. One group, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, raised a particular fuss. "For Mr. Chaffetz, you've kicked the hornet's nest, and the army is amassing," said its CEO, Land Tawney, on a widely shared Facebook video. "And I will put my money on the people every single time.

The only thing you can do to make this right is to pull those bills back." A coalition of outdoors groups — including the National Wildlife Federation, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, Trout Unlimited, and Remington — started circulating a petition to stop the bill, with over 46,000 signatories.

OK, "the army is massing" is a little overwrought but, once again, the people are way ahead of the politicians here. I also would not cross either the National Wild Turkey Federation or Pheasants Forever.

Those folks play rough.

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