Should the government sell off our public lands?

By Bob Difley

Suggestions are circulating around congress during these times when state and federal governments are finding it difficult to meet expenses that government should sell off “excess” government property to raise the necessary funding to continue to operate. Some of this excess property has been identified as public lands–national forests, wilderness areas, and desert lands now owned by us, the citizens of this country.

Others consider this approach as short-sighted, citing the fact that once they are sold off they will never again become public lands available for our recreational use. The sales of these properties would also result in job and revenue losses in the surrounding communities, as many tour operators, rafting companies, fishing supply stores, fishing equipment manufacturers, camping supply stores and manufacturers, hunting supply stores, and other outfitters would have to shut down and lay off employees.

And, of course, it would also mean diminished land for use by RVers for camping, boondocking, and sightseeing, and shut down the revenue flow we RVers spend in local communities for supplies, restaurants, and other services. This fact has been clearly demonstrated when various states started closing down state parks and the surrounding communities took and big economic hit because the visitors to the area suddenly vanished.

RVers, hunters, and anglers would be especially affected, as in some cases they have already been by the implementation of the new Travel Management Plan just now going into effect on Forest Service lands and soon to be adopted on BLM lands that curtail use of some roads and elimination of some dispersed camping areas that have been used in the past.

Should our public lands–lands effectively owned by us–be sold off to satisfy current and temporary revenue flow problems? Aren’t there better, more innovative ways to resolve these current problems than to take away our recreational lands, monuments, and parks, like utilizing more volunteer help in keeping public lands open, assistance by local communities that stand to suffer, and land users pitching in to help until the economy gets sorted out.  What do you think?

Check out my website for RVing tips and destinations and for my ebooks, BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (or for Kindle version), Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts (Kindle version), and 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang out of your RV Lifestyle Dollar (Kindle version).