By Ed Shepard

I was going to start off this column by quoting the ancient Confucius blessing, “May you live in interesting times.”  I’m glad I looked it up because it is neither Chinese nor ancient. It is also not a blessing, but a curse. According to the Internet (which of course is always right), the saying goes back to 1930’s England and is used ironically as a curse, meaning “May you experience much disorder and trouble in your life.” The curse is certainly the life of a public land management employee these days. The unfortunate events of the past few months, still playing out in eastern Oregon, are certainly making the lives of our friends in the land management agencies “interesting.” So interesting that many employees had to leave their homes and community and relocate for their own protection. That’s twice in less than two years; and this is just not acceptable!

The good people that work for the BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and state and local agencies have difficult jobs to do, and they don’t need armed seditionists threatening them and their families and preventing them from doing the work the taxpayers hired them to do. And, they certainly don’t need the intolerable rhetoric reaped on them by political figures and candidates for public office that they are getting. Much of this is coming from people that are responsible for setting the direction that these employees must follow. Adding to the problems is the fact that the occupation may have been prevented had the Department of Justice acted faster following the Bunkerville, Nevada incident. Several of the militants arrested from the Malheur Occupation were also recently arrested in connection with their actions in Nevada in 2014. Like many of you, I sat watching the TV and reading the Internet as the events unfolded and wondered what PLF could do and what I could do, personally. One thing I did do was to call the Burns District Manager and let him know that I appreciated him and the BLM employees and was supporting them through this ordeal. I think he appreciated it, and it might have made him feel a little better, if even for a few moments, knowing that a retired BLMer was there for them. At least it made me feel a little better. I’ve been told that others of you made calls also. So, one thing I’m asking you all to consider: pick up the phone and call your nearest BLM office and tell them “Thank you for what you do, we know what you are going through these days, and we appreciate you.” You might make someone’s day.

One thing that PLF did do to advocate for the agencies was to join with the National Association of Forest Service Retirees to write to Attorney General Lynch to support and encourage her to take appropriate action against the illegal occupation and reminding her that the lack of action from earlier events emboldened the participants in the Harney County occupation. We copied the U.S. Attorneys in Oregon and Nevada. We have yet to hear back from the Attorney General, but we did get an email from the Nevada U.S. Attorney thanking us for our support. The letter prompted calls from the media, and I was able to talk to several reporters about public lands and the issues land managers face.

Those that were involved are now sitting in jail or at home with government-furnished anklets. The slow wheels of justice are turning, and we can only hope that they are convicted and punished for their activities. Despite the bad behavior, there is some good that has come out of this. A lot, though certainly not all, of the media coverage and comments has been positive toward public lands and those lands remaining in the public hands. There is a renewed conversation over these lands, and it all isn’t about “giving” the lands back to the states. There is a lot of discussion over the value the public lands have and the need to manage them for the public. The recent events have allowed PLF to get people to read our America’s Public Lands: origins, history, and future publication, and you are seeing the facts from that document show up in media stories. Our presence on social media has grown as people seek to become more informed about the public lands. And, the Government Accountability Office has asked us to present a discussion on the public lands at a workshop they are holding in Washington, D.C. Assistant Director Mike Nedd and I will be leading the discussion, based on America’s Public Lands on April 7th. And, of course this will be a major part of our discussions during the annual meeting in September in New Mexico.

The House Appropriations Committee did not hold a hearing for public testimony this year; however, PLF did submit a letter to the Committee that is included in this edition of the Monitor. Thanks to Mike Ferguson for taking the lead in preparing the testimony. There was a lot to like in the proposed budget, such as the youth initiatives and sage-grouse funding and a call for a better way to fund fire. There were also programs where there were reductions we would like to see restored, such as the Wild Horse and Burro and the O&C programs. We also expressed our dismay with the elimination of the Challenge Cost Share Program. This particular program has leveraged millions of dollars with partners to do on-the-ground projects on the National Public Lands, and its loss will disrupt some longstanding partnerships the BLM has developed over the years. The Third Student Congress is coming up in September, just before our annual meeting. The organizing committee is pulling together a great program that is in keeping with the commitment the PLF made several years ago to support the next generation of public land managers. As another part of the commitment to youth, we established the George Lea Founder’s Scholarships. To date, there has been approximately $7,000 donated toward these two $5,000 scholarships, including Henri Bisson’s very generous $1,000 challenge donation. Thank you to those who have contributed to this important fund and for those that would like to donate; there is still time to do so before the awards are made this Spring. You can make contributions by sending a check to PLF Treasurer Dwight Hempel, P.O. Box 188, Blue Diamond, Nevada 89004 with a notation that the funds are for the George Lea Founder’s Scholarship Fund.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Spring. I look forward to seeing many of you in New Mexico in September.