Without knowing all of the details, on principle it does seem rational to expect some federal land to be sold for development, as our population keeps increasing and the legacy of vast open space (particularly in the west) isn’t really as appropriate now as it was in the 19th and 20th centuries; with untold millions now migrating to our shores and houses needed for them to live in.
An excerpt.
Editorial: Wild West sell-off
Congress puts federal land up for auction
Published 12:01 am PDT Friday, July 7, 2006
Travel across the American West and you'll see a new type of boom town rising from the range.
In places such as Las Vegas, Nev., and St. George, Utah, suburbs are expanding and butting against wild lands, most of which are owned by the federal government.
In other words, as Woody Guthrie once sang, these lands belong to you and me.
Certain members of Congress don't see it that way. Increasingly, Western legislators are seeking to auction off federal lands near growing cities, with much of the proceeds earmarked for water projects, schools and other local desires that rightfully should be paid for with local dollars.
This is a bipartisan land grab. The trend began with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who, starting in 1998, passed legislation instructing the federal Bureau of Land Management to sell off thousands of acres that surround Las Vegas. The sales generated much more money than expected -- $4 billion. Under federal law, 10 percent of those proceeds must go to local water projects, 5 percent must go to Nevada schools and the rest is available for federal projects, but only in the state of Nevada.
Last year, the Bush administration and House leaders attempted to divert 70 percent of that sales money and send it back to the federal treasury, but Reid beat back that challenge by threatening to hold up the confirmation of Bush's interior secretary.
Now, Congress is planning a new fire sale. Two Utah congressmen, Republican Sen. Robert F. Bennett and Democrat Rep. Jim Matheson, want to sell 40 square miles of federal land in Washington County, the fifth-fastest-growing county in the nation. Tucked into the southwest corner of Utah, Washington County expects to see its population triple, to 600,000, in 30 years.
Under the congressmen's plan, 15 percent of the land sale proceeds would go to county agencies, including a water district that wants to finance a $500 million pipeline to bring in water from Lake Powell. The remainder would go to local conservation projects. The bill would also designate 219,000 acres as protected wilderness, although most of that acreage is already protected as part of nearby Zion National Park and other preserves....
....While some sales and swaps of federal land make sense, they need to be fully vetted, and shouldn't include earmarks that direct all proceeds to certain states and counties. That creates some perverse incentives for communities to sell off their greatest assets -- their natural scenery -- which belong to all of us.
