This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Now that the Bundy-led occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is ending, reports are starting to surface about the condition of the buildings and grounds after the occupiers left. One video shows junk, trash, and old clothes strewn about, and files and artifact boxes that have been rifled through and left laying around on desks and the floor. One reporter said it "looked like a meth lab."
Outside, the occupiers tore down fences, drove their pickup trucks wherever they wanted, bulldozed new roads through an archaeological site, tore down cameras used to monitor wildlife and used refuge chairs and furniture for target practice.
To me, this is a metaphor for what will happen to the public lands in the West if Utah's Ken Ivory, Rob Bishop and others in positions of power in western state legislatures get their way and the proposed transfer of public lands to the states goes through. Imagine the destruction of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, on a vast scale of 33 million acres in Utah alone.
Local residents who support this transfer often complain that federal management "locks up" the land. They claim that it's all about states rights and constitutional principles, but that is just a smoke screen for their real purpose: selling the lands to energy companies and private individuals for short-term gain.
For a proverbial mess of pottage, they would sell of every American's heritage, the public lands. Every Utahn, and every American, should loudly and forcefully protest this blatant theft of the American commons.
Roy Webb
Salt Lake City