Don't Taint Outdoor Recreation with 'Equity'
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good morning,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
If you’re just discovering my musings, here’s a backgrounder and make sure we’re connected on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Bureau of Land Management’s 'Equity' Blueprint Will Stray from True Conservation Efforts
When Biden’s Bureau of Land Management isn’t preoccupied with divorcing itself from multiple-use management of public lands, it finds other ways to alienate its constituents and further stray away from its mission. How so? By prioritizing “equity” over actual conservation efforts.
Recently, the BLM, a subsidiary of the Department of Interior, unveiled its Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation to fundamentally “transform” public lands access and recreation across the 245 million acres it oversees.
The 28-page strategic document, yet to be adopted as official agency policy, boasts a few valid points. Nevertheless, its emphasis on “equity” dramatically concerns me, and it demands urgency to move from “reactive” to “proactive” management.
Ironically enough, this Interior Department and its sister land agencies are employing reactive management policies. Current DOI leadership reacts to lawsuits to change longstanding lead usage policies on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) lands and ignore the science recommending Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears be managed, for example. Secretary Deb Haaland - an original Green New Deal backer - often reacts to pressure from preservationist, anti-hunting environment groups to ignore “no net loss.” The DOI-affiliated Alaska Federal Subsistence Board closed 60 million public land acres to hunting last year. The list goes on and on.
Tell me how alienating true conservationists - including hunters and anglers funding the bulk of conservation funding in the U.S. - is inclusive and welcoming. It isn’t.
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Sporting activities need new blood from outside rural areas to sustain and exist going forward. Having more hunters and anglers will perpetuate conservation funding to bolster habitat restoration, wildlife management, and hunter-education programs. And yes, we can reach new audiences without leaning on a misguided progressive “whole-of-government approach.” The outdoor industry is tirelessly working to broaden our reach.
The Great Outdoors is wide open. Fish and wildlife welcome us all to chase and admire them. What outdoor recreation doesn’t need is “equity” creeping into our ranks and dividing our community.
Join Me in Dallas September 21-23, 2023
If you care about property rights and live near Dallas, Texas, I’d love to see you at the 2nd annual Stop 30-by-30 Summit being held September 21-23, 2023.
We have a great lineup of speakers—including a keynote from former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto. I’ll be moderating either a fireside chat or panel featuring Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) - chairman of the House Natural Resources Sucommitee on Federal Lands. Grab your spot now.
Hope to see you in Irving, TX!
ICYMI: Alaska Vlog is Out
The first of two Alaska vlog installments I’ve promised is finally OUT. Watch on YouTube
ICYMI
Articles/commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
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ARTICLES/BLOGS
Washington Examiner: Freelancing gives women an edge. New Labor Department rule will stifle our potential
IWF: BLM’s 21st Century Recreation Plan Muddled By ESG Principles
Townhall: Bureau of Land Management’s 'Equity' Blueprint Will Stray from True Conservation Efforts
Podcasts You May Have Missed
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
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—Gabriella