I Landed in WSJ & FAA Reauthorization Bill Blues
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good morning,
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I Landed My First WSJ Op-ed
Some women are living their best Barbie (dream)life today with the premiere of the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
What’s my Barbie fantasy? Why, it’s getting printed in the Wall Street Journal. Life in plastic is fantastic? Hardly. The real world - especially where one can promote true conservation - is where it’s at.
Speaking of girl power: I’m sharing a byline there with my friend and fellow IWF Fellow/Young Voices Regional Leader, Sarah Montalbano. We discuss and dissect the troubling aspects of the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Conservation Landscape and Health rule expected to be finalized later this year.
Here’s an excerpt:
The federal government is supposed to manage the land it owns in a balanced way that allows for multiple uses. But a recently proposed Bureau of Land Management rule would undermine the effective management of 245 million acres of public land and limit public access to its resources.
Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress authorized the BLM to manage federal land under a multiple-use and sustained-yield system. This means the diverse uses of land—including mineral production, wildlife protection, oil and gas production, and grazing—would be considered together by the BLM during any federal land decisions.
The recently proposed Conservation and Landscape Health rule would establish “conservation” as a distinct use of land. But all uses of land entail conservation. The aim of the rule is to reduce sustained-yield land uses like grazing, mining and timber in favor of recreation spaces, watershed preservation, wildlife and fish protection, and “natural scenic, scientific, and historical values.”
The proposed rule would also establish a controversial new program that implements conservation leasing—the setting aside of land “for the purpose of pursuing ecosystem resilience through mitigation and restoration.” The BLM would issue leases to individuals, businesses, nongovernmental organizations and tribal governments to protect certain areas.
A Missed Opportunity in FAA Reauthorization Negotiations
This week, I published an op-ed in The DC Journal - under the InsideSources.com umbrella - arguing in favor of reforming an outdated slot and perimeter rule at Reagan National Airport (my home airport).
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has a unique opportunity to attract more customers while boosting the District of Columbia metropolitan area. However, maintaining its outdated slot and perimeter rule risks jeopardizing its regional standing as a transportation powerhouse.
Frequent D.C. fliers could benefit from having more long-distance flight choices.
Since 1966, Reagan National has limited long-haul flights — originally 650 miles, then increased to 1,250 miles in 1986 — landing and taking off from the airport. The 2023 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill, up for consideration in September, contains a reasonable bipartisan provision to add 28 more in-perimeter and beyond-perimeter flights. In can weigh in since Congress created the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the body overseeing Reagan National and Dulles International airports. Congress’s decision will determine whether Reagan National will be able to compete.
The airport shouldn’t continue to settle for “short-haul” airport status by ceding that advantage to Dulles. Both can accommodate market demand while equally servicing their communities. Reagan National adding more long-haul flights, exceeding 1,250 miles, hasn’t undercut Dulles’ growth and won’t — even with continued expansion.
But during FAA reauthorization talks this week, the Direct Capital Access Act and even a compromise provision known as the Owens amendment failed to make the final House bill. Major disappointment. The final vote was 205-229.
This protectionist rule at DCA is lopsided and will hold our region back. Worse, customers won’t save an average of $60-75 had this gone into effect.
Bummer. I’ll continue to push for this when the next opportunity arises.
ICYMI
Articles/commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
My Townhall colleague Rebecca Golberg mentioned me in her article about growing opposition to Biden Labor Secretary nominee Julie Su.
ARTICLES/BLOGS
InsideSources: D.C. Metro Will Benefit from DCA Slot and Perimeter Reform
WSJ: Opinion | Power Grab at the Bureau of Land Managements
Podcasts You May Have Missed
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
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—Gabriella