luthj
Engineer In Residence
Part of the problem is when folks resort too hyperbole to demonize those with differing viewpoints. For example, the patently ridiculous claim that 90% of public lands workers want to close them. Without these agencies, there would be no public lands as we know them. They would be pay-to-play, with much more limited access.
The idea that the government is the enemy is just dumb. And that straw man argument makes it impossible to work with them! I for one am very glad we have BLM, NFS, NPS etc. Without them public lands would be in a much worse state. If you want public resources managed for the public benefit, the only option is government. Private ownership simply won't work, there is no profit in it.
With regards to Pismo, it would be better if it were converted to a national park, monument, or seashore. That prevents state and local governments from arbitrarily whittling it away for special interests (against the public interest). Ideally we could get more ironclad protections from the federal government, but some is better than none! For example Oklahoma ceded huge amounts of public land to the oil/gas companies for operations. Essentially no cleanup requirements, so when the wells are tapped out in 20 years, it becomes a gasfield wasteland.
The idea that the government is the enemy is just dumb. And that straw man argument makes it impossible to work with them! I for one am very glad we have BLM, NFS, NPS etc. Without them public lands would be in a much worse state. If you want public resources managed for the public benefit, the only option is government. Private ownership simply won't work, there is no profit in it.
With regards to Pismo, it would be better if it were converted to a national park, monument, or seashore. That prevents state and local governments from arbitrarily whittling it away for special interests (against the public interest). Ideally we could get more ironclad protections from the federal government, but some is better than none! For example Oklahoma ceded huge amounts of public land to the oil/gas companies for operations. Essentially no cleanup requirements, so when the wells are tapped out in 20 years, it becomes a gasfield wasteland.