Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/427196
8 SNOWEST DECEMBER 2014 I have had the opportunity either to live in or travel to almost every part of the West and I am continually stunned by its beauty and grandeur. The deserts, the mountains and the prairies all speak of the blessings given to us. The West is truly resource rich and yet I find myself often looking at an expanse of land and wondering "How did we mess this up?" With all these resources, why is the largest export product from the rural com- munities our children? Why does the rural population shrink each year? Why are there millions of acres with no use? Why do the number and the intensity of wildfires grow each year? Who ben- efits from blackened trees, scorched sterile earth and dead wildlife? If all wealth comes from the earth, why can we not mine, harvest timber or recreate where appropriate? The problem is that more than half of land in the West is "held in trust for the American people" and managed out of Washington under an abun- dance of laws passed by people who do not live in the West, do not under- stand our way of life and often do not care how we are impacted if it helps them with their next election. And if things continue as is, I can guarantee you that snowmobilers are going to be forced into smaller and smaller areas. It won't be because of resource issues but rather as a result of ghastly decisions from judges, bad fed- eral legislation and endless regulations from the land management agencies. So what do we do? The short-term solution is we continue doing what we have learned to do so well. We partici- pate in the process, which means more meetings and writing more comments and staying involved in politics at all levels: federal, state and county. We actively promote and protect the sport we love. That is a given, but I believe there is a long-term solution and the time has come. The federal government needs to transfer the public lands to the western states and counties in which they lie. We need to manage our own lands. The promise to the eastern states at the time of their entry into the Union is the same one made to us here in the West, but they got their lands and now we want ours. Since 1796, Congress has included in each state's act of admission a state- ment that says, when a state enters the Union it is, "on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever." How can Idaho or any western state be equal to the eastern states when we cannot inhabit a great deal of the land or use the resources from those lands? How can Montana, Alaska and Idaho have "equal foot- ing" in Congress with their one or two Congressmen stacked up next to eastern states' representation such as New Jersey's 13 or Rhode Island and Virginia's 11 congressmen? Why does the South have a boom- ing timber industry and we do not? If we want better access, better health and better productivity, then this is the answer. Let westerners manage their THE ONLY SOLUTION BIG ENOUGH SnoWest Magazine is published 6 times per year by Harris Publishing, Inc., 360 B Street Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (208-542-2292) HARRIS PUBLISHING, INC. Darryl W. Harris—Founder Jason Harris—President Chuck Harris—Vice President Ryan Harris—Vice President Steve Janes—Vice President Greg Larsen—Vice President Clayton Ward—Treasurer Janet Chase—Secretary Advertising and editorial offices: 360 B Street Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Phone: 208-542-2292 Fax: 208-522-5241 Subscription services / address change: SnoWest, 360 B Street Idaho Falls, ID 83402 1-800-638-0135 Subscription rates: SnoWest, $19.95 per year. Back issues, when available, $5.00 each. Copyright (c) 2014, Harris Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is strictly prohibited. www.SnoWest.com PUBLISHER STEVE JANES EDITOR LANE LINDSTROM TECH EDITOR RYAN HARRIS SNOWEST TEST STAFF LANE LINDSTROM STEVE JANES MARK BOURBEAU RYAN HARRIS ADVERTISING MANAGER GREGG MANWARING gm@snowest.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES DEAN COWLEY dean@snowest.com Merlin Gray merlin@snowest.com ADVERTISING SECRETARY Sharylee Shanks sharylee@snowest.com MARKETING DIRECTOR ROBIN BLACK robin@snowest.com PRODUCTION MANAGER JANET CHASE DESIGN LAVON HORNE PRODUCTION JIM DONOVAN APRIL FREDERICK IT DIRECTOR CHUCK HARRIS CONTROLLER CLAYTON WARD ACCOUNTING BARBARA MOROTINI CIRCULATION YVONNE YOUNG continued on page 14 BY SANDRA MITCHELL PUBLIC LANDS DIRECTOR, IDAHO STATE SNOWMOBILE ASSOCIATION