Somewhere back in the annals of early America, cotton growers in the Southeast decided that they needed to expand their growing capacity in a huge way. The problem was there were several tribes of Native Americans getting in their way. Now,as we all know, most politicians answer more to the influence of big money and big business than to the needs of those who elected them and under pressure from the growers and their money, Congress decided that, for the good of the country – read, the good of cotton growers – the tribal folk had to go. So, in the winter of 1838, the Trail of Tears began.

Fast forward to 2014 and we find much of the same situation, only the stakes are almost as high. The tactics have varied and though whole tribal nations are not being relocated, the outcomes are pretty much the same. The modern version finds senator John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, ( you know, the guy who never met a war he didn’t like ) arranging for an amendment to the defense bill which will hand over land deemed sacred by the San Carlos Apache to an Australian Mining company to expand copper mining in he Superior, Arizona area. And by the way, this land is part of the Tonto National Forest but one has to figure that this doesn’t matter to Mr McCain either.

In the U S House of Representatives, a group led by Tea Party Caucus members Rob Bishop ( R-UT ) and Chris Stewart ( R-UT ) is pushing for legislation which would “Seize and Sell America’s public lands”. A similar push in the Senate is being spearheaded by the Tea Party senator from Texas, Ted Cruz (R-TX ).
Can you imagine what the people of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico will say if and when they wake the hell up and realize what congress has planned for their national treasures ?
Funny thing though – on a state level, matters are equally vigorous in the pursuit of this disastrous agenda. Far right wing lawmakers in several states – eleven of them – have introduced proposals to seize control of public lands, especially federally protected lands. In the Arizona legislature, Senator Kelli Ward along with numerous others in the legislature, is spearheading a move to in effect nullify all federal rule in the State of Arizona and cede all federally held lands to the State. While the fate of this from the earlier session is unknown, it plays well with U S Congressman Trent Franks who is pushing to open uranium mines on the eastern edge of theGrand Canyon.

As one can figure, the Koch brothers backed American Legislative Exchange Counsel ( ALEC ) is drafting the legislation proposals for this agenda in close league with a front group for the oil industry in the person of one Richard Berman.
The culmination of these efforts would, if successful, completely obliterate the legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt and destroy what are true havens for naturalists, photographers, scientists and all those who simply relish and enjoy the beauty of nature at its finest – at least on this continent.

Millions of people from all over the globe annually visit our National Parks, especially those is the West and Southwest – the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, the Painted Desert, Arches and Canyon Lands, Chaco Canyon. Can you imagine how absolutely horrifying it would be to be a visitor in these majestic places and be forced to negotiate around fracking wells and uranium strip mines ? The shattering of the quiet, the polluting of the air, the poisoning of the water table – all in the name of corporate greed. And yet, Reed Watson, the executive director of the Koch backed Property and Environment Research Center is calling for no more national parks, touting them as a waste of financial resources. Of course, PERC, with Koch money and strong ties to the fossil fuel industry, has long been advocating for the privatization of our national parks so, as Sarah Palin often said, fuel companies can drill and drill and drill,baby drill .
One should take a long hard look at how so many are connected to this conspiracy to destroy and who is behind it all. While you can criticize this post as being slanted left – a view that is accepted – it is indeed outlining a path toward the elimination of some of the worlds true wonders. And one can also find it interesting that there is a second agenda here not only corporate greed but a way that certain states are looking to in order to recover from deep debt. The states which seem to be pushing the anti – wilderness agenda appear to be deep red states, most of which have deep red ink in their ledgers. These states are now looking to use the possible sale of protected lands to bail them out of their folly created by eliminating key sources of revenue, especially business taxes. It’s the Grover Nordquist mentality taken to the ridiculous. Allow the principal source of revenue for all public services to dry up but then wonder why the ledger does not balance.
So, as all can see, the desert Southwest is being ruined by earlier wholesale disposal of public lands and with that over development comes the commensurate congestion, overcrowding and other environmental issues. Big business once again is the fair haired boy of states and all others must pay the piper. When the dollars run short, then the course of action is to sell off more land and when that runs out,we are left with the great American land grab. Shameful indeed how the continuing saga is told – quality of life be damned. Big business needs more revenue and quality of life is up for sale.