Idaho’s public lands aren’t for sale. Stop the reconciliation bill | Opinion

Stop sale of public lands

I am deeply disturbed that Congress’ Budget Reconciliation Bill includes the sale of national forests and public lands to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Is this truly how we attempt to balance the federal budget — by selling off public lands piece by piece until there’s nothing left? Our federal lands — whether national forests, parks, refuges or BLM lands — are a foundation of America’s natural wealth, strength and resilience.

Having recently retired after 34 years as a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, I’ve witnessed firsthand the value and beauty of these lands. They’re not only critical habitats for wildlife, native plants and fish, but also support rural economies and provide vital recreation opportunities like hiking, skiing, horseback riding and fishing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that hunting, fishing and wildlife watching contribute $400 billion to the economy. Outdoor recreation as a whole is a $1.2 trillion industry. Selling off public lands is not only short-sighted, but also economically reckless.

If you’re as concerned as I am, I urge you to contact your senators and representatives today. Let them know this is unacceptable.

Peggy Olwell, Boise

Preserve NPS sites

In 2014, my class of Construction Management students at Boise State University, in collaboration with Friends of Minidoka and the National Park Service, built a replica of the guard tower at the Minidoka National Historic Site. Cole Architects in Boise created the design drawings pro bono based on historical photographs. Additional design support was provided by Axiom Engineering and Materials Testing and Inspection. The project was featured in the Sept. 8, 2014 issue of Engineering News Record. In 2016, the project received an Orchid Award from the Idaho Historic Preservation Council.

The Minidoka National Historic Site is an important part of Idaho and U.S. history. I am urging our members of Congress to do everything possible to preserve this site and other irreplaceable National Park sites across Idaho and the U.S.

Rebecca Mirsky, Garden City

Remove lower Snake River dams

To Donald Trump shooting across my bow: “Stopping Radical Environmentalism to generate power for the Columbia River Basin” (presidential memorandum of June 12).

So what you are saying, sir, is that we should allow Southern Resident Orcas to starve into “bright extinction,” allow the extinction of Idaho’s Salmon and Steelhead (once among the largest runs in the world), collapse an ecosystem, starve Idaho’s Salmon River forests of marine nutrients and thereby lose natural carbon sequestration equivalent of about 90 million metric tons per year, so data centers can locate in the Pacific Northwest.

I say: “Let them locate data centers elsewhere. Stupid is what stupid does.”

Scott Levy, Ketchum

Welcome the stranger

What does it mean to invite the stranger in? Does it mean my country is my own to give or take away? Does it mean my home is my own to do with as I will? Does it mean a flood of clamoring people I must save? Or does inviting the stranger in mean, one person?

One child calling for her mother. One family searching for a new life. One father seeking to provide. One mother longing for her children to be safe.

Must they be punished for the crime of poverty? Must they be banished for the sake of love? Must they drown in a sea of suffering?

What if instead of saying leave, we said stay? What if instead of saying no, we said yes? What if instead of making it hard, we made it easy?

Kimberly Steinberg, Boise

Block the reconciliation bill

I am writing to express my alarm over the provision in the Senate budget bill that would force the sale of millions of acres of our public lands.

Idaho’s identity is inseparable from our public lands. They support our cherished traditions of hunting, fishing and grazing, and they are the backbone of our outdoor economy. This bill abandons that heritage, proposing a fiscally irresponsible fire sale of a permanent public asset for a fleeting budget fix.

Worse, it uses a heavy-handed federal process that deliberately bypasses local input from Idahoans — from our sportsmen to our county commissioners. This is precisely the kind of top-down government overreach that Idahoans consistently oppose. This isn’t about responsible management; it’s about liquidating our Western way of life.

I urge my fellow Idahoans to call Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch and ask them to uphold our state’s values. They must vote to strip this reckless provision from the budget. Our public lands are our legacy; they are not for sale.

Jameson Hohbein, Bellingham

End oil and gas subsidies

Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch face an important decision regarding Idaho’s energy future in the budget reconciliation bill.

Idaho is blessed with abundant clean energy sources, including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and nuclear. It’s time for these resources to continue to get the same tax incentives that for decades have gone to oil and gas. Current tax credits encourage use of clean sources, which provide us with energy independence, lower energy prices, job growth, and cleaner air and water.

But if our senators vote for the budget reconciliation bill as passed by the House, Idaho will lose those advantages just as our energy needs are increasing due to rising summer temperatures and the growth of AI and new local data centers. Prices will surely rise as electricity demand exceeds supply.

By voting to keep current tax credits that encourage use of Idaho’s native clean energy sources, our senators will be choosing the advantages that come from energy independence and a better energy future for Idaho. If these issues matter to you, call or write Crapo and Risch as soon as possible, and ask them to preserve current clean energy tax credits. Our wallets, jobs and health will benefit!

Lisa Hecht, Boise