Jenkins letter: Public lands

Wake up Idahoans, now I’m by no means a federal government advocate but in this circumstance I will have to side with them. I am talking about turning control of our great state lands over to the state. Why? So the special interest groups (i.e. mining, ranching, timber and especially land developers that would love to sell off major chunks of some of the most beautiful country in the world to the super rich who would build their second, third, or fourth, home (you get the picture ) and then post it so you could no longer fish in your favorite stretch of river or hunt in your favorite area or camp in your favorite spot with your family, kids and grandchildren. I have nothing but the greatest respect for farmers and ranchers as my family has a long history in this area. Miners are greedy and in it for the money and don’t care how they leave an area. The timber industry just needs to practice better ways so an area doesn’t look decimated when they are done. The Feds aren’t perfect but they doing a better job than the state would. By the way, I’m an Idaho native.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 11:58 PM with the headline "Jenkins letter: Public lands."