Jason Caffetz, Utah Congressman, introduced HR621 to sell certain public lands at auction and HR622 a bill that will ban the BLM and USFS from police powers on public lands and prop up local sheriffs with block grants to enforce federal law on public lands on January 24. HR622 is put forth under the deceiving name of "LOCAL ENFORCEMENT FOR LOCAL LANDS ACT"

This Act must be defeated at all costs. It not only affects the western states with vast amounts of so called "Federal Lands" it will be in force across the country.

It mereley changes the uniform from the BLM/USFS gestapo to the county sheriff by federalizing the county shriff and his deputies.

Wayne Hage has pointed out Public Lands is a misnomer:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews...roperty-owners
TNA: This raises another question. Why are vast segments of the West designated “public lands”?
Hage: You are referring to what I often call the public lands myth. On much of the western land area, particularly the vast western range lands, the underlying land itself, the mineral estate, is held by the United States just as it had previously been held by the King of Spain and later by the Mexican government. What the rancher acquired were grazing easements over the lands of the government. These were inheritable rights. An inheritable right is known as a fee. The lands covered by these grazing easements, called grazing allotments, are in fact held by the United States, but are referred to properly as fee lands because the fee, the inheritable right to use, is owned separately from the underlying lands.
The term “public lands” has been erroneously applied to these lands. I say erroneously because the United States Supreme Court held in Bardon v. Northern Pacific Railway Company that “lands to which rights and claims of another attach do not fall within the classification of public lands.” Rights and claims of ranchers to water rights and grazing easements (range rights) cover virtually all these lands. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the ranchers’ grazing allotments cannot be public lands.


TNA: The case you just cited — Bardon, I believe you called it — is that still applicable?
Hage: Bardon v. Northern Pacific Railway Company has been cited 133 times by other courts and has never been overturned in whole or in part.




Chaffetz has withdrawn HR621 because of public uproar but HR622 is still active.

There is a lot of talk on social media about supporting Congressman Chaffetz's bill to demilitarize the UFSF and the BLM and provide funds to prop up the sheriff.

On its face that sounds like a good piece of legislation.

Quite to the contrary.

Anytime federal money is attached to something that appears to be for the greater good be wary.

Federal money comes with a high price and many stipulations. Kind of like a noose around the neck of freedom. It undermines state rights and personal liberty. Remember, if something sounds to good to be true it usually is.

Currently, the BLM and USFS have no poilce powers. Any law giving them police power except in a Territory or enclave would be unconstitutional.

The federal government has no jurisdiction on public land in the sovereign states. The answer to law enforcement is to elect a county sheriff with backbone enough to enforce the Nevada (or your state's) Constitution, the local and state laws, a sheriff who will deputize every man and woman in his county if necessary and order these tyrants out of his county. We need fewer laws, not more.

The public needs to know and understand the separation of powers. They need to know their rights, and understand they come from God and not from the government.

There is no justification for such legislation. Currently the Nevada Constitution and Nevada law delegates all criminal jurisdiction the state except in the enclaves. The county sherrif is the law and has power to deputize as many people as is necessary to enforce the laws. I suspect the other state constitutions and laws are similar.

Congressman Chaffetz has not only betrayed the citizens of Utah, but those of the entire nation.

The full text of the bill can be found here:

https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/h...115hr622ih.pdf


A BILL
To terminate the law enforcement functions of the ForestService and the Bureau of Land Management and toprovide block grants to States for the enforcement ofFederal law on Federal land under the jurisdiction ofthese agencies, and for other purposes.


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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Enforcement forLocal Lands Act’’.







  1. 15 SEC. 4. BLOCK GRANTS TO STATES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF
  2. 16 FEDERAL LAW ON FEDERAL LAND.
  3. 17 (a) GRANTS REQUIRED; PURPOSE.—For fiscal year
  4. 18 2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of the
  5. 19 Interior shall make a grant to each State for the purpose
  6. 20 of permitting the State, directly or through subgrants with
  7. 21 units of local government in that State, to maintain law
  8. 22 and order on Federal land, protect individuals and prop-
  9. 23 erty on Federal land, and enforce Federal law. Grant
  10. 24 funds shall be used only to carry out law enforcement
  11. 25 functions on Federal land.