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To hear Republican gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell tell it, solving Idaho’s problems 
comes down to acquiring ownership of the massive federal lands within its borders. “I believe these lands belong to the state of Idaho, and that the federal government has unjustly taken them from us,” Rammell told the Idaho County Free Press last week. “Two-thirds of the state of Idaho is under control of the federal government, and as governor I want to change that.” The feds own 33.4 million acres of this place called Idaho, compared to the 2.6 million acres possessed by the state and the 16.3 acres million in private hands. It’s the rare Idahoan who hasn’t railed about federal land management policies and the even rarer Idahoan who hasn’t heard someone else complain/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.
Question: Does the idea of state control of Idaho’s massive federal lands appeal to you?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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spokelooneh on October 08 at 10:19 a.m.
So then the taxpayers of Idaho, instead of the Feds, should pay to subsidize all those ranchers who graze their herds on (formerly) Federal land?
BlueinIdaho on October 08 at 12:06 p.m.
Rammell should just buy a tag to hunt the feds and get it over with.
moscow_minidoka on October 08 at 1:10 p.m.
No. Keep it Federal.
hhuseland on October 08 at 1:15 p.m.
Absolutely. This country has a double standard. The eastern states own all of their territory. Only the states that were added to the union late, were deprived of this land. Only the original 13 colonies have this special privilege.
Sisyphus on October 08 at 1:20 p.m.
Dumbest thing I ever heard. Do I wanna give up my ownership of some of the most beautiful country on the planet to the highest bidder. I don’t think so.
Love_My_Idaho on October 08 at 7:58 p.m.
Yes it does! Nobody cares about Idaho more than Idahoans. Nobody will take better care of Idaho than Idahoans. The Feds are doing a disastrous job of managing Idaho’s lands. Idaho could manage the land so that its many renewable resources could support Idaho and the land could sustain wildlife. Fire hazards would be greatly dimished once the forests were thinned to a healthy level.
Nick_Adams on October 08 at 11:00 p.m.
Normally, I’m a huge advocate of local control. However, stewardship of public lands needs to stay with the feds. I grew up hunting, fishing, hiking and camping on public lands. I would never give up that access so that Idaho’s good ol boys could start selling off prime habitat to their buddies.