Rebellion in disguise

It is starting to sound like the Sagebrush Rebellion of the mid-1990s all over again. Recently, Stevens County Commissioner Steve Parker announced the results of his meeting in Okanogan County on July 24 with the other county commissioners from the four top-tier counties in northeastern Washington.

The guest speaker was Jim Chmelik, an Idaho County commissioner, who is the president of the Western Landmark Foundation. Commissioner Chmelik is touring the Western states, hoping to get counties to sign an order to help better manage federal lands and increase the safety, welfare and economic health of rural counties.

This all sounds pretty good on the surface, however, the true target of Commissioner Chmelik, who holds Cliven Bundy from Nevada in high regard, is to legally challenge the U.S. government’s ownership of public lands within Stevens County and other counties. This deliberate drama of David vs. Goliath has roots in the county supremacy movement, to include the Sagebrush Rebellion.

This is not a “grassroots movement,” as Commissioner Chmelik advertises. It is fueled by greedy corporate interests for profit, and to me, public lands like Yellowstone National Park, the Statue of Liberty and the Colville National Forest belong to all of the people, not just “We the People.”

James Gordon Perkins

Colville