Idahoans don’t trust state w/fed lands

Give retiring state Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, his due. In the entire discussion about whether Idaho should acquire roughly 34 million acres of federal land, nobody squared the issue more succinctly. “Over the last several years, there’s been quite a bit of support (in the Legislature) for the theory that at least some federal lands should be managed by the states,” Bateman said during a hearing last March. “But most of the feedback I get is in opposition. It’s almost like people aren’t conscious of their own citizenship. They don’t trust the people they elect; they’re more inclined to trust federal bureaucrats.” Bateman got the message: Idahoans believe their state would go broke trying to manage those lands. The properties may not be as well tended. And they fear Idaho’s business-oriented leaders would wind up liquidating the choicest lots to the highest bidders - and locking them out in the process/ Marty Trillhaase , Lewiston Tribune. More here.