[Vision2020] Her View: Land swap would benefit all parties

[Wayne Price]

And speaking of the' "best" science of the time, president Lincoln's  
time', it would probably be a great time for the US Government to look  
back on how the various checkerboards of land was given to the various  
railroads  and more importantly, WHY.

In a nutshell, the railroads were give land by the federal government  
to build the railroads creating the 'checkerboards" we live with  
today. "An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph  
line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to  
the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other  
purposes" (as amended) was the document that created the issue. So, in  
exchange for the land, the people of the United States got a railroad.  
OK,
now where is that railroad today that in current dollars, millions of  
dollars worth (if not billions) of federal land was give IN EXCHANGE  
for a viable railroad? For anyone that has tried to travel in the US  
via railroad, it is no surprise that while it can be done, it in no  
way meets the expectations for which the land was given up in the  
first place!

At some point in time, now that the railroads that do exist, exist in  
such a diminished capacity, the federal government needs to look at  
getting either decent, comprehensive railroad SERVICE for the  
successors to the
Union Pacific/Southern Pacific Railroads, or if they have defaulted  
under the original contractual arrangements, get the land back!







On Sep 7, 2010, at 6:10 PM, Dave wrote:

> >From Her (Employer's) View:
>> Some critics of this exchange have claimed that the federal  
>> government and the American people are getting the raw end of this  
>> deal and receiving "devastated" or "barren" land. This could not be  
>> further from the truth. These lands have been well managed for more  
>> than 100 years.
>>
>>
>>
>> Healthy, well-stocked plantations cover many of the sections. Other  
>> parcels contain stands of well-spaced trees with multiple age  
>> classes. Yes, these private sections look different from many of  
>> the older stands on the current federal land, but it does not mean  
>> they are not healthy. These lands have been managed for timber  
>> production - millions of board feet have fed local mills and  
>> provided good paying jobs for both timber and mill workers as well  
>> as many other supporting industries for over a century.
>
> This is the part which irks me .  Not only has the checkerboard idea  
> devastated the squares that have been logged, but the adjacent  
> logging has ruined the ecology of our lands too.   The damage is so  
> severe you can see it from space for cripes sake.
>
> It was thought at the time, a time when the Fed's were bribing the  
> railroads to put lines in with massive amounts of land, that the  
> checkerboard would spread out and minimize the damage from the  
> logging.   This was based on the "best" science of the time,  
> president Lincoln's time.  The term "ecology" was unknown.
>
> Nice letter Blake, can you work this in there?
>
> Dave
>
>
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