<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">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. <div><br></div><div>In a nutshell, the railroads were give land by the federal government to build the railroads creating the 'checkerboards" we live with today. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><i><a href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html">"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"</a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; ">(as amended) </span><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">was the document that created the issue</span></font></font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">. So, in exchange for the land, the people of the United States got a railroad. OK,</span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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! </span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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 </span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">Union Pacific/Southern Pacific Railroads, or if they have defaulted under the original contractual arrangements, get the land back! </span></font></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Times" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><br></span></font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Sep 7, 2010, at 6:10 PM, Dave wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> >From Her (Employer's) View:<br> <blockquote type="cite"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">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. </span></blockquote> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> Nice letter Blake, can you work this in there?<br> <br> Dave<br> <br> <br> <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
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