Sometimes, the West must be protected from itself

Today, we need to listen more carefully than ever to the ideas of Western historian, Bernard DeVoto.

 

The more things change, the more those changes echo on into the future. Today, we need to listen more carefully than ever to a voice from the mid-20th century, that of the writer and Western historian, Bernard DeVoto.

At the recent GOP convention, the party faithful approved a platform that directs Congress to give “certain public lands” to the states. It’s an old strategy, trotted out like a broken-down show horse at a county fair.

In the mid-1940s, Western policymakers, mainly Republicans, sought to eliminate the federal Bureau of Land Management, remove grazing areas from Forest Service control, and put public land on the path to state control and private ownership. One privatization bill passed the House in 1946, and even enjoyed the support of Interior Secretary Julius Krug, a Democrat. 

Sounding the alarm against these terrible proposals came DeVoto’s prescient voice from his Easy Chair column in Harper’s magazine. His warnings are still relevant seven decades later. The noted writer knew something of the West; he was born and raised in Ogden, Utah, and later wrote prize-winning regional histories. To DeVoto, the land-divestment scheme amounted to a full-frontal assault on the country’s entire conservation program. He was right: The naked power grab he warned us about continues today, with stockgrowers now joined by powerful oil and gas interests. They bristle at any restraints on their self-interest and argue that what they call “local control” is always the answer.

 But DeVoto identified a deeper problem that had — and still has — the potential to eat away at democracy itself. In summer 1947, the House Subcommittee on Public Lands began holding hearings in picturesque Western towns. Its short-term objective was to stop the Forest Service from reducing the number of grazing permits on public lands, even though overgrazing had seriously compromised many of those rangelands.

The legislative hearings were stacked with sympathetic audiences who had been primed by stock-grower trade journals to believe the worst of any federal agency, and to disbelieve “long-haired scientists” who showed that overgrazing was a problem in the West. A slew of so-called experts, ranchers, and their politicians made the case again and again for giving free rein to the stock industry. Conservationists and witnesses who agreed with the Forest Service were allotted 10 percent of the time for testimony.

Unfounded rumors that the agency planned to disallow all grazing were permitted without rebuttal. Entered into the record without clarifications or corrections, these fabrications circulated like crumpled dollar bills. Inflammatory rhetoric and showmanship overcame evidence much as it does in our time. In trying to expose the plot and set the record straight, DeVoto demonstrated that public hearings — just like party conventions — work as political theater.

Anti-monument signs at the Bears Ears public hearing where Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel heard from people in favor and opposed to a national monument designation.
Corey Robinson

Back then, as now, a national monument was in the news. In the mid-1940s, Rep. Frank Barrett, a Wyoming Republican who chaired the traveling public-lands subcommittee, hoped to abolish the Jackson Hole National Monument, which is now mostly protected in Grand Teton National Park. Today, Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, hopes to prevent the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument by establishing two national conservation areas instead, a designation that offers less protection from development.

Bishop and his supporters like to tout their Utah Public Lands Initiative, which includes an alternative that they call the Bear Ears National Conservation Area. The bill's proponents like the collaborative process it enacts, yet the initiative in its flexible management plans clearly favors grazing and energy producers. The Nature Conservancy, long a partner in the process, recently announced that it cannot back this bill. In addition, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, representing dozens of tribes, has declared that it wants the area protected by a national monument. Meanwhile, Bishop has proposed a “Partner Act” that would end the president’s power to use the 110-year-old Antiquities Act to create a national monument for the Bears Ears area.

DeVoto saw this coming. There is a clear line from those hearings in 1947 to the ones we’re seeing now, in 2016. The ultimate goal then was not just to stop grazing reductions or stymie national monuments; it was to discredit the federal government and its rightful concern for conservation. “The future of the West hinges on whether it can defend itself against itself,” DeVoto said.

During this presidential campaign, we can expect the Republican candidate and his followers to cite the party platform and offer yet more half-truths about public-lands management. As DeVoto showed 69 years ago, lies told often enough erode public discourse and weaken governance. “Against such psychology as this,” DeVoto implored, “only the force of the ballot can defend the public interest.”

Adam M. Sowards is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News. He is an environmental historian at the University of Idaho.

High Country News Classifieds
  • COMING TO TUCSON?
    Popular vacation house, everything furnished. Two bedroom, one bath, large enclosed yards. Dog-friendly. Contact Lee at [email protected] or 520-791-9246.
  • ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS
    We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.
  • NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION MANAGER
    Central Colorado Conservancy is an accredited land trust and community-based conservation organization based in Salida, CO. Our mission is to protect the land, waters and...
  • ESCAPE THE CROWDS AND EMBRACE NATURE: AFFORDABLE RETREAT, JUST AN HOUR FROM GLACIER NATIONAL PARK AND BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS!
    Welcome to your new tranquil oasis in Montana. This beautiful 2-bedroom home FSBO is just an hour's drive to the east entrance of Glacier National...
  • DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
    Areas of Responsibility: The Development Director collaborates with the Executive Director, other HEAL Utah staff, board, and supporters to continue building one of Utah's most...
  • DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST
    Position Summary Western Resource Advocates (WRA) is hiring an organized and creative Digital Engagement Specialist to join our Marketing and Communications Team. The Digital Engagement...
  • 92 ACRE EASTERN WASHINGTON GEM
    Welcome to Lost Creek Sanctuary... a true hidden gem in the heart of the Palouse. 1900 square feet, the main house is warm and charming,...
  • WEEKLY NEWSPAPER FOR SALE
    Vibrant, financially successful 1,100 print run, community-focused subscription newspaper in beautiful Pacific Northwest Washington seeks owner/s. It is time to retire. Now, your Norman Rockwell-like...
  • STAFF ATTORNEY - WILDLANDS AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM
    Job Opening Announcement: Wildlands and Wildlife Program Staff Attorney Reports to: Wildlands and Wildlife Program Director Location: Pacific Northwest, ideally in Eugene, Oregon, Portland, Oregon,...
  • HEAD OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
    The Head of Project Management will oversee our project execution to ensure that we are providing our partners around the world with the field data...
  • LEGAL DIRECTOR
    Trustees for Alaska is the only nonprofit environmental law firm founded and based in Alaska. We are seeking a Legal Director, full-time based in Anchorage....
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Fund for People in Parks seeks leader to identify, develop, fund, and facilitate high-impact projects in western National Parks. Remote position with some travel....
  • GRASSROOTS REGIONAL COORDINATOR
    Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a women-led national grassroots organization that engages and inspires activism to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands. The...
  • GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY MANAGER
    Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a women-led national grassroots organization that engages and inspires activism to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands. Position...
  • GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP DIRECTOR
    The Grassroots Leadership (Director) oversees the training, guidance, and support of volunteer Broadband Leaders. (Broadbands are women-led grassroots chapters, with 40+ across the country.) They...
  • FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT NEEDED
    We would like to invite you to participate in a 60-minute focus group to help us enhance the New Mexico Courts website (https://www.inside.nmcourts.gov/). Our aim...
  • GILA GRASSROOTS ORGANIZER
    New Mexico Wild is seeking a Gila Grassroots Organizer who is passionate about public lands and community engagement. The Gila Grassroots Organizer will take a...
  • 20/40 ACRES IN ARIZONA WINE COUNTRY
    Chiricahua riparian ecosystem: 5100 ft elevation:18+ inches of rain/year: 1/4 mile creek through property: The Chiricahuas' have been called: "The most biologically diverse place in...
  • SMALL CABIN WITH 260 ACRES
    Adorable quaint cabin on the Arizona Strip, on the foothills of the Kaibab Plateau with 260 acres bordering BLM lands on two sides of the...
  • LUNATEC HYDRATION SPRAY BOTTLE
    A must for campers and outdoor enthusiasts. Cools, cleans and hydrates with mist, stream and shower patterns. Hundreds of uses.