- The Montezuma County commissioners have not decided whether to renew their membership in the American Lands Council, a group that lobbies for the transfer of federal public lands to the states.
The Montezuma County commissioners said Monday they have not decided whether to renew their membership in the American Lands Council, a Utah-based group that lobbies for the transfer of federal public lands to the states. Chairman Larry Don Suckla said he was recently asked at a public gathering about the county’s membership in the council, which began in March 2015 with a $1,000 contribution. Suckla said the commissioners have not yet paid dues for a second year and the membership is “in limbo” right now. Commissioner James Lambert said the county pays “hefty dues” to other lobbying groups, including Colorado Counties Incorporated and Club 20, and the American Lands Council is in the same category. Lambert said many problems could be solved if public lands were transferred to states because multiple use is declining on national forests and BLM lands. Suckla said when Congress began to cut funding for the Forest Service and BLM, he thought it was a good idea, but now agencies don’t have adequate money for management. Suckla said public lands either need to be better funded or transferred. He said he doesn’t believe the states would sell off public lands, and if he did, it would be like cutting his own throat. Suckla said the commissioners have not set a time to discuss rejoining the lands council but he wants to see the lands-transfer debate continue to be “in the news.”
