Zinke Backs Off On Illegal Sale of Public Lands

[diva77]

August 27, 2018
Zinke Backs Off On Illegal Sale of Public Lands
By Tom Valtin

https://www.sierraclub.org/planet/2018/08/zinke-backs-illegal-sale-public-lands?utm_source=insider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

On August 17, just hours after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was exposed for trying to sell off 1,600 acres that had been illegally removed from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Department of the Interior reversed its decision in the face of overwhelming public opposition. The deal would have unlawfully sold off public lands adjacent to acreage owned by an ally of President Trump who also happens to be a member of the Utah state legislature.

This gambit comes despite Zinke consistently stating -- including at his confirmation hearing -- that he would not sell off public lands.

“No matter how hard he tries, Ryan Zinke will never be able to disregard the voices of the American people," says Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club's Our Wild America campaign. "Our public lands are for everyone, not just for Zinke and Trump to sell to their friends for profit."

Read more here https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/08/17/interior-secretary/ and here https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ryan-zinke-backtracks-grand-staircase-land-sale_us_5b7751e7e4b0a5b1febb5bfb -- and take action to keep drilling and mining out of Grand Staircase-Escalante.
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one small step for mankind!!

[democratisphere]

1. Mueller should start an investigation on ALL of the drumpf cabinet members.

The drumpf administration's destruction is endless.

[watoos]

3. When Democrats

take back the House they should start overturning every rock and bring those cockroaches out into the light. The only cure for the Trump darkness is the light.

[democratisphere]

6. Absolutely agree!

[mr_lebowski]

2. WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! Have some, mofo's!!! SWEET! (nt)

[duforsure]

4. Corruption running wild out of this White House

And this administration as we see another example of them with Zinke . He with Price , and Pruitt , and Ross and others should be in prison with trump , and not allowed to continue robbing the American people.

[diva77]

11. +1,000,000

[backtoblue]

5. K&R .

[diva77]

7. The 2nd article link in OP is filled with the scandalous details - off the charts as usual

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ryan-zinke-backtracks-grand-staircase-land-sale_us_5b7751e7e4b0a5b1febb5bfb


Trump Administration Scraps Plan To Sell Land Cut From Utah Monument
An Interior Department official claims Secretary Ryan Zinke “did not see the proposal before it went out and was not happy about it.”
headshot
By Chris D’Angelo

SNIP
Following 48 hours of blistering public outrage, the Trump administration has scrapped a proposal to pawn off more than 1,600 federal acres that until recently were protected as part of Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday.

The recommendation ― buried in a draft resource management plan and first reported by HuffPost ― called for the “disposal” of 16 parcels of federal land, including 120 acres adjacent to property owned by Utah state Rep. Mike Noel (R), an ally of the administration and a staunch opponent of the Clinton-era monument.
SNIP
“The secretary did not see the proposal before it went out and was not happy about it,” a senior Interior Department official told the Tribune, referring to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

The 16 parcels “identified for disposal” in the draft BLM plan are among the more than 850,000 acres that President Donald Trump stripped from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument late last year.

One parcel ― 120 acres east of Kanab ― is adjacent to 40 acres owned by Noel, land that was removed from the monument as part of the sweeping rollback. Noel was among the Utah officials who advocated shrinking the protected site and applauded Trump’s decision to do so. In fact, he attempted to rename a Utah highway after Trump as a thank-you.
SNIP

[gratuitous]

9. "The secretary did not see the proposal before it went out"

And the dog ate his homework, for reals, he will respect you in the morning, and the check is in the mail.

That excuse is probably plenty good for the numbskull supporters of the administration, but for the rest of us with an IQ above room temperature, it sounds like a craven, self-serving, post hoc rationalization. "Gee, I didn't think this would blow up so badly. Quick, tell 'em, uhhhh, I didn't know anything about it!"

[diva77]

10. I agree 1000%

[Scurrilous]

8. K&R