According to the release: The newly obtained 14 pages further detail plans within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to completely overhaul the way federal lands are managed in the U.S., including the creation of new ecosystem areas that require the acquisition of new federal lands. The plans would vastly expand the power, reach and control of federal land managers.
Furthermore, Bishop noted:
"These 14 pages are further evidence of this Administration's efforts, under the guidance of Secretary Salazar, to control western lands by unilaterally locking them up without input from local residents and stakeholders nor the approval of Congress.
Their plotting behind closed doors is disingenuous at best and flies in the face of this Administration's so-called 'transparency'"
Hitting on the most subtle effects the Executive Order is set to have, Bishop included a few points from the 14 missing pages: Page 3, paragraph 6:
The sentence, "In order to expand this network of treasured lands to include the diversity of landscapes currently managed by the BLM...," shows that the Administration is working to broaden the jurisdictional scope of lands currently managed by the BLM. Page 5, paragraph 5:
The sentence, "Should the legislative process not prove fruitful, or if a nationally significant natural or cultural land resource were to come under threat of imminent harm, the BLM would recommend that the Administration consider using the Antiquities Act...," shows that the Administration is constructing a new management structure without the approval of Congress. Page 6 (b), page 7 (4.), page 8 (3.):
Details planning for further land acquisition and funding mechanisms. Page 7, paragraph 1; Page 6, paragraph 7:
By their own numbers, the Administration will target the "acute" problem of private landholdings in BLM administered areas to the sum of 412,675 acres, or more than 370,000 football fields. Page 9, paragraph 5:
The sentence, "The BLM recommends that any major funding increases be phased in over a five-year period to allow the BLM time to build capacity in order to accomplish the increased work-load," shows that the BLM will require an increase in funding to accommodate the proposed expanded management of lands throughout the West.
Bishop concluded his released noting:
"I remain committed to forcing Secretary Salazar and all others involved in this matter into the light of full transparency, which as these documents prove, is not a place they seem to be comfortable. But this potential land and power grab needs to exposed, it needs to be laid out before the public, and it needs to be stopped."
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