Commentary: I joined the Marines to fight for the best of America — including the public lands...

I know many Marines who are not outdoorsman. Had lunch with one today.

I dunno PO1-might not be as simple as all that.

I grew up in the Great Smokies National Park, and definitely consider myself an "Outdoorsman"...as well as someone who once swore to defend all the author did. "My" park was created by FDR, a "progressive" Democrat of another era who is equally admired/hated for his polices. Creating the Smokies as a national park saved irreplaceable natural beauty from being "developed", but it also destroyed wide portions of an existing culture in Appalachia. So too, I enjoy boating on TVA lakes; waters that flow over what was once acres of independent farmland supporting other communities economically and socially.

I'm not a big fan of converting the entire planet into a golf course or mini-mall...but looking around, it is not hard to see that we have to get the economic taps flowing. If we're going to create stable, high paying jobs, we can't rely totally on data centers, call centers and other "cubicle" positions...we need to put trades back into operation, start using our own natural resources more, and free up states to make decisions that best influence their own economies and populations.

I'd like to know more about how the Federal government will make the transfer before judging it out right. If all that's happening is release to State control...you may very likely see much of this land become state parks. If handed directly to the open market...Ok, in that I may have issue as well.

Zinke said in a statement. “The recommendations I sent to the president on national monuments will maintain federal ownership of all federal land and protect the land under federal environmental regulations, and also provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation.”

The assertion here is that President Trump intends to harm the lands because he commissioned Secretary Zinke to assess the limitations imposed by recent presidents under the Antiquities Act, and the Secretary recommends reversing them to their previous levels of protection.

I found a number of articles from publications, including the Washington Post, NY Times, and an article by Zinke himself on CNN's site which is of course the lone opinion that doesn't find this action "harmful" to the land.

Americans have screamed for the entirety of my lifetime about the overreaching of the federal government, but not one person has stepped up to keep the promises to limit that reach until President Trump. I can't see a reason why this action was necessary, and from what I have read, it was a solution to a problem that never existed. If the people of Utah want to have that land designated as a Federal Reserve, let them petition Congress like everybody else and make their case.

The person who wrote this article has made a gratuitous assertion in my view, and does nothing to back it up.

Kudos to President Trump. I have to admit I was never on the Trump Train, but after his first year, I am a believer.