33,000+ calls in 24 hours from people from people really good at shooting high power rifles got Congress to pay attention.
Lee is from Utah. There is a ton of public land in Utah. Most of it is uninhabitable BLM wasteland for lack of a better term. But it is beautiful.
The argument was if we free up the land, we can develop it and build affordable housing. But it's a bullshìt argument. Lack of land and it's prices have nothing to do with our lack of affordable housing. Miles of red tape, over-regulation, inadequate infrastructure, and an extreme lack of manual labor are the issues that need to be addressed.
When Western States were added in the 19th and early 20th centuries almost everything was public. Homesteaders came out and staked their claims. But when all the farmland was snatched up, the rest of it was kept by the Government Land Office for grazing and wildlife. Over the years some has been protected and much has been worked by the timber industry, ranchers, and of course the rest of us to enjoy for hunting, fishing, backpacking, rafting, camping, etc.
The real solution is to make sure the government is doing a better job of conducting the people's business properly by sustainable timber management, mining/drilling, and offering affordable leases to ranchers. All of these things can happen and still allow for we the people to use these lands. But you ain't building affordable houses on it, because it is mostly uninhabitable and the cost to develop it would be astronomical.
