Earlier this year Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced H.R. 622, the Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, also known as the “Poacher Protection Act.”
This bill would abolish the law enforcement branches of the U.S. Forest Service and BLM and steer block grants to local sheriff’s offices to take up the slack.
The bill would leave millions of acres of public lands vulnerable to abuse and lawless behavior, taxing state and local authorities and fundamentally compromising Americans’ safety. The association of federal law enforcement said the bill will eliminate about 1,000 rangers, investigators, and law enforcement personnel who patrol America’s backcountry alongside local sheriff’s deputies and state game wardens.
“I’m in no way belittling local law enforcement,” says Jay Webster, retired U.S. Forest Service law enforcement and investigations patrol captain. “However, the expertise in what we do as opposed to what they do is different. We respond to archeological crimes and catastrophic wildfires. No way would a sheriff’s office … be able to respond with resources to those kind of incidents.”
And as many county sheriffs have pointed out, their officers can’t enforce federal laws. This would, essentially, be a gift to poachers and drug cartels, providing even more opportunities for them to abuse public lands and diminish public safety.
At its core, H.R. 622 caters to local anti-government groups, such as the armed extremists that took over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon last year. “As sportsmen, we look at this bill as anti-fishing, anti-hunting and anti-American,” says Randy Newberg, host of “Fresh Tracks” on the Sportsman Channel. “It’s one more way to diminish or eliminate the public lands concept.”
Our law enforcement officers are on the front lines of conservation and already do more with less. Let’s give them the resources they need to do their jobs.
David Lien
Colorado Springs
Editor’s note: David Lien is chairman of Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
