by Ben McClintock 11. March 2016 15:59

In this legislative session of 2016, Representative Mike Noel (R-Kanab) introduced HB276, the “UTAH PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT ACT”.  This bill was presented as a further step in getting “public land” turned over to the state. However, like the other “transfer” bills, what this bill does is much different than what its promoters said it does. Hidden inside the bill is a move to remove the ability of the local sheriff to protect the people of his county, and give it to a bureaucratically controlled state or regional policing agency.

It has been reported reported on several occasions that the aspects of the Transfer of Public Lands Act and associated legislation are actually “bait and switch” schemes that trick us into believing we were getting our land back, but in reality we were being sold bigger government bureaucracies and unaccountable regionalism. It also appears to be a money making scheme for connected politicians.

In a radio interview, the late LaVoy Finicum stated:

“The Federal Government loves the American Lands Council (chief promoters of the TPL). Because what do they do?  They keep it in the legislative arena. They keep it in the judicial arena… The Federal judicial arena. They (the feds) like that because they’ll never lose. They’ll just keep stretching it out, they’ll stretch it out for thirty years.”

Subverting the Ranchers

Representative Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan) has been the chief proponent of the ALC, but Representative Mike Noel (R-Kanab) has entered the fray in an attempt to stop the ranchers from standing up for their rights. In January of 2016, ranchers in southern Utah met to discuss declaring independence from the Bureau of Land Management which they see as unConstitutional.

LaVoy explained that,

“Mike Noel, and this group found out about this, and they ran out there the next week saying ‘No, no! Give us more time. We will get this done. Don’t do that.’ And so it took the steam out of it, and that could have been the first full county, because they have the sheriff behind them, they could have been the first whole county in the Union to throw off this federal chains…”

Representative Noel promised the ranchers that they needed more time to go the legislative route. Representative Noel did not stop at this betrayal of his constituents and the people of Utah. Did those that Noel convinced to accept the legitimacy of the BLM know that attacking the local sheriff is what he had in mind?

Subverting Your Local Sheriff

The most egregious part of this bill is its attack on the local sheriff, one of the last lines of defense against a tyrannical government.

On lines 337-339 it gives authority to an unelected bureaucrat to employ Department of Land Management (DLM) police officers who, “will be the primary law enforcement authority with jurisdiction on public land”. The local sheriff isn’t just subverted at these “special” times when the director of the DLM deploys this special regional police force. HB276 states that, “Conservation officers employed by the Division of Wildlife Resources are the primary law enforcement authority with jurisdiction on public land to enforce the laws”.

Lawmakers tried to placate any fears by stating in the bill that the law cannot “be construed as enlarging or diminishing the responsibility or authority of a state certified peace officer”. However, understanding jurisdiction is important to seeing through this smokescreen. HB276 gives PRIMARY authority to these regional policing bodies, automatically putting any local sheriff in a back seat position to defending the rights of the people on land usurped by a government agency.

Call Governor Gary Herbert and tell him to veto this bill  801-538-1000

Contact your local Sheriff and ask him to use his influence to stop this dangerous legislation

Find your Sheriff here http://www.utahsheriffs.org/styled-2/code

Links:

http://www.defendingutah.org/?tag=/Agenda-21

http://www.defendingutah.org/?tag=/Ken-Ivory
http://www.defendingutah.org/?tag=/American-Lands-Council

LaVoy Finicum was on our radio program exposing the fact that,

Ben MeClintock is the director of Defending Utah, the leading LOCAL organization working to expose those conspiring to take away your freedom and educate citizens on the principles of liberty.

Editor’s Note: The media representative to Gov. Herbert stated his position on this bill will not be known until he does or doesn’t sign the bill on March 28th. Calls to the Washington County Sheriff and the Utah Sheriff’s Association were not returned.