8. Laura H. Baldwin, Robert C. Marshall, and
Land use should
acquired private land in competition with
Jean-Francois Richard, "Bidder Collusion at
other users, it can be expected that environ-
be depoliticized
Forest Service Timber Sales," Journal of Political
mental organizations, by diverting funds now
Economy 105, no. 4 (August 1997): 65799.
and determined
spent on political action and by launching
9. Holly Lippke Fretwell, Forests: Do We Get What
by economic crite-
new fundraising efforts for direct land acqui-
We Pay For? (Bozeman, Mont.: Political Economy
sition, would be able to bid successfully for
ria operating
Research Center, 1999), pp. 1, 5. See also Donald
many of these public lands. If the rights to
Leal, "Making Money on Timber Sales: A Federal
through markets
and State Comparison," in Multiple Conflicts over
public lands can be divested as we suggest, all
Multiple Uses, ed. Terry Anderson (Bozeman, Mont.:
owners and users will face the opportunity
in which the vari-
Political Economy Research Center, 1994), pp. 89.
cost of their actions so that both the treasury
ous functional
and the environment will benefit.
10. U.S. General Accounting Office, "Forest
uses of land are
Service Decision-Making: A Framework for
Improving Performance," GAO /RECD-97-71,
recognized in the
1997, p. 29.
Notes
form of elemental
11. See Karl Hess Jr. and Jerry Holechek, "Beyond
1. John Loomis, a defender of public ownership of
property rights.
the Grazing Fee: An Agenda for Rangeland
land and professor of agricultural and resource
Reform," Cato Institute Policy Analysis no. 234,
economics at Colorado State University, contends
July 13, 1995.
that much of the land in the federal estate is there
because "the lands were so unproductive in pro-
12. David Gerard, "The Mining Law of 1872:
ducing commodities that the government could
Digging a Little Deeper," PERC Policy Series PS-
not even give them away to railroads, homestead-
11, December 1997.
ers, ranchers, or miners." John Loomis, "Economic
Rationales for Continued Ownership of Land,"
13. Randal O'Toole, 1994 Park Data, July 1997,
Presentation at the conference "Challenging
http://www.ti.org/~rot/nps94data.html.
Federal Ownership and Management: Public
14. James Ridenour, "Our National Parks: The
Lands and Public Benefits," Natural Resources
Slide towards Mediocrity," Presentation at the
Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law,
conference "Challenging Federal Ownership and
Boulder, October 1113, 1995.
Management: Public Lands and Private Benefits."
2. See generally Roger Sedjo, "Forest Resources:
Resilient and Serviceable," in America's Renewable
15. For an overview of the uncertainties within
Resources: Historic Trends and Current Challenges, ed.
the field, see K. S. Shrader-Frechette and E. D.
Kenneth Frederick and Roger Sedjo (Washington:
McCoy, Method in Ecology (New York: Cambridge
Resources for the Future, 1991), pp. 8891.
University Press, 1993).
16. U.S. General Accounting Office, "Forest
3. Policy statement of the Forest Reserve Organic
Service Decision-Making," p. 32. That degrada-
Administration Act of 1897, as amended. Cited in
tion need not occur on public lands is demon-
Frederick Cubbage, Jay O'Laughlin, and Charles
strated by the management of state forests that
Bullock III, Forest Resource Policy (New York: John
actually earn a profit. An environmental quality
Wiley & Sons, 1993), p. 19.
audit, requested by the Montana legislature and
4. Gifford Pinchot, The Fight for Conservation (Seat-
performed by the Forestry Division, concluded
tle: University of Washington Press, 1967), pp.
that the state does a better job of protecting
7980, cited in Karl Hess Jr., Visions upon the Land:
watersheds from the impact of logging than does
Man and Nature on the Western Range (Washington:
the Forest Service. See Bill Schultz, Montana
Island Press, 1992), p. 77.
Forestry Best Management Practices Implementation
Monitoring (Missoula: Montana Department of
5. Robert Nelson, "How and Why to Transfer BLM
State Lands, 1992).
Lands to the States," Competitive Enterprise
Institute, Washington, January 1996, p. 25.
17. Hope Babcock, "State Primacy, Federal
Consistency, or Collaborative Management: Can
6. Randal O'Toole, "Run Them Like Businesses:
Cooperative Federalism Models from Other Laws
Natural Resource Agencies in an Era of Federal
Save Our Public Lands?" Presentation at the con-
Limits," July 1997, http://www.ti.org/~rot/business.
ference "Challenging Federal Ownership and
html.
Management: Public Lands and Private Benefits."
7. Ibid., Table 1.
18. U.S. General Accounting Office, "Rangeland
22