Battle for the American West How Four Elk Hunters and a Ladder Could Reshape Wyoming’s Chequered Frontiers

“For many years, access to public land has been increasingly denied by the managing agencies, under the misguided theory that human impact in any form is bad for wildlife and wildlife habitat. Logging, ranching, hunting, road closures, vehicle and boat types and permitted seasonal usage, have all seen restrictions grow. Reduction of public lands access and usages by these and other restrictions leaves private lands and owners under increasing pressure to permit access across themselves. The discussion below cannot be considered outside this context.

There is an almost inconceivable amount of public land in the West (72% of Idaho is ‘public’) but it is harder and harder for the public to use public land. The growing restrictions – intended to restrict usage –  is the root cause. The solution is to reverse usage restrictions, not to attack private property rights of countless small landowners whose collective ownership is tiny compared to the government’s.”

NOTE: this article was originally published to FT.com on April 12, 2024. It was written by Oliver Roeder.

How four elk hunters and a ladder could reshape Wyoming’s chequered frontiers

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