The corporate takeover of our federal lands is a flashpoint issue for many in the West.
In a region that relies on tourism dollars, favoring oil and gas exploration over the majesty of nature is bad policy precipitating economic disaster and loss of precious habitat for the wild creatures.
In response to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on public lands and as the House considers multiple pieces of legislation that could put more public lands at risk, Western Values Project announced a wave of ads calling on Rep. Greg Walden (OR-2) to reject any efforts to gut protections for public lands. The ads also target Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-3) and Martha McSally (AZ-2).
The ads will run in each members’ districts over the next week totalling more than a million dollars in media spending.
Chris Saeger, executive director of the Western Values Project. “We’re putting Rep. Greg Walden on notice: if he goes against public lands and sides with the administration by carving up the West in favor of special interests, he’ll have to answer to his constituents.”
According to The Oregonian, Walden issued a statement in response to the advertising effort, saying he was a strong supporter of public lands and “will not support any effort that wipes 2 million acres of protected public lands off the map in any case.”
“I want the Trump administration to follow the law when it comes to management of our public lands, especially in southern Oregon,” he said in a statement. “I am a strong supporter of private property rights, and for multiple use on our public lands.”
Do you take the political man at his word? Some in his district will. I don’t live in his district, so I will take the word of the League of Conversation Voters. The League isn’t a fan of Walden’s voting record.
