NYTimes.com - Full Article
A new group of billionaires is shaking up the landscape.
By Julie Turkewitz
June 22, 2019
IDAHO CITY, Idaho — The Wilks brothers grew up in a goat shed, never finished high school and built a billion-dollar fracking business from scratch.
So when the brothers, Dan and Farris, bought a vast stretch of mountain-studded land in southwest Idaho, it was not just an investment, but a sign of their good fortune.
“Through hard work and determination — and they didn’t have a lot of privilege — they’ve reached success,” said Dan Wilks’s son, Justin.
The purchase also placed the Wilkses high on the list of well-heeled landowners who are buying huge parcels of America. In the last decade, private land in the United States has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. Today, just 100 families own about 42 million acres across the country, a 65,000-square-mile expanse, according to the Land Report, a magazine that tracks large purchases. Researchers at the magazine have found that the amount of land owned by those 100 families has jumped 50 percent since 2007.
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Much of that land stretches from the Rocky Mountains down into Texas, where, for some, commercial forests and retired ranches have become an increasingly attractive investment.
Battles over private and public land have been a defining part of the West since the 1800s, when the federal government began doling out free acres to encourage expansion. For years, fights have played out between private individuals and the federal government, which owns more than half of the region...
Read more at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/us/wilks-brothers-fracking-business.html
Monday, June 24, 2019
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Florida: Central Polk Parkway route raises concerns for equestrians
TheLedger.com - Full Article
By Gary White
Posted Jun 22, 2019
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise plans show highway slicing through and limiting access to the 1,173-acre Marshall Hampton Reserve.
LAKELAND — Myra Bell regularly takes her 23-year-old Paso Fino gelding horse, Dandy, out for a ride at Marshall Hampton Reserve, a verdant tract on the east side of Lake Hancock.
Bell, a Bartow resident, said the roughly 5-mile trail system is popular with fellow members of the Florida Sport Horse Club, partly because it provides glimpses of alligators, bald eagles and other wildlife, along with scenic views of Lake Hancock.
Bell and fellow equestrians worry that their access to the reserve will disappear. The planned route of the Central Polk Parkway goes through the parking area at the entrance to the Marshall Hampton Reserve, also the access point for the Panther Point Trail.
“It really concerns me because if they use the parking lot, where would we park our horses and horse trailers?” Bell said. “And if they’re taking out the parking lot, are they going to take the whole Marshall Hampton away from us for riding? Those are questions we all have concerns about...”
Read more at:
https://www.theledger.com/news/20190622/central-polk-parkway-route-raises-concerns
By Gary White
Posted Jun 22, 2019
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise plans show highway slicing through and limiting access to the 1,173-acre Marshall Hampton Reserve.
LAKELAND — Myra Bell regularly takes her 23-year-old Paso Fino gelding horse, Dandy, out for a ride at Marshall Hampton Reserve, a verdant tract on the east side of Lake Hancock.
Bell, a Bartow resident, said the roughly 5-mile trail system is popular with fellow members of the Florida Sport Horse Club, partly because it provides glimpses of alligators, bald eagles and other wildlife, along with scenic views of Lake Hancock.
Bell and fellow equestrians worry that their access to the reserve will disappear. The planned route of the Central Polk Parkway goes through the parking area at the entrance to the Marshall Hampton Reserve, also the access point for the Panther Point Trail.
“It really concerns me because if they use the parking lot, where would we park our horses and horse trailers?” Bell said. “And if they’re taking out the parking lot, are they going to take the whole Marshall Hampton away from us for riding? Those are questions we all have concerns about...”
Read more at:
https://www.theledger.com/news/20190622/central-polk-parkway-route-raises-concerns
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Colorado has 2.8 million acres of state trust lands, but most is closed to the public. Sportsmen are trying to change that.
DenverPost.com - Full Article
Analysis shows roughly 80 percent of Colorado trust lands closed to public recreation
By Judith Kohler | jkohler@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: June 19, 2019
A sportsmen’s group that found 9.52 million acres of federally managed public lands in the West can’t be accessed by public roads is now looking at state-owned lands. In Colorado, a majority of those are off-limits to the public.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and onX, a Montana-based digital mapping company, released their findings on Colorado on Wednesday at the Outdoor Retailer, a national outdoor recreation trade show that runs through Thursday in Denver. The Colorado analysis is the first TRCP has unveiled, with reviews of 10 other Western states expected later this summer.
About 16 percent of the roughly 2.8 million acres of state trust lands in Colorado is landlocked, meaning the land can’t be reached by public roads. Another 20 percent of the state lands are open to hunters and anglers from September through February, thanks to leases or easements acquired by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The majority of the lands, or 64 percent, are closed by the state to recreation...
Read more here:
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/06/19/colorado-trust-public-lands-recreation-hunting/
Analysis shows roughly 80 percent of Colorado trust lands closed to public recreation
By Judith Kohler | jkohler@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: June 19, 2019
A sportsmen’s group that found 9.52 million acres of federally managed public lands in the West can’t be accessed by public roads is now looking at state-owned lands. In Colorado, a majority of those are off-limits to the public.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and onX, a Montana-based digital mapping company, released their findings on Colorado on Wednesday at the Outdoor Retailer, a national outdoor recreation trade show that runs through Thursday in Denver. The Colorado analysis is the first TRCP has unveiled, with reviews of 10 other Western states expected later this summer.
About 16 percent of the roughly 2.8 million acres of state trust lands in Colorado is landlocked, meaning the land can’t be reached by public roads. Another 20 percent of the state lands are open to hunters and anglers from September through February, thanks to leases or easements acquired by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The majority of the lands, or 64 percent, are closed by the state to recreation...
Read more here:
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/06/19/colorado-trust-public-lands-recreation-hunting/
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Montana: Groups sue Forest Service over access issues in Crazy Mountain
BillingsGazette.com - Full Article
BRETT FRENCH french@billingsgazette.com
June 11 2019
In an attempt to force the Custer Gallatin National Forest to assert a claim to public access on four Crazy Mountain trails, a coalition of outdoor groups filed a lawsuit in Billings District Court on Monday against the agency.
“We’re hoping the Forest Service follows its own regulations in administering this area,” said Kathryn QannaYahu, of Enhancing Montana's Wildlife & Habitat. She has done a large portion of the historical research for the case.
The lawsuit, drafted by the Western Environmental Law Center in Helena, contends the agency has failed to protect and defend public access rights in the south-central Montana mountain range which is checkerboarded with private land. The groups had threatened to sue in February unless the agency worked with them on their concerns...
Read more at:
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/groups-sue-forest-service-over-access-issues-in-crazy-mountains/article_a2f20714-6084-5887-bd25-5857a829c7e9.html
BRETT FRENCH french@billingsgazette.com
June 11 2019
In an attempt to force the Custer Gallatin National Forest to assert a claim to public access on four Crazy Mountain trails, a coalition of outdoor groups filed a lawsuit in Billings District Court on Monday against the agency.
“We’re hoping the Forest Service follows its own regulations in administering this area,” said Kathryn QannaYahu, of Enhancing Montana's Wildlife & Habitat. She has done a large portion of the historical research for the case.
The lawsuit, drafted by the Western Environmental Law Center in Helena, contends the agency has failed to protect and defend public access rights in the south-central Montana mountain range which is checkerboarded with private land. The groups had threatened to sue in February unless the agency worked with them on their concerns...
Read more at:
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/groups-sue-forest-service-over-access-issues-in-crazy-mountains/article_a2f20714-6084-5887-bd25-5857a829c7e9.html
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
The Ohio Horseman's Council has your (horse)back
Chroniclet.com - Full article
Brad Zahar | The Chronicle-Telegram
Published on June 7, 2019
With 1,650 miles of bridle trails in over 100 locations, Ohio has a lot to offer those who like to horseback ride. While the riding trails are distributed throughout the state, much of the local real estate available for riding comes thanks to the Ohio Horseman’s Council (OHC).
The OHC, whose motto is “horsemen helping horsemen,” has more than 4,000 members across
70 Ohio counties committed to providing the best trails and experience possible for riders.
Started in 1972, the council began as a grassroots group of trail riders. It partnered with land owners and parks to establish bridle trails locally and statewide...
Read more here:
http://www.chroniclet.com/sports/2019/06/07/The-Ohio-Horseman-39-s-Council-has-your-horse-back.html
Brad Zahar | The Chronicle-Telegram
Published on June 7, 2019
With 1,650 miles of bridle trails in over 100 locations, Ohio has a lot to offer those who like to horseback ride. While the riding trails are distributed throughout the state, much of the local real estate available for riding comes thanks to the Ohio Horseman’s Council (OHC).
The OHC, whose motto is “horsemen helping horsemen,” has more than 4,000 members across
70 Ohio counties committed to providing the best trails and experience possible for riders.
Started in 1972, the council began as a grassroots group of trail riders. It partnered with land owners and parks to establish bridle trails locally and statewide...
Read more here:
http://www.chroniclet.com/sports/2019/06/07/The-Ohio-Horseman-39-s-Council-has-your-horse-back.html
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