Public Land Giveaway: Mining law changes mask a horrible idea.

Editorial, November 15, 2005

Salt Lake Tribune

Dig a little deeper into something called "Miscellaneous Amendments Related to Mining" and you'll strike a mother lode of really bad ideas. Even to find it requires digging through a 187-page House budget bill, which contains many more glittering controversies that have mostly obscured this one. Those who do see it are alarmed that it would allow up to 350 million acres of public land, including national parks and forests, to be sold to private developers whenever federal bureaucrats feel like it.

At risk would be not only pristine wilderness, but also hunting and fishing lands, suburban open space, even ski resorts.

According to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group, the measure would immediately target some 367,000 acres in old mining claims in Utah alone, and could metastasize to consume all 32 million acres of federal land in the state.

The proposal, from Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., would amend an 1872 mining law in a way that would bring back the very worst of the Wild, Wild West and pretend that the enlightenment of the conservation movement never happened.

A century ago, laws encouraged the private exploitation of mineral wealth on public land. It was thought to be good for the nation as a whole to encourage this risk-taking, so much so that the feds let potentially lucrative - and potentially worthless - mineral rights go for a song.

Eleven years ago, as it became increasingly obvious that developers were buying billions of dollars worth of mining rights and giving the taxpayers virtually nothing in return, Congress put a moratorium on new leases.

Pombo's measure would not only end that moratorium, it would also use the mining law as a cover for sales and developments that have nothing to do with mining. Instead of allowing the lease of land with apparent mineral assets, Pombo would allow anyone to buy federal land outright for a mere $1,000 an acre.

All of this has come to little attention because it is hidden away in a bill that sets off fussing over so many old issues, from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to cuts in funding for education and the poor.

The bill is supposed to be a step toward balancing the federal budget. But, with the Pombo measure included, it would actually deprive the United States of wealth beyond measure.

A sensible Congress would bury it forever.