SAFARI TIME IN THE BELTWAY

     When we last heard from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, he was forming a bipartisan political team in his native Montana to stop a Neo-Nazi march headed by the notorious Andrew Anglin. Zinke is back in the news again; speaking on occasion of the long-neglected National Hunting and Fishing Day (September 23rd). President Nixon established the day as a semi-official start of hunting/fishing/trapping season in 1972.

       Among its other duties, the Interior Department oversees national lands, fish and wildlife management, and conservation. The decades of Deep State leftist policies discouraged outdoor sports. Zinke noted that the numbers of outdoorsmen has declined since 2011, by 2.2 million.

      Zinke rightly observed that this is an unfortunate social trend. To help encourage a return to outdoor traditions, the Interior Department dedicated October to promote hunting, fishing and trapping again. But more importantly, Zinke issued a Federal Order aimed at restoring access to public lands and expanding educational programs.

       Secretarial Order 3356 designates that:

1.) Within 120 days, submit a plan to expand hunting and fishing on BLM, USFWS, and National Park Service Land;

2.) Lift restrictions against firearms on National Monument Lands;

3.) Expand educational outreach programs to include minorities and youth in urban areas;

4.) Creation of a national database enabling sportsmen to research laws and codes on public lands;

5.) Establish wildlife management panels with conservation and sportsmen's groups;

6.) Establish a review process to access federal lands through private property in a way fair to property owners.

       Point #6 is especially important because it reverses previous Administrations' abuses of Eminent Domain and water/mineral rights laws.

       Sportsmen's groups, conservation organizations, American Indian tribes, and property-rights advocates are applauding the new policy; as are hiking, camping, boating, cycling, and snowmobiling enthusiasts. With the exception of Breitbart News, the Corporate Media has passed over the new policy with discreet silence---no doubt after discovering how unpopular previous policies really were. The policy of restricting access to public lands and waterways began during the 1990s under President Clinton and his VP, Albert Gore. Gore was an environmentalist fanatic whose extremism discredited Conservationism among many Conservatives. Yet, as we mentioned in the last article, it has historically been Conservatives who have led the way in protecting the environment.

        Zinke is not adopting a new approach, therefore. He is restoring rights and promoting culture that corrupt Deep State policies sought to undermine. So in honor of the day, enjoy a buffalo steak, venison hamburger, roast pheasant, or some fresh-caught fish for dinner.