President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order with the goal of “conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.” Here’s another way to phrase that policy: Biden wants the federal government to control more land. Washington already directs the use of 28 percent of all land in America, but that’s not enough. Just like all government programs, federal land control starts out innocently enough—until it grows bigger and entangles itself into more areas of your life.
The National Heritage Area (NHA) designation is granted to areas of land that meet certain criteria for historical value and could foster increased awareness, tourism, and preservation. This designation is through the National Park Service (NPS), and as of right now, the NPS has 55 NHA designations in 34 states. My home is in a current NHA, and I recently learned that this area is being considered for another, overlapping NHA called the Kansas Nebraska NHA. This parcel of land encompasses nearly 50 counties in both states.
Although these areas are set to protect areas of cultural importance, the NHA designation grants the federal government jurisdiction over a local community to regulate all kinds of new things. NHA management plans are approved by the Secretary of Interior, and as a federal action, National Environmental Policy Act applies (¹). The federal government takes over things like land use, architecture design changes, water use, environmental impact, public use trails, and farming and ranching restriction. New levels of bureaucracy, with new federal regulations and employees, are designed to oversee and manage these areas—thus expanding President Biden’s and the federal government’s control even further.
Liberty-minded Americans will notice that the Constitution allows for none of this. The state-ratified U.S. Constitution enumerates certain limited federal powers—and federal land takeovers aren’t among them. The federal government was granted the power to own and control land in a very limited capacity through the Constitution, including establishing post offices, post roads, military installations, a maximum of ten square miles for the District of Columbia, and ports of entry.
Biden’s executive orders and designations like the NHA destroy the rights of states to manage their own territories. In the current structure of approval, the states and counties where these NHA proposals reside have no approval authority. A county can adopt a resolution to not take part in the process, but they do not need to approve of the plan to be a part of it. States have no roll in the process of these designations. Montana just passed HB 554 that requires their state sign off on any new NHA proposals, and I think this is a real good step, but is that enough?
NO, the federal government should not be allowed to grab even more land than it already has. The states must come together and discuss this issue. A perfect venue would be in a Convention of States called under Article V of the Constitution. Such a Convention could carefully consider Washington’s role in federal land management and propose constitutional amendments to regulate or restrict it. Fifteen states are already on board with this subject call for a meeting of states.
Federal land use is important and needs to be discussed by the creators of the federal government: the states. They’ve been cut out of the equation, and it’s time to put the states back in charge and help save this nation.
David P. Schneider is a Regional Director with Convention of States, and works with grassroots leaders in the central and mountain states. A frequent speaker at local organizational meetings, and can be reached at dschneider@cosaction.com
