Political complications

Earlier this week, I covered the disagreement on wilderness areas between Tony Dean and property rights expert Julie Smithson. I found this 5/20/2004 Rapid City Journal report on this issue:

The new management plan for the national grasslands in this region, affirmed by a top U.S. Department of Agriculture official, recommends two new wilderness areas in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland in southwest South Dakota.

Recommended are a 23,890-acre wilderness area at Indian Creek northwest of Sheep Mountain Table and a 14,820-acre wilderness area in the Red Shirt area.

Congressional action is required to create wilderness areas. Sens. Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., have not taken positions on the proposals.

Why hasn’t Daschle and Johnson taken a position on this issue? Because if they support wilderness areas…they will upset those in the agriculture community. If they don’t support the wilderness areas they upset Tony Dean and the far-left environmentalists.

If Tony Dean comes out in support of Tom Daschle in 2004, those in the agriculture community should be made aware of this issue and then understand that the money that they get from taxpayers (that Daschle takes credit for) may be a trade off for their freedom (land).