WE THE PEOPLE OF ____?

My Overview of Land Related Issues

By Dexter Gill

“We the People” is a common phrase used today in patriotic statements. Who are “We the people”, and of what or where? All individuals and people are somewhere, which will involve land as a place to be to live and survive. Remember the song “This land is Your land, this land is My Land”---No it is not Yours, it is Mine! A recent proposal to remove land from being productive for man and turn it into a National Monument (i.e. park), producing nothing but increased national debt, and negative impacts for the People along the Lower Dolores River.

What is going on, and WHY?

For the past Six Thousand years of recorded history, land and the resources of the land has been the center focus of battles between all “peoples” fighting for control of the lands and peoples there-on. Land is the single most valuable and important resource for both man and beast today. The battles are increasing, using both physical and subversive tactics, such as laws and regulations to gain control without physical violence. That method is in full swing in the Colorado Legislature this year. The same method is accelerating using older laws, on the National scene regarding western lands within the States. The Antiquities Act of 1906 was established to mostly protect ancient artifacts such as Anasazi dwellings etc. on “Public Lands”, and later used by Presidents to unilaterally establish Monuments parks

etc. , all with no regard for the State, as these are Federal lands, not State or private lands. There-in lays the exploding problem of today with the people of the State AND Counties having little to no control over the land, water and economic future on those lands within the designated State boundaries.

The current “surprise” to many, of the push by some faux environmental groups to have President Biden establish a four hundred thousand (400,000+) acre National Monument on the Lower Dolores River Canyon, has made “We the People” of the Counties, that will be

impacted, concerned for their lives and economic future.

How could this happen? Most people are not aware that the State of Colorado is not fully a State! To be a State in Context with the Constitution and world history, it is a body of land with defined land mass and associated resources, with the people there-in being in full control as stewards of their land, building economy and governing themselves.

The East one half (1/2) of Colorado, mostly meets that definition. The entire west one half (1/2) does NOT meet that definition. Seventy plus (70+) percent of the land is owned and or controlled by the federal government, which is NOT subject to State or County jurisdiction, laws and regulations, which includes no taxation. There are several different federal ownerships, with one standing out more powerful than the others, which is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM lands are lands within States created after the War Between the States, where the federal government violated its Statehood contract to dispose of all the Territorial public Lands within the boundaries of a State to the people

within the new State. Today, many of those lands remain as federal Territorial Land, administered by the federal administrative office of the Secretary of the Interior, currently Deb Haagland, who is essentially the Territorial Governor over all BLM lands, independent from the States and Counties.

The proposed Dolores River Canyon National Monument, falls within the BLM Territorial land jurisdiction, and is being pushed by numerous faux environmental NGO’s, especially the “Rewilding” advocates as the area falls in near center of their “Western Wildway” here in Colorado. Incidentally, the Dolores River Canyon proposal is not the only new monument of recent. Just this past week (middle of March),the “Florida mountains” in New Mexico, are being proposed as “Mimbres Peak National Monument”, encompassing 245,000 acres. A rancher in northern Arizona is suing over the “Ancestral Footprints Monument” approved in August of 2023 which expands Grand Canyon Nat’l Park to the Utah line and south and east as well, taking almost one Million more acres out of management and potential use. It just so happens, the Ancestral Footprints and the Dolores river Canyon proposal BOTH fall in proximity to each other to meet the desires of the “Western Wildway” to create an international wildlife reserve. The recent issue of introducing Wolves in western Colorado and now proposing introducing Wolverines, fit the part of the design since 1992, using the federal land base to implement it, and expanding by incorporating the State sponsored system of “Land Conservancies” to prevent future development and use of private land, thus increasing government control over lands and resources.

 Take note of where the eastern boundary of the “Wildway” is in Colorado. What or who is pushing this? It started in 1992 at the U.N. Earth Summit in Rio and

accelerated with the Paris Climate Agreement of 2020, and locally, the

Colorado State House adopting the “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Roadmap”

in 2021, resulting in numerous Bills to supposedly reduce gaseous emissions to

meet UN Climate Change goals by 2030, such as this year’s SB24-159 to eliminate future Gas & Oil drilling and production. Locking up federal lands into Monuments and Parks will eliminate future use of the natural resources on those lands for Counties and State economies. It is all connected to the much larger purpose of outside forces.

Who/What are “We the People” of? A local County, State, United States, or as it actually appears, “We the People” on the Colorado West Slope exist on small “ inholdings” within the massive administrative “State of Federolo”?

As the World Churns, has opportunity been lost to correct this 148 year old “land

disaster” to protect “We the People’s” future?