Why the Sagebrush revolt burned out

Journal Article · · Regulation; (United States)

OSTI ID:6701908

Nelson, R H

Federal ownership of vast areas of western land is an anomaly in the American system of private enterprise and decentralized government authority. Not surprisingly, it has been the target of periodic challenges - two of which have recently come to prominence. One, known popularly as the Sagebrush Rebellion, was a movement to transfer much federal land to the states. The second was the Reagan administration's proposal to sell large areas of public lands into private ownership - a process sometimes called privatization. This paper examines how the Sagebrush Rebellion and privatization movements evolved. It concludes that their momentum was largely dissipated, not because the problems of public land management are minor or have been resolved, but because both movements were caught up in critical contradictions on basic principle. These contradictions became apparent, and lethal, as soon as proponents made significant efforts to move from rhetoric to action. In the future, those who want to reform federal land ownership will need a sounder base of ideas - a better ideology. They will have to abandon some myths about the role of the public lands in the West - including some myths that westerners themselves hold dear.

• Research Organization: Dept. of Interior, Washington, DC
• OSTI ID: 6701908
• Journal Information: Regulation; (United States), Journal Name: Regulation; (United States); ISSN REGUD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290400* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Energy Resources
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LAND USE
NORTH AMERICA
OWNERSHIP
PUBLIC LANDS
USA