Basin and Range, Basin and Range, Basin and Range ....

My wandering has taken me through the "outback" of Oregon and Nevada ... most of that public lands managed by the BLM .... Today ironically for me President Trump signed an "order" to review the actions of his predecessors in implicating protections of federal lands that have unique or special qualities .. first initiated by Republican President Teddy Roosevelt to protect native antiquities being looted in the southwest during his term ... every president has used the same authority since. In recent years the Sagebrush Revolution, the Bundy take over of the Malhuer Refuge, and the Bear Ears Monument designation here in Utah by Obama ... and so much more has highlighted the conflict of public lands management. LAND; as Will Rogers noted is valuable because ".... they ain't making it any more" ... the conflict now is over how the land is "valued" .... protection from resource extraction of small places deemed unique or special seems right to me ... Changing values is hard for those who have a life and economy tied to and older ethos .... we watched the debate that continues over timber, logging, and forest management in the Northwest ... Remember the whaling industry?

Enough of that for now ... this is some of what I have seen as I passed through the ranges and the basins of Oregon and Nevada: