Todd Leahy, right, of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation was one of the featured speakers at a recent public lands forum. Image: New Mexico Wildlife Federation

 FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The law, history and economics are not on the side of those who want our national public lands turned over to the states, said Todd Leahy, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation’s director of conservation.

Leahy was one of the speakers at the Feb. 5 plenary session of the 49^th annual meeting of the Arizona and New Mexico chapters of The Wildlife Society and the Arizona/New Mexico chapter of the American Fisheries Society. The session “Who Will Manage the Future of Our Public Lands?” included county, state and federal wildlife and land managers.

“This crusade to transfer American public lands to the states must be seen for what it is: the latest outgrowth of an anti-government agenda which seeks to undermine the very foundations of this great nation.”

Incoming Idaho Wildlife Federation President Kahle Becker, left, and Michael Gibson, former IWF executive director. Image: Lew Carpenter

By Lew Carpenter, NWF Regional Representative

In 1938, the Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF) celebrated one of its first victories when it organized and circulated petitions and lobbied for the passage of an initiative establishing a professional Fish and Game Department and Fish and Game Commission.  For more than 75 years IWF has consistently delivered legislative victories for the benefit of sportsmen, sportswomen, wildlife and habitat.

Last year, IWF’s work on behalf of sportsmen and women and conservation paid off when the Boulder-White Clouds area secured congressional wilderness protection. The designation came on the heels of IWF’s strong leadership and advocacy to protect that special place through monument status, which ultimately lead to the wilderness bill. IWF led the charge through the Sportsmen for Boulder-White Clouds campaign.

“There is still work to be done in protecting the East Fork of the Salmon watershed,” Michael Gibson said. “The East Fork is the highest spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead found anywhere in the world." 

People gather for a rally at the New Mexico state capitol that drew a crowd of about 300 to demand that public lands stay in public hands. Image: Lew Carpenter

As the National Wildlife Federation and its state affiliates geared up to defend public lands with the start of new legislative sessions, the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge prompted rallies from Seattle to Santa Fe by sportsmen and women to say "Keep public lands in public hands."

About 300 people attended a Jan. 19 demonstration in Portland, Ore., where Bob Rees of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, NWF's Oregon state affiliate, spoke. Garret VeneKlasen, New Mexico Wildlife Federation executive director, was among the speakers at a Jan. 21 rally in Santa Fe. 

“As the illegal occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge winds down, perpetrators are held accountable, and damages are repaired, we must also focus on the policy dispute at the heart of this debate: Should our public lands be sustained for the benefit of all Americans, or should they be exploited for the enrichment of the few or sold off to the highest bidder?” says Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. 

Chamois Andersen is the new executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation.

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The Wyoming Wildlife Federation has hired Chamois Andersen as executive director. She has served as publications and communications manager for the Wyoming State Geological Survey and communications manger for the Environment and Natural Resources Program at the University of Wyoming.

Her natural resource agency work includes head of communications for the Marine Region for the California Department of Fish and Game and public information officer for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. An angler and outdoors enthusiast, Andersen lives with her husband, a University of Wyoming associate professor, and daughter in Laramie.