Unintended Consequences

When I started selling insurance in 1991, the state required that one’s license was renewed every other year. As part of that renewal process, 24 hours of continuing education training was required. Once the Affordable Care Act was implemented additional training became required. In addition to the state license renewal, one must complete federal on-line training, state on-line training and insurance company on-line training for each health insurance company one represents. Once the federal government became involved in health insurance, the required non-productive time was multiplied tenfold and compensation was reduced.

Given the history of government’s ineffective micro-managing, it’s not surprising that the very mention of a national monument creates anxiety throughout the caldera.  Last week there was a meeting of congressional staff members and residents to discuss the status of the national monument. I spent the evening helping a new Boy Scout begin his road towards Eagle and could not attend the meeting. My ACE (angelic, cheery, enthusiastic) reporter, Pat Ridley attended and gave me a report of the meeting. Basically everyone is concerned. The representatives will stay vigilant and the citizens will stay active to counter any who may promote the national monument concept.

The reality is that while these efforts are well and good, the administration has proven that it will do what it wants regardless of public sentiment. The 1906 Antiquities Act was originally passed to protect sensitive archaeological sites from decimation. Over the past century, it has evolved into a tactic for the environmentalist/climate change groups to prohibit fossil fuel mining on large tracts of federal lands.

Last spring Mayor Jewel met with the leadership of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and he was told that they had stepped away from the Caldera National Monument after last year’s vote. The “No Monument” movement can be heartened by the fact that there is no immediate threat of significant energy production in the caldera, leaving this area a lessor priority.

Hopefully Island Park will be left alone by the administration through its final months. The only way to permanently avoid the national monument designation is for a new administration to work with congress and amend the 1906 Antiquities Act to require congressional approval before any more federal land can be designated as a national monument.