A couple of years ago I had a friend detect a 9.6 gram nugget on Weaver mountain. Nice nugget. By the time the word of his find made it's way across Rich Hill to Stanton camp (about a mile and a half) that nice nugget weighed nearly 3 ounces and my friend hadn't even left his house.
That 9 million acre Sagely withdrawal is unlikely to make it the full mile and a half. This was the same nonsense the EPA pulled with the CWA changes they made earlier this year that were shot down rather quickly by the courts. None of the States are happy with the Department of Interior throwing 5 years of "coordination" out the door two days after the Sage Goose was declared in no danger of extinction or even in danger of experiencing a few moments of discomfort. The Sage Juice in fact had increased in population over those five years and now outnumbers high school graduates in Washington D.C.
Now every Governor in the western states is calling for the head of the DOI, Secretary Sally, to be mounted on a pike at the foot of the Rocky Mountains to warn off any other Washington D.C. public servants who get drunk and wander across the Potomac too far.
In point of fact this withdrawal is unlikely to make it to next spring. This temporary withdrawal will automatically expire in two years unless Congress is stupid enough to try to extend it in an election year. Those guys and gals in Congress aren't the brightest but they are marginally smart enough to know when their Sage Goose is cooked. I suspect those pissed off Governors will get satisfaction from the courts long before then. Secretary Sally will look nice on somebody's mantle despite the missing head. And all will be well with the world until the next 9.6 gram nugget is found.
In the meantime three folks are working hard in Arizona with no encouragement or attention from anyone to open another 9 million acres to mineral entry next week. Of course those 9 million acres are just here in little ol' Arizona where we were already smart enough to hunt down all the various Sage silliness and eat them before Secretary Sally decided to commit political suicide.
I'll let you know how it goes next week, if I remember. In the meantime enjoy your anger over those 190 billion acres of Sage Poop.
Heavy Pans
Yet another example of the "California Good Ol Boys Club" in action. Anyone still wonder why I left the state?
