Anytime I interview conservative conservationists, wild things happen. I saw a black bear with Congressman and former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, I also spoke to Senator Steve Daines in Grizzly Country. So it was no surprise to see Westerman channel his inner waterfowler. 

Pre-interview, he picked up a gavel that doubled as a duck call and demonstrated his calling prowess to me and his staff. Let’s say he could rival some champion duck callers.

Naturally, the lone registered forester in Congress is animated about conservation policy. His committee goes on both offense proposing smart bills and on defense responding to onerous Biden administration rulemaking, respectively. 

“Some call it oversight; it seems more like whack-a-mole,” he told me. 

He quipped, “I sometimes wonder if they’ve got a committee over there that sits around thinking up things to get us worked up because they’re doing a pretty good job of it. They give us a lot of opportunities to have oversight to push back on regulations that we can’t see any logic behind them, or what the benefit of it is.” 

Continue reading at Townhall.com

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The Farm Bill, legislation was due for reauthorization last year, got a year-long extension through September 2024. It covers commodities, forestry, conservation, nutrition, and rural development. The House Agriculture Chairman Glenn (GT) Thompson unveiled the House framework several weeks ago. 

“From the onset of this process, we have sought to draft a farm bill that reflects the needs of stakeholders. The world has changed dramatically since the 2018 bill became law, and the unprecedented challenges and economic uncertainty that farmers face now are only projected to get worse in the coming years,” Boozman said in a statement. “This is why producers have been calling on senators to put more farms in the farm bill.”

 Key priorities in the Senate Republican framework, which borrows largely from the House’s, include modernizing the “farm safety net,” boosting rural and broadband services, expanding popular conservation programs, and “empowering” the next generation of farmers. 

Continue reading at Townhall.com

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District Of Conservation Podcasts

Media Mentions

I was interviewed by Fox News Digital twice about the threats to hunting and fishing/recreational boating. I also returned to WMAL News’ O’Connor and Company. And I dropped by the Bespoke Podcast to discuss the importance of saving funding for school archery and hunting programs.

Articles

August 3rd | IWF | NY Fed Publishes Results From Trial CBDC Program

August 4th | Townhall | Thanks to Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, DOE Defunds School Archery Programs

August 7th | IWF | MA App-Based Drivers Want To Remain Independent Contractors

August 7th | Townhall | Arlington County Deer Management Plan Should Prioritize Lawful Hunting

August 21st | Townhall | Preservationist Environmental Policies Fueled Maui Wildfire Mismanagement

August 21st | IWF | Companies With High ESG Scores Don’t Pollute Less Than Counterparts

August 23rd | IWF | OMB Recommends Adding “Ecosystem Services” To Cost-Benefit Analysis For Regs, Gov’t Spending

August 28th | Townhall | CT Approved A Bear Self-Defense Law. A Hunting Season Would Be More Effective

August 30th | IWF | Biden Designates AZ National Monument To Meet 30-By-30 Goals

August 31st | IWF | Here’s How Artificial Intelligence Is Shaping The Future Of Work

The post August 2023 Updates: Articles, Media, & Podcasts appeared first on Gabriella Hoffman.

Efforts to update outdated slot and perimeter rules governing Reagan National Airport here in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area were included but killed in House negotiations. Both Beltway and outside-the-Beltway folks would have significantly benefited from reforms. But alas, robust lobbying efforts –coupled with scaremongering–prevailed.

Continue reading at Townhall.com

The post Townhall: Missed Opportunity to Modernize DCA in FAA Bill appeared first on Gabriella Hoffman.

At first glance, these sound like conspiracy theories. A vast right-wing conspiracy, if you will. 

But the aforementioned things weren’t devised by conservatives or right-wingers. Rather, heads of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and corporations want us to relinquish our possessions and surrender our freedoms to them. 

A “new financial world order” is on the horizon, argues Carol Roth. She’s the author of the new book, You Will Own Nothing: Your War with a New Financial World Order and How to Fight Back. 

Her title derives from the viral World Economic Forum videowishcasting eight predictions by 2030–including the Orwellian-sounding “You will own nothing. And you’ll be happy.” 

Due to massive backlash, WEF conveniently made it disappear. The video was a complement to a 2016 WEF essay by Danish politician Ida Auken. Like the video, it’s been archived. Yet, the Wayback Machine still retains Auken’s essay, titled, “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better.” 

Roth warns even President Joe Biden is committed to the war on ownership. He told the Business Roundtable in 2022 that “things are shifting…there’s going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it. And we’ve got to unite the rest of the free world in doing it.”

“The US economy has been rigged as it has been moved further away from free market capitalism to a cronyist nightmare wherein central planners and big companies work together to consolidate power,” the commentator writes. 

Continue reading at Townhall.com

The post Townhall: Don’t Let Corporatists and Central Planners Own You appeared first on Gabriella Hoffman.

Newly-sworn in Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) recently signed the so-called Gun Safety Act of 2023 (or Senate Bill 1) into law prohibiting concealed carry throughout much of the Old Line State. 

“Gun violence is tearing apart the fabric of our communities, not just through mass shootings but through shootings that are happening in each of our communities far too often,” Moore said at a bill-signing ceremony. “In Maryland, we refuse to say these problems are too big or too tough.” 

Moore added, “We will act, and that’s exactly what today represents.”

This move undermines gains made after last June’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association vs. Bruen ruling, which determined Americans have a Second Amendment right to conceal carry outside their homes. Since 2021, requests for Maryland concealed carry applications have significantly increased. As of May 2023, over 125,000 Marylanders have applied for carry permits for the first time. This trend should be welcomed, not discouraged. 

Continue reading at Townhall.com

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The U.S. Forest Service, a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is considering a rule to permanently close over 226,000 National Forest Service (NFS) lands to recreational shooting opportunities. The affected areas will include three locations in Colorado: Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland. The national forests cumulatively comprise 1.4 million acres. Public comments closed on May 5th, 2023.

Under multiple-use management of public lands, recreational target shooting is allowed on National Forest Service lands. Efforts to increase access on public lands are underway as more Americans lawfully purchase firearms and desire to go outdoors to do some safe target shooting.

This rule, if implemented, would deprive visitors to these public lands of opportunities. This recommendation first originated from the 2019 Recreational Sport Shooting Management Decision and Forest Plan Amendment, which determined these areas are “unsuitable” for shooting sports. The three reasons given include “residential housing density,” “high-use recreation areas on NFS and other government lands, and existing conflicts between recreational shooting” and “other uses on NFS and other government lands.” 

Continue reading at Townhall.com

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An architect of the disastrous California Assembly Bill (AB) 5 will represent the best interests of freelancers? This claim is not only laughable, it’s devoid of reality. It’s undeniable the gaslighting is strong here. 

The piece, entitled, “Why Julie Su’s appointment to lead the Labor Department could be good news for gig workers,” is a shoddy piece of journalism. 

“It’s unclear how tough of a stance Su would take on the gig economy, compared to other issues,” the author writes. 

Unclear? Are they serious? There are countless reports of Su’s actions and statements in support of forced classification under an ABC test that she helped craft to severely alter the Golden State’s freelance economy. 

In a 2019 interview with CalMatters, Julie Su praised AB5 and claimed “it will set a model for the country.” That, alone, should terrify freelancers across the nation.

The author continues, “A large part of Su’s role in California was helping craft AB 5, which established a three-part test that led many of the state’s gig workers to be redefined as employees.” 

Continue reading at Townhall.com

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The official announcement said the agency will “improve the resilience of public lands in the face of a changing climate; conserve important wildlife habitat and intact landscapes; plan for development; and better recognize unique cultural and natural resources on public lands.” 

A 75-day public comment period will soon follow. 

“As the nation continues to face unprecedented drought, increasing wildfires and the declining health of our landscapes, our public lands are under growing pressure. It is our responsibility to use the best tools available to restore wildlife habitat, plan for smart development, and conserve the most important places for the benefit of the generations to come,” said Secretary Deb Haaland in a news release.  “As we welcome millions of visitors to hunt, fish and recreate on our public lands each year, now is the time to improve the health and management of special places.”

Continue reading at Townhall.com

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The decision isn’t random. Biden wants to win back environmentalists he angered after approving the Alaska Willow Project. 

The Avi Kwa Ame National Monument consists of over 500,000 federal land acres in Clark County, Nevada, while the proposed Castner Range National Monument near El Paso, Texas, will sit on roughly 7,000 public land acres. The order also directs Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo “to consider initiating a new National Marine Sanctuary designation” protecting all U.S. waters around Pacific Remote Islands within 30 days of the announcement.

Why monuments and why now? The White House claims the sites will bolster the administration’s 30-by-30 initiative to “conserve” 30 percent of waters and 30 percent of lands by 2030. The plan purportedly touts conservation yet fails to define it and insists on a whole-of-government approach to environmental stewardship. The ultimate goal is to rewild the entire U.S., which is infeasible and not conservationist.

National monuments permanently protect “antiquities”—namely objects, memorials, or sites for cultural, historic or scientific purposes—on public lands. Presidents have the authority to create, expand, diminish, or abolish them under the Antiquities Act of 1906. But the scope of presidential powers is rightly being challenged.

Section 2 of the law states presidents can create national monuments “confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” 

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