Ryan Zinke a Montanian for sure

[Handloader109]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xEhfJbSMwsM

Our new Department of Interior Secretary! Appears to be a friend of us all!

[adcoch1]

Yeah this guy is of our thinking for sure! I bet we see lots of common sense decisions from him.

[starmac]

It is a start, the interior dept oversees some 70,000 employees. I am curious to see just how much that will be slashed.

[Plate plinker]

It is a start, the interior dept oversees some 70,000 employees. I am curious to see just how much that will be slashed.

Why on earth did they ever have 70000 employees what do they do? Parks and what else?

[starmac]

I do not have a clue why so many, just read that yesterday.
When you figure in all blm and federal lands, you have forestors, people to deal with oil and mining leases, timber sales,ranching leases, firefighters, custodians, swat teams,etc, etc, it all adds up.

[trails4u]

Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Reclamation
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
National Park Service
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey

Interior is much bigger than just BLM....but I got a good idea it's about to get a bit smaller.

[waksupi]

It will be interesting to see where he goes with the office. He gave me a bad impression when we first met. He was running for his first term, and interrupted a conversation with myself and a couple of friends at a gun show. No introduction, just a "vote for me" type of thing. I've been watching him since. Not as conservative as I am, but not terrible.

[starmac]

Well I would look at the fact he interrupted your conversation a minus allright, BUT the fact he was at a gun show would be a plus in my view, so it sort of equals out. lol

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

his repeal of obuttheads lead ban cause scrap price for lead to sky rocket here.
It took 630 pounds of melted out range scrap to the yard the other day and did very well
like 8 times better than the last batch

[RPRNY]

I have worked with Zinke a lot. He's a good guy and his heart is in the right place but be prepared for some gaffes. Sometimes in his exuberance, his choice of words can get him into a pickle. He's a great guy and really a throwback to an earlier era: high school and college football star from uber rural MT, joins the Navy, becomes commander of Seal Team Six, retires and then goes on to serve his state in Congress and now the American people in one of the most important cabinet posts. Very solid guy. He's got a good dog too: Ragnar, the goofball. Avid hunter and a genuine conservationist who also gets that public lands aren't snow globes to be gazed at with wonder by the snowflakes but need to be used productively as well. Don't expect much "slashing" at Interior. While they will take a big budget hit, it won't likely be in staff...

[MT Gianni]

My biggest beef with him was the total emphasis on military service and nothing else in running for his first term. IME, the Military does not spend a lot of time listening to the folks on the bottom, which is what I would like a Congressman to do. I have not been disappointed in the service he has given to the residents of Montana.

[MUSTANG]

Having dual State residences, I Vote in Nevada, but am affected by the Policies and Politics of both Nevada and Montana. In the last election cycle I was contacted by then Congressman Zinke's campaign asking me to assist in supporting then Nevada Congressman Joe Heck who was running for Nevada US Senate in 2016. I declined based on Joe Heck's voting record of supporting numerous Democratic "Liberal/Socialist" bills during his 3 terms in Congress, his continual support of ever increasing Federal Budgets; in general his actions that are often described as R.I.N.O. actions. I sent a personal letter to then Congressman Zinke laying out these issues; plus a personal observation in 2009 (Carson City State Wide Republican Meeting) where Joe Heck was one of numerous people fishing in the waters of the Republican Primary in the U.S. Senate race for Harry Reid's sea; and he stated in his speech to the crowd "We can live with the first 2/3 rd's of the Obamacare Bill, but we can't live with the rest".

Congressman Zinke and his staff never responded to my letter. They may have dropped me from their contacts list, or perhaps took my information and decided they did not want to further support Joe Heck, I do not know. I am a believer that one can be judged buy the company one keeps and those that you support. Although I never received a response to my letter; I also never saw any additional effort by then Congressman Zinke to build up and support Joe Heck. Makes it a wash for me; WE WILL SEE.

WE WILL SEE how Secretary Zinke behaves in his duties, which particulalry revolve around Federal Lands held by the US Government. He appeared to be an "Original Intent" Constitutionalist for some time; but during the last election cycle he started waffling when he started catching heat over the Federal Government holding most of the Lands in each of the Western States; particularly in Montana where many of the Greenies, Hikers, Hunters, Fishermen, etc.... started giving him grief over "Opening Up Federal Lands".

As a strict Constitutionalist, I find no authority under the Constitution for the Federal Government to hold lands in a State to the extent they currently do. The following provides significant insight into the Constitutional Authority and Appropriate holding of Lands by the US Government:

Under the Property Clause (Art. IV, Sec. 3, Cl. 2), land titled to the federal government and held outside state boundaries is “Territory.” Federal land held within state boundaries is “other Property.”

The Property Clause gives Congress unconditional power to dispose of property and authority to regulate what is already held. It does not mention a power to acquire.

Under the Treaty Clause (II-2-2; see also Article VI), the federal government may acquire land outside state boundaries. As long as the area is governed as a territory, the federal government may retain any land it deems best.

As for acreage (“other Property”) within state boundaries: Under the Necessary and Proper Clause, the federal government may acquire and retain land necessary for carrying out its enumerated powers. This includes parcels for military bases, post offices, buildings to house federal employees undertaking enumerated functions, and the like. It is not necessary to form federal enclaves for these purposes.

But within state boundaries the Constitution grants no authority to retain acreage for unenumerated purposes, such as land for grazing, mineral development, agriculture, forests, or parks.

Once a state is created and is thereby no longer a territory, the federal government has a duty to dispose of tracts not used for enumerated purposes.

These descriptions are in consonance with the US Constitution and the Founding Fathers "Original Intent". These Constitutional criteria are ignored by the Federal Government and our elected officials despite - to use the words of AL Gore - "The Inconvenient Truth" of the US Constitution. The following link is one of the best descriptions of the Limitations to Federal Land Ownership that I have found. https://www.i2i.org/what-does-the-co...and-ownership/