For some -- one of the beauties of an "ownership" society is that those with wealth will have an opportunity to own everything of value and to own it absolutely. Another beauty is that the shared wealth of all citizens that has long been held in common for the good of all, can be privatized and individually owned. Some might even say that yet another beauty of the system is that those lacking wealth can (morally) be left to rot --- but, perhaps, only after their internal organs have been harvested and sold on the open market.

I know of no individual who has promoted this form of extreme material greed more faithfully than has Terry L. Anderson, Executive Director of Property and Environmental Research Center. Anderson, is the spiritual father of recreation user fees and the idea of restricting public lands access to paying customers only. He is likewise the author of "How and Why To Privatize Public Lands" -- a treatise that calls for selling every acre of federally managed (publicly-owned) public lands. Anderson's plan would reduce to private ownership every National Park, National Forest, National Monument, military base and (I suppose) even the Whitehouse and Congressional buildings -- not to mention the President, all Senators and Congressmen. Once privatized, these lands (and politicians?) would only be accessible to those who could afford the price of admission -- or were friends of the owners.

Pasted below is a short except from Anderson's most recent ode to private ownership.

If you visit PERC's website and read the entire piece, you'll see that Anderson has mounted an attack upon the Constitutions of Montana, Oregon and other states.  And as you well know (especially you river-runners and fisherman), this is not the only attack currently being waged.

Scott

     All the navigable waters of the State shall be common highways and . . . forever free. -1859 Oregon Admissions Act

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December 2005

Open Access: A Ticket to Tragedy
By Terry L. Anderson

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Though we were only ten miles from Bozeman, we could enjoy such a "wilderness" experience because we were on private land. Had we gone to national forest land, not only would we have heard more hunters than elk bugling, we would probably not have seen or heard as many elk. With open access to public lands, especially in rapidly growing areas, hunting pressure sends wildlife into the deepest, darkest timber or to private land, where access is limited. There are few more vivid examples of the tragedy of the commons. If access is open to everyone for fishing and hunting, yes, we will have equal access, but it will be equal access to something of little value.

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