States are Best Stewards of Lands Within Their Borders: Karla Jones in States Newsroom
“The states are the optimal environmental and economic stewards of the lands within their borders.”
ALEC International Relations and Federalism Senior Task Force Director Karla Jones was featured in the States Newsroom, a state news wire service, commenting on new rules adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives meant to make it easier for Congress to allow states more control over select federal lands.
Karla Jones, a senior director for federalism at the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, said in an email that the federal government should seek opportunities for more local control of federal lands.
Policies that facilitate the transfer of federal land – excluding national parks, monuments, wilderness areas, and military installments — to the states “will ensure that territory is managed by those who have the greatest interest in its preservation and condition and the best understanding of how to care for it,” Jones wrote. “The states are the optimal environmental and economic stewards of the lands within their borders.”