TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — People who love Sabino Canyon may have a reprieve from part of the budget bill that could let the Federal government sell parts of Sabino Canyon and other scenic lands.
We heard from a lot of people who were just shocked when they heard a Senate provision in the budget reconciliation bill has the potential to sell off beloved public lands like Sabino Canyon. Now there’s a major change in that story.
“I sure enjoy coming up here, and I hate to think that my kids and grandkids wouldn't be able to do it.”
Vernon Ireland is like a lot of people who enjoy Sabino Canyon. They’re alarmed by part of the Senate budget bill that would allow the sale of Federal land in the name of making space to ease the housing shortage.
Critics have a hard time seeing how you’d build housing in land like this.
But the Senate is full of complex rules. The office that interprets those rules says the land sales proposal breaks rules for a budget reconciliation bill so it was removed.
That’s encouraging news for Sabino Canyon visitors.
Greg Masztal says, ‘Selling the land is got to be one of the craziest ideas I've heard. Would you sell off Yosemite National Park or Denali or Yellowstone? I mean, what's next to put high dollar homes, McMansions in the parks? I mean, that just doesn't make any sense to me to do something like that. It's really crazy.”
The land sales idea comes from Utah Senator Mike Lee. He’s revising the plan to try to get it reinstated.
Mike Quigley of the Wilderness Society says it’s his understanding the new plan would leave places like Sabino and Madera Canyon protected because it would not apply to Forest Service land.
“We're talking Bureau of Land Management, federal lands only, and within five miles of a population center of 5000 and more people. And for comparison, the town of Bisbee is roughly 5000 so any town the size of Bisbee or larger, that has BLM land within five miles of it, that's our understanding of the current proposal.”
And Quigley says some land like that might work for housing but local governments already have methods in place to develop those areas responsibly.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
