In the wake of the Monument Fire last summer, the town of Tombstone, Arizona has been facing a critical water shortage. But impervious to appeals, the U.S. Forest Service in their relentless drive to restrict access to public lands, seems determined to let the town die of thirst. As the Goldwater Institute reports:
Between May and July 2011, the Monument Fire engulfed a large part of the eastern portion of the Huachuca Mountains. Record-breaking monsoon rains followed. With no vegetation to absorb the runoff, huge mudslides forced boulders to tumble down the mountain sides, crushing Tombstone’s mountain spring waterlines, destroying reservoirs and shutting off Tombstone’s main source of water. In some areas, Tombstone’s pipeline is under 12 feet of mud, rocks and other debris; while in other places, it is hanging in mid-air due to the ground being washed out from under it.
The town of Tombstone has held the rights to this water for 130 years. But the Feds’ central planners are not allowing access – that had been granted in the past – to the trucks and tractors necessary for repairs to the city-owned property, because it’s inside a federal land preserve;
…federal bureaucrats are refusing to allow Tombstone to unearth its springs and restore its waterlines unless they jump through a lengthy permitting process that will require the city to use horses and hand tools to remove boulders the size of Volkswagens.
World Net Daily published an update on the dire situation a couple days ago: Can’t a man get a drink in this town? They note that Governor Jan Brewer has already declared a state of emergency for Tombstone, gathering together “all police powers of the state,” to address Tombstone’s need.
Nick Dranias, head of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute, said the issue is far larger than just a dispute over whether trucks and tractors can be used to repair city-owned property inside a federal land preserve…
…He said there is evidence that the Forest Service under Barack Obama’s leadership is adopting a comprehensive plan “to clear federal lands of any private or non-federal uses.”
Last Friday the Institute filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow town officials to go into the Huachuca Mountains to make the necessary repairs on the collection system.
Let’s hope Tombstone, whose motto is “the town too tough to die” wins this “shoot-out” with the U.S. Forest Service and Barack’s brigade of bullies.
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Related:
Doc Hastings (R-WA), chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources is helping fight back against unwarranted federal restrictions on public land use. Check out his site for the latest news and updates.
