It is Not the Team Hat You Wear, But the Way You Stroke the Stick

   That government governs best that is closest to home. It is an old axiom, perhaps not expressed in those words, but when the thought is expressed, that is the gist of it.
   My governor, who I quite like, trotted out the thought this past week in arguing for state control of federally owned lands. He cited a few examples of how poor decisions are being made at the federal level for lands here in the state, and suggested having government 3,000 miles away in Washington making the decisions isn't the best way to go about caring for our public lands.
   Well, I open my newspaper today to see the Great Salt Lake Audubon criticizing Salt Lake City for plans to go about tree trimming and stream bed fortification during the nesting season. (The criticism did result in Salt Lake rescheduling the project.) I could not help but notice that though Salt Lake is the government entity closest to home, it still might not have been considering the need tp respect the nesting season.
   No, it is not necessarily true that that government that governs closest to home, governs best. Rather, closer to the truth is to say, that government that governs wisest, governs best. There is no substitute for thinking a matter through, whether the thinking is done in Salt Lake City or 3,000 miles away in Washington. True, it is imperative that the situation is apprised by someone with their feet on the ground in Salt Lake. The Salt Lake officials are concerned that native trees are being choked out of existence by other trees that are non native. That is a situation you only become aware of if you have your feet in Salt Lake City.
   But, the key element in making the right decision is to think the matter through. Does it matter that the non-native trees are taking over? Are the native and non-native trees likely to both survive if no tree thinning is done? Is the project worth the financial expense of taking out the non-native trees?
   I think back to the federal lands issue, of how it is said we Utahns are closer to home and know what is best. The Bureau of Land Management has officers running the lands here, doesn't it? Just because it is owned by government 3,000 miles away does not mean it is not being managed by an office closer to home. If you want the land to be managed wisely, you will have to have a wise person managing it. Whether he or she wears a federal hat or a state hat isn't going to make a difference. If this were a baseball game, we would say, it is not the team hat you wear, but the way you stroke the stick.