Brown: Roughly 640 million acres across the U.S. are federally owned, with the highest percentage in western states. While counties are often responsible for maintaining this land, they are subject to federal policies, creating challenges for local decision-making. Hello and welcome to “Comcast Newsmakers.” I’m Dara Brown. We’re on location at the 2025 National Association of Counties Conference in Philadelphia. In Marion County, Oregon, local officials are working to navigate federal policies that affect how they manage public lands, protect natural resources, and provide essential services to their communities. Joining me to talk about this is Danielle Bethell. She’s a commissioner of Marion County, Oregon. Commissioner Bethell, thank you so much for joining me.
Bethell: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Brown: Can you describe the issues you have between public lands and federal policies?…