We've known since the 1890s^1^ of people who would strip the land bare if they could profit from it. Baffles me why they're called conservatives when they don't want to conserve a single thing beyond their bank accounts.
^1^"for even now a few men can be found who seem willing to destroy the last tree, the last fish and the last game bird and animal, and leave nothing for posterity, if thereby some money can be made." - Biennial Report of the State Fish and Game Commissioner to the Governor of North Dakota from March 17, 1893 to December 1, 1894