Posted on 08/14/2002 12:25:44 PM PDT by countrydummy
Letter to the Editor
The environmental war on the west that destroyed whole communities is here in the east , southeast , far south, as well as the north. That means basically that the environmental war is everywhere now in these great United States!
What is this war? It is a well orchestrated environmental movement using federal regulations that is destroying the livelihoods of rural Americans all across the country. The main weapons of this war is such wonderful propaganda and rhetorical terminology such as “preservation and conservation”
From these two words alone come some of the most horrific instances of governmental abuse of private property rights ever in our history! Using “preservation”, this movement has been and continues to destroy and deprive families and communities of their livelihoods, heritages, and of course any dreams for the future and the future financial independence of rural Americans.“
As with “preservation” “conservation” is just as destructive when folks all over the country continue to send their hard earned dollars to such politically powerful and “correct” organizations such as The Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy and The Audubon Society believing that these non-governmental organizations are just a group of benign benevolent folks trying to save the Earth! Why? Because these groups use their influence with Congress to pass further land-use restrictions, commonly referred to as Land Use Management Plans. These plans have all sorts of terminology designed only to strip private land owners of either their lands completely or the value that their lands have.
For example, homes and business are being taken using eminent domain to “protect and conserve “viewsheds, soundsheds and a new one, night skysheds! These “sheds” are one of the favorite abuses of the National Park Service. Other examples of these weapons include the Endangered Species Act which can/does and has taken thousands to millions of acres (and communities) off local tax bases to “protect” these species. The Clean Water Act, with resulting TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Loads) in WV alone will basically strip Tucker County ( and this is just the beginning) of all private land ownership, thus destroying the economy of the county. Now our forests in WV and VA have been added to a list of “endangered forests”....this will bring about “NO-USE” of these lands by humans!
These instances are occurring all over WV, as well in all of our bordering states , being done a little at a time so as not to bring to much public awareness to each situation in fear that some of us will finally start adding 2 + 2 and seeing the whole picture for what it really is! The destruction of private property ownership and the associated rights it conveys.
Viewsheds will take out all the landowners along the New River near Hinton, WV. Simply put as Lori Sprague of the National Park Service told Fox News in an interview, “If in fact, this is going to be a scenic parkway, then we feel the scenic qualities should be protected.“ “Wherever you happen to be at that point in time, and what you see from there is your viewshed.”
Maine, New York State, Tennessee, and so on and so on are facing these same issues with unique “coastal regulations” these are basically all the same........Land Use Management Plans! Now folks in southwest Florida are under direct attack! Their homes will all be flooded to supposedly restore the Everglades......the Everglades natural flora and fauna can’t take the amount of this kind of increased water! It never had it! But the landowners will all be gone!
How then is this a war? Is not the destruction of the Constitutional right to private land ownership and the pursuit of happiness it allows for with the ever increasing destruction of these inalienable rights not an attack, one that would and does constituent a war? Ask all the families out west that have already lost their homes, heritages, towns, livelihoods? Many of them fought and lost because the same tactics are being used here in the east, north, and the south.....a little at a time. This does not mention the falsification of records to obtain their lands illegally. That is another story!
Sheila Davis Sisters of the River Hinton, WV 25969 Http://www.newriverfriends.org email: country357@stargate.net Phone: (304) 466-3676
50% huh. In Collier County Florida, the local, state and federal government owns 87% of all land.
Now they're trying to buy even more with the 8 bil they got their hands on, in addition to all the land they have marked for flooding, conservation easements etc. etc.
No we are to be turned into buffers and corridors just like you, except worse.....we are all mountains, views and streams!
The bulk of the state's population is up in the northern half of the state around Atlanta.
As well, because states control the manner in which title is transfered, the proposal, entitled "The Montana Resource USE Protection Act", requires that no title be transferred to the feds without the feds selling at fair market value within 1 year to the highest bidder at least 1.5 acres of like kind exisiting federal land for each acre of land the feds wish to purchase or ENCUMBER in any manner in the state.
In short, it will be the long term policy of the state of Montana, (and with the success of this legislation, hopefully other states will follow), to begin the process of reducing the acreage of federally held lands, incrementally, and under statutory mandates state departments and agencies must follow.
Keep your eye on this. Montana is one state that doesn't buy into the crapola the environmentalist donations industry tries to spew, and we love our hunting, fishing, and resource based economy and lands more than any armchair enviromentalist in San Francisco. Note the title of the bill- "The Montana Resource USE protection Act." - point being that today's Enviro whacks have no right to preclude future generations of Montanans from being able to use the resources that they will no doubt need for their existence. The environmentalist just don't know how to plan for the long term of humanity.
It's been said before, but I'll say it again: 120 years ago people didn't know enough or believe "the environment" existed. Today, the environmental donations industry makes believe people don't exist or need resources. Both those beliefs eventually hit a brick wall of reality, and today, the brick wall of reality for the pie-in-the-sky enviro whack cases is forest fires, economic devastation, loss of local communities and heritage, and indeed because of the enviro whacks, species have actually gone DOWN in population where specific efforts to increase their numbers have been attempted. Remarkably, the only place species have INCREASED is populated rural areas- meaning that not only is there little or no science put into the equation, but were finding out that if all you do is import more grizzly bears into an area because you think there are not enough- what they do is start living in and around towns and people- meaning first that grizzlies don't give a dam if there's a road or people or logging or mining, hell they'll take off your back door and tear apart your refigerator if they want to- just for fun to get a slice of bread after wobbling around the forest like a bowl full of jelly on a full belly of berries.
Anyway, watch Montana- this is going to be very interesting...
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