TNC comes to Tennessee and Alabama..{The "Nature" Conservancy}

TNC comes to Tennessee and Alabama...
{The "Nature" Conservancy}
Posted 03/01/2003

Buy A Little, Steal A Lot

By Ken Freeman

Alabama voters have resolutely rejected higher taxation and are stridently demanding smaller, more efficient state government. Yet, Governor Riley's 2004 budget proposes that almost 17.5 million dollars of our oil and gas revenues be allocated for the removal of thousands of acres of privately owned lands from our state's tax rolls and that they be placed under government ownership in a program called "Alabama Forever Wild." This is not only a misuse of our tax dollars and a loss of future revenue for the state, but it also poses a serious threat to property owners in Alabama.

This spring Alabama Forever Wild, in collusion with The Nature Conservancy, is planning to purchase 12,400 acres of land along the Alabama and Tennessee line in an area known as "The Walls of Jericho." The Nature Conservancy (TNC) eventually intends to buy 50,000 acres using revenue from Alabama's oil and gas leases and other revenues from Tennessee state grants. This is just the beginning. These 50,000 acres will only form the "core area" for a massive 3,000,000 acre tract (that's right, three million acres,) under the control of Forever Wild, TNC, and other radical environmental groups.

In his article in the Huntsville Times (12/07/03) John Ehinger says,... " working with state and federal agencies. The Nature Conservancy...is trying to preserve 3 million acres. But unlike the purchase-and-protect strategy The Nature Conservancy has used in the past, these days, it takes a different approach. It purchases some land, and then works with landowners to make sure other adjacent lands are used wisely and in an earth-friendly manner. Call it buy a little, save a lot".

Think about his statement. What does this really mean to the landowners of Alabama? How does TNC propose to "make sure" this privately owned adjacent land is used wisely if they do not own it? Who determines what wisely means? Who decides what is earth friendly? Obviously the TNC intends to determine all these things about someone else's property: your Property!

Ehinger's article should have really been entitled "Buy A Little, Steal A Lot," or "Non Profits make Huge Profits as they Buy A Little and Steal A Lot." Look at the numbers. According to Mr. Ehinger's article and another written by Thomas Spenser of the Birmingham News dated 01/07/04, the purchase price of the first 23, 000 acres of this property is 13.9 million dollars. Yet Forever Wild will purchase the land on the Alabama side for 9.1 million and the land on the Tennessee side will be purchased with Tennessee money for 8.5 million dollars. This totals 17.6 million dollars, but the Nature Conservancy only paid 13.9 million dollars originally, leaving TNC with a cool profit of 3.7 million dollars; not bad for a so-called non-profit organization. With a sweetheart deal like that, no wonder the Nature Conservancy is worth billions.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says in part, "Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation." As Shakespeare said, "Aye, there's the rub," paying just compensation. These radical environmental groups' greed and lust for land has exceeded even their considerable financial abilities. They now lust for sixty per cent (60%) of all land in America. See: "wildlands project" and "maps" at www.propertyrights.org for full details. Even they cannot buy this much property. Solution: don't buy the land, just steal the rights to it. The stealing document required to make this happen is called a "conservation easement." How will these environmental groups gain control over three million acres of land surrounding this purchased tract? The answer is by forcing conservation easements on to private landowners.

Every thief thinks he has a good reason for stealing. But it is still stealing!

They can't take my land; this is America, you may say. But these groups have done so in the American West and now they intend to do so here. This is how it is possible. First, you must understand what property really is, in the legal sense. Most people think of property as simply a thing or an object that they own, i.e.: a piece of ground or a home. But, in fact, what you actually own is the use of that property. A property's value is determined by what someone is willing to pay in order to use it.

One piece of property can have many potential uses and, therefore, many different valuations. To a farmer, a rocky mountaintop may be virtually worthless as farmland, but to a potential homebuilder, who likes the view from that point, it may be extremely valuable. When you own something in "fee" or "fee simple" it means that you own all rights to that property exclusively. You, alone, decide how, and by whom it is to be used, and its true value is determined by its highest valued usage.

But if, in the example above, a restriction or easement is placed on your ownership, such as "no home building permitted," then you have just had the highest valuation stolen from you. Your land was worth thousands of dollars per acre as home sites, now it is basically worthless, barren land. Although you still hold the deed, these restrictions have just stolen many thousands of dollars worth of usage options from you and your descendents.

Those imposing these restrictions have robbed you, as surely as if they had used a gun and taken money from your pocket. If the restrictions are severe enough, say "no human habitation allowed," as in wilderness areas like those proposed around the "Walls of Jericho" area, you can be forced completely off your land, and lose 100% of its value.

If you already live in a city, why should you care about this? After all, it might be nice to someday go for a walk in the woods. Maybe it wouldn't bother you that the woods were stolen from their rightful owners or that a government agency will not care for them as well as the people who love them. Well, first of all, where do you think all these people living in the countryside and all those thousands of small towns are going to live, when they are forced off their property?

The answer, of course, is that they are coming to live with you. They are going to be crowded into the same space already occupied by you and your neighbors, inside "the urban growth boundary" or "UGB." This influx of population will escalate housing costs, create over-crowding and traffic congestion and drastically reduce your quality of life. Second, what is happening here is dishonest and un-American. To understand how rural America feels about this invasion, think: total strangers occupying your home, or forbidding you to enter your own back yard.

For most of us in rural America, our lives and our financial worth is directly tied to our property. Not many of us have stock options or mutual funds; we rely instead on our land as an additional, and sometimes the only, source of food and income. The land is our investment for the future. It is our heritage. Most of our hard work, most of our efforts and most of our money is tied up in the land. If you steal the value of our property, you have robbed us of practically all that we hold dear, all that makes us free. Our land nourishes us through the years and it is the last great gift that we can give to our children. Because of these and many other reasons Southerners deeply love the land. We have always been willing to fight, and if necessary, to die, to defend it.

The time has come for the people of Alabama and Tennessee to rise up once again, for we are under attack. Enemies have come in the night, not with a gun but with a smile and a lie to steal all that we have, and deprive us of our independence. Their armies are not soldiers but hordes of lawyers and real estate agents with promises of government money and seductive stories about protecting "the least of these."

Make no mistake. They do not love nature; they do not protect God's creatures, they hate the common man and they hate your freedom to decide where you live and how you would use your land. They lust for power and control, and they intend to impose their "one world socialist view" upon us all. These elitists of our universities, the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy and Hollywood, in league with government gone wild, believe that only they know what is best for us, the ignorant masses. They intend to lie, cheat, and steal (the end justifies the means) until rural America, both farms and rural communities, are just a footnote in history. They intend to force us off the land into their "sustainable" utopian cities where they, the enlightened, will lead, and everyone else has only to obey.

Environmental groups and federal agencies, dangling huge sums of federal money as bait, will try to entice local and state governments to sell us out. They will justify this stealing of our property in the name of preservation for future generations. They will promise that it is for hunting, fishing, hiking and sustaining beauty for people to enjoy forever; but it is not. As almost everywhere else these groups have gained a foothold, ever-increasing restrictions and controls will gradually remove people and restrict human incursions. This is an attempt to rewild America, to destroy private property owners and their rights to the land. This is pure socialism.

How do we stop this giant theft?

First, stop the money. If environmental groups had to actually use their own money and legally buy these properties, their profit motive would disappear. We must stop letting them use our own tax dollars to destroy us. We must de-fund "Alabama Forever Wild" and refuse to fund any further property confiscations under their socialist agenda.

Second, we must educate the public, and especially land owners about the truth of environmentalism and conservation easements. These groups seek not to save the land or the animals, but to diminish the value of human beings and destroy our ability for self- government. Private property is the basis of all free governments. If we allow the loss of our property rights, then the loss of all other freedoms will follow.

Third, call your congressmen and your state legislators and educate them on the truth of the "Wildlands Project." (See: www.propertyrights.org) Tell them that Alabama citizens are not willing to sell their birthright for thirty pieces of federal silver. Tell them to do the job we elected them to do.

We, the citizens, can defend Alabama best by not allowing our taxes to be used against us. We must fight against conservation easements, zoning and other land use restrictions. We must stand firmly on our own ground, for to save ourselves, we must first save our land. If we sit silently by, our way of life shall surely perish. Our lands and our freedoms will be... gone with the wind.

Kenneth L. Freeman is the Chairman, the Alliance for Citizens Rights

Freedom 21 Santa Cruz :
A wealth of information on private property, limited government, the Constitution and family autonomy. Advance Freedom Now!

Environmental Perspectives :
We have the "Biosphere Reserve" maps that show the effect of the Wildlands Project.

If you already live in a city, why should you care about this?

Guys, Besides "them" "coming to live with you", IF, in the future, YOUR children happen to come across enough money to "build their dream home in the country", it will be forbidden to do so. Does anybody hav information on water resources in this area? I find that MANY of these "conservation" areas are MAJOR sources of water. This entails control of the very essence of life itself, as has been featured lately in the Mars "exploration. Peace and love, George.

I believe property rights to be the first principle of liberty. And you have The Nature Conservancy in the wrnog camp - they use private moneys to purchase tracts of land to use for nature preserves.

I am aware that there have been some instances where-in the donations (of property/dollars) from wealthy contributors have been repaid with favorable considerations - in-kind transfers of property that by-pass local zoning requirements - that benefit benefactors. But the principle of using private moneys for the common good is in keeping with my conservative ideals relative to conservation.

TNC gets my vote & donations - the only conservation group that does.

"But the principle of using private moneys for the common good...."

NMD, "Private"???? The TNC is a "NON-PROFIT" outfit that pays NO TAXES on their "private" land holdings, and NO TAXES on their "non-profits" obtained by buying land cheap and selling for HUGE profits to governments. They pay NO property taxes on the property they remove from the tax rolls, forcing the remaining land owners to pay higher rates. AND, they get grants from various governments and government agencies to perform thir nefarious buys. "Private", my rosey red rear end! Peace and love, George.

Brian, Thanks. Although I'm kind of sorry to hear it, as it adds more confirmation to my greatest fears. People who "know better than the ignorant masses" controlling the very source of life itself. EVIL!!! Living close to this source of even minimal independence {water} will NOT be allowed future generations. Peace and love, George.

I believe constituents of elected state/county/local legislative bodies/lawmakers see a benefit/common good in Nature Preserve-type activities and have therefore provided tax incentives to those who have taken the time/effort to purchase land/use-rights and take advantage of those incentives.

If your elected officials are doing things that are not to your liking - dis-elect them.

Else, tax the land rich/cash poor folks so their only alternative is to sell to a high-rise or condo-complex contractors. You'll get more tax money 'til anyone who can afford to has moved to a Nature Preserve-rich area.

Sorry about your condition - thought of using a salve?

TNC does not save land so you can take the kids out to see the deer, bunnies and trees. It closes land to public use, unless you happen to be on their elite list. Go to the TNC web sites and see how much of their property is closed to the public, closed to hunters, closed to anglers, closed to bird watchers, closed to snowmobiles, closed to vehicle use.

I do have some hope for TNC, though. TNC recently came under new leadership. It's also under investigation for its questionable land deals. I'll be watching.

George, this is interesting regarding water.

A professional geotechnical contractor I use has been buying up land in western Washington State, land with water resources because as he says he thinks water will be a scarce commodity in the future. I could not understand this as Western Washington rainfall is some of the heaviest in the nation.

Secondly, there is already a very large nature conservancy north of Bainbridge Island. How big it is I do not know but was told that those that control it are the largest in the world and apparently of international origin. They probably do not pay taxes on the land they control and that explains why they are able to afford to keep it.

This is interesting and merits further study and investigation.

Thanks.

"Western Washington rainfall is some of the heaviest in the nation."

H, One of the latest "things" of government, is to define "watersheds"; I.E. any location that drains into an area. They are actually taxing people in {I think} North Carolina for the amount of rain that falls on their roofs. But, "watersheds" can be controlled up to the last raindrop from the highest point. A few areas here in Maryland are starting to meter private wells and are going to charge for water use. If Government and/or their corporate partners, whether profit, or non-profit, controls water, you can bet your "sweet bippy" that water will be "scarce". AND, EXPENSIVE!! Peace and love, George.

"budget proposes that almost 17.5 million dollars of our oil and gas revenues be allocated for the removal of thousands of acres of privately owned lands from our state's tax rolls and that they be placed under government ownership in a program called "Alabama Forever Wild."

Hmmm...I see communism rises again. State owned this, state owned that.

The TNC is a "NON-PROFIT" outfit that pays NO TAXES on their "private" land holdings

Does this organization have any ties to the UN? It appears they are following Agenda 21 very well.

19 posted on 03/04/2004 9:17:37 PM PST by yhwhsman ("Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small..." -Sir Winston Churchill)

The TNC is a "NON-PROFIT" outfit that pays NO TAXES on their "private" land holdings
Does this organization have any ties to the UN? It appears they are following Agenda 21 very well.

YW, They are among the preferred "Non-Governmental Organizations" that are included in UN "negotiations" of most things. "Partners", if you will. Peace and love, George.

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