We were at that rally in front of City Hall in Fresno! It was hot that day!
It’s about more than farming! There is oil and natural gas in the San Joaquin.
My family owns 20 acres of land in Kings County. The BLM is trying to get us to sell to them, claiming they intend to establish a wildlife preserve. I believe they’re lying and it is really about a land swap.
This land used to be an island, called Atwater Island, in the now extinct Tulare Lake. It is a geological formation known as a natural gas dome. Today, the area is dotted with gas wells.
For the past 15 years we have received many offers to buy the property. This is strange, as the land is barren, has no water and is unsuitable for farming and just about everything else. My father inherited the parcels through his family and it was originally purchased as part of land speculation — oil and natural gas.
We suspect Pacific Gas & Electric wants that land.
Though it is possible that the BLM may try to reestablish Tulare Lake, by flooding the area around the dome with the water originally intended for farmers, I doubt it.
The American Land Conservancy has also sent us notices about this property and are working hand-in-hand with the BLM on this project to buy up Atwater plats. They together have been caught doing illegal land swaps in Nevada — swapping environmentally sensitive land for less valuable property with an interested third party, a business intent on development.
I believe PG&E is willing to swap undeveloped land somewhere else for the Atwater plats, which have the potential to allow the utility to store vast amounts of natural gas underground.
With ALC’s past behavior in the Klamath Lake water cutoff and the Department of the Interior’s part in all these actions, I smell something really rotten vis a vis the San Joaquin irrigation water cutoff.
FYI — the former Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, who was heavily involved in destroying Klamath Lake farmers, is now a powerful member of American Land Conservancy’s Board of Directors.
I’m sure an investigation of the situation in San Joaquin will uncover ALC’s involvement there — maybe offering really cheap prices for land.