The Nature Conservancy is exactly the type of environmental organization that conservatives should support.
This is not the kind of group that tells people what to do with their land without any investment in it... if they want to preserve a piece of land, they buy it with their own private donated funds. This is exactly what we should want environmental groups to do.
Sometimes they negotiate willing conservation easements with landowners without having to buy it, but in general, they purchase it.
I happen to think this it is a great concept. A group like them bought up all the property surrounding a small estuary near here, lot by lot, with their own money. I seriously considered donating money to it. I didn't because I didn't end up finding extra money, and the opportunity passed.
I believe there are a lot of lands that are worthy of being protected from development, and I also believe in private property rights... this concept is a perfect way to resolve the conflict between the two, and conservatives should not be so knee jerk anti-environmentalist that they pee on any attempt to preserve the natural environment. We always complain about landowners being told what to do by outside forces without being compensated for their loss of usable land. This group is an example of people putting their money where their mouth is.
As for Osgood supporting it, I don't see how that isn't in his rights. Who cares? Lots of people donate time and money to causes, some of them are journalists.
That's racketeering sir. You would do well to read Mr. Arnold's books. If you want an alternative to this kind of corruption, read mine.