Liberty Matters News Service
March 25, 2003
S.
476, Faith-Based Initiative
Contains Property Rights Zinger
S. 476, the president’s
Faith-Based Initiative, could possibly move to the Senate floor in the
next two weeks where backers of the bill may try to pass it while the
nation is preoccupied with the War in Iraq.
Sections 106 and 107 of the measure present problems to property
owners because they provide a 25% tax cut on capital gains from land
sold only to “an environmental group” or a government agency for
conservation purposes. The
provision offers an unfair advantage to groups, such as The Nature
Conservancy, because sales to private interests would not be eligible
for the discount. Some
senators are unaware of the problems with Sections 106 and 107,
therefore it is vital that landowners immediately contact their senators
to ask that the offending sections be removed before final
consideration. Call
1-800-648-3516 and ask for your senator’s office.
Huge Land Grab
“Its not too late for
Sublette County [Wyoming] to create and implement land use plans for
ranches and other privately owned open space to help protect migration
routes for America’s last great wildlife herds,” said Meredith
Taylor of the Wyoming Outdoor Council. Taylor wrote that since “Sublette County has resisted land
use planning” the area is “extremely vulnerable to rapid growth”
because of oil and gas development.
Taylor’s group and a whole slew of other busy-body
environmentalists are joining forces to bring into reality a concept
called “Restoring Wild Patterns” to bridge the gap between the Yukon
Yellowstone Conservation effort and The Wildlands Project.
Taylor is pushing for legislation to create a national migration
corridor that would include removing fences, purchasing conservation
easements and dictating land use provisions that would affect both
public and private lands throughout Wyoming.
Environmental
Ground Zero
California
Coastal Commission Still Calling Shots
The California Coastal
Commission is up to its old tricks again now that it is back in business
after the state legislature provided a “fix” to the court declaring
it unconstitutional. Newport Beach officials leased a site from the Fish and Game
Department where they approved a plan to create kelp beds by introducing
harmless materials into the sandy ocean bottom. Before work could begin, the CCC declared it was an
un-permitted activity and refused to grant permission, saying it was
merely an excuse to dump material into the ocean.
The Coastal Commission has long been criticized for its political
leanings; in 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court “described its demands for
land in exchange for permits as an out-and-out plan of extortion.”
And last October the San Francisco Chronicle reported “that
Gov. Davis’ re-election campaign received $8.3 million from donors
with business before the Coastal Commission.”
Most of the donors got their permits.
Coastal improvement projects conducted by private entities have
proven quite successful in other states, but the record of the CCC
indicates there is little reason to believe private industries in
California will get the chance to prove their abilities.
Arrogant
And Corrupt
An
Oregon chapter of the Sierra Club hoped to stop expansion of the Mount
Ashland ski area by requesting endangered species status for two
wildflowers. The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service denied the request, saying the Mount Ashland lupine
and Henderson’s horkelia are in no immediate danger of extinction.
The ski association signed a conservation agreement with the USF&WS
last November that provides for monitoring the flower population, an
agreement the Service finds satisfactory.
“No changes in the plants population or distribution have been
noted in more than four decades of winter ski operations,” said Anne
Badgley, Fish and Wildlife regional director.
The flowers in question are protected by a thick blanket of snow
during ski season, a fact that is perfectly obvious to most reasonable
observers. The Sierra Club, however, expected to use the designation as
a method to curtail activities in the area, such as fire suppression,
cattle grazing, hiking, cross-country skiing, in short, any activity
engaged by humans.
Sierra
Club Loses Bid
Battle
Brewing Over Bottled Water
Neighbors of Paul Black
are pretty upset that he is selling water from his spring, and worse,
making money. Mr. Black has
taken advantage of the craze for “pure” water and sends his spring
water to bottlers that market it under the Mountain Springs Water Works
label. Retiree Mr. Black
has conducted his enterprise from his acre parcel for over seven years,
a practice his neighbors say is illegal for the residentially zoned
parcel and vow to put him out of business. A local environmentalist believes Black’s operation is a
blight on the community. “People
come here [ Idyllwild, CA.] to see flowing creeks and forests and alpine
animals and birds,” said Chuck Stroud of the Mountain Resources
Conservancy, “and the springs are a vital part of the area’s
ecosystem that support the delicate balance of nature.”
But the best explanation of the opposition comes from a lawyer
with the Center for Biological Diversity;
“[I]f you look at the volume of bottled water being sold right
now,” said Kassie Siegel, “it comes as no surprise there are
commercial enterprises seeking out all possible sources to exploit.”
Landowners,
Environmentalist In A Bottled-Water War