Liberty
Matters News Service
May 29, 2003
Forest Guardians Grab Arizona Grazing Lease
Santa
Fe, New Mexico-based Forest Guardians have gained control of 167 acres in Santa
Cruz, County Arizona, and will not graze cattle on the allotment formerly held
by Ethlyn Telles, an elderly widow. The Guardians offered $84.50 per animal
unit month against Mrs. Telles' $40.66 bid. The environmental group had been
trying to take over the lease since 1997 but the State Land Department refused
to accept bids from anyone not planning to use the allotment for grazing. A
ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court changed all that when it decided in 2001
that even those who had no intention of raising livestock were eligible to
submit bids. John Horning, executive director of the Guardians, said the
historic accomplishment signals the end to the domination of state school trust
lands by livestock growers. Doc Lane, natural resource director for Arizona
Cattle Growers Association, did not express alarm over the event because there
are "8 million acres of state land." However, he added, "there's no way you can
operate a ranching business in this state without use of private, state and
federal lands because they're so intermingled." Forest Guardians plan to
"restore to Babocomari River's cottonwood-willow forest" that they overgrazing
has allegedly damaged. .
Enviro Group Buys South Arizona
Grazing Lease
NC County Commission Says "No" to Land Use Plans
Residents of Hoke County in
North Carolina are up in arms over a plan to restrict land use near Fort Bragg
and Pope Air Force Base. The citizens formed a committee to counter the
recommendations of the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance that
would restrict growth within one mile of the military bases by purchasing land
or development rights from willing sellers. The committee was particularly
concerned about the Army's agreement with The Nature Conservancy that would
"allow Fort Bragg to buy large tracts of private land without input from local
officials." The U.S. Army Environmental Center entered into the agreement which
"moves away from a strict focus on regional meetings, dialogue and planning,
holds out the realistic possibility that the red cockaded woodpecker population
in the Sandhills of North Carolina can be recovered and restrictions limiting
Army training activities on Fort Bragg can either be drastically reduced or
removed altogether." Committee members argued that they are entitled to be
involved in any land use planning, especially that which could adversely impact
county revenue. The county commissioners agreed and voted not to adopt the
recommendations.
Hoke Land Use Questioned
Government Seeks Environmental Exemptions
The U.S. House of
Representatives last week approved language in the Defense Department's
authorization bill that all landowners wish they could have. It would allow the
military to conduct training on its bases without jumping through endless
environmental hoops. Under the new rules, the Interior Department would be able
to loosen the stranglehold of environmental restrictions "where the military
wants to conduct training and testing on the ground, air and water."
Environmentalists and Democrats believe the relaxation of tough restrictions
will lead to the destruction of many endangered species, but "[M]ilitary
officials on several bases have begun to complain that they have been forced to
hold off on training and testing…to accommodate vulnerable species." The
measure will have to be reconciled with the Senate where Sen. Frank Lautenberg
(D-NJ) essentially gutted the intent of the language with an amendment
requiring the military to develop and fund a conservation plan before
proceeding with training maneuvers. A conservation plan would require approval
from U.S. Fish and Wildlife before any military maneuvers could occur, which is
precisely what the language in the bill was attempting to circumvent. More good
government.
Species Regulations May Be
Endangered
Exxon Mobile Annual Meeting Crashed by Green Peace
Green Peace members wearing
tiger suits paraded the grounds of Exxon Mobil near Dallas on Tuesday, to
protest the giant oil company's lack of concern about the threat of global
warming. The group vows to continue to harass Exxon Mobile "while they continue
doing sabotage against efforts to solve global warming," said spokesman, Ben
Stewart. While alternate energy theories abound, they are very expensive and
unreliable. "New solar-power capacity is triple the cost of new natural
gas-generated electricity and quadruple the cost of power bought on the open
market. New wind power capacity costs 50 to 100 per cent more than new
gas-generated electricity and spot-market power," according to H. Sterling
Burnett, Ph. D. and Senior Fellow for the National Center for Policy Analysis.
Exxon Mobile also has come under fire for donating money to organizations that
are critical of the global warming theory such as Frontiers of Freedom and
Competitive Enterprise Institute. Exxon spokesman, Tom Cirigliano defends their
actions, saying; "[T]here is this whole issue that no one should question the
science of global climate change that is ludicrous. That's the kind of dark-age
thinking that gets you in a lot of trouble." As for the Green Peace antics;
Cirigliano said; "When you're the world's largest publicly traded energy
company, you're a target for a number of the crazies. If you're a fringe,
radical organization like Greenpeace, you need a target, you need and enemy,
and you need a villain."
Exxon Mobil Shareholders Vote Down
12 Resolutions
Energy Bill Mistakes: Let's Call the
Whole Thing Off
Exxon Backs Groups That Question
Global Warming