Liberty
Matters News Service
February 20, 2004
Taxpayers Fleeced to Protect Blind Cave Spider
The State of Texas and Williamson County officials are
arguing over who should pay for the protection of blind cave spiders whose
caverns are in the path of Texas 45 highway construction. The state wants the
Williamson County Karst Conservation Foundation to buy more land as mitigation
(extortion) for two more spider caves discovered last summer. The Foundation
has already purchased 160 acres for the creatures and County Commissioner Greg
Boatwright thinks that's enough. "We did our job in preserving the 160 acres
the highway department said was necessary to mitigate the caverns they
initially discovered. Now the highway department has another set of caverns it
wants us to mitigate. The county doesn't need to use any more money to mitigate
new caves," Boatwright said. The Karst Foundation was formed and funded last
year with $3.2 million from the Texas highway department to buy land to protect
blind spiders. Boatwright wants to retain the remaining $1 million or so for
the upkeep of land it already has. Also, says Boatwright, the highway
department and the City of Round Rock should work out a deal to preserve
caverns on 245 acres of city-owned park land for the bugs. County Commissioners
agreed Tuesday to spend $4,700 to study the matter. Even if the state, county
and city can come to an agreement over the spider situation, the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service must approve the deal. So much for state's rights.
Who Should Protect the Spiders?
Colorado May Curb Eminent Domain Abuse
Chuck Madril has learned
that no good deed goes unpunished. After he agreed to allow the city of Wheat
Ridge in Colorado to place an old clock and a welcome sign near his auto repair
shop, city officials told him to start packing because they were replacing his
business with a Walgreens. That was two years ago and Madril is still trying to
get a fair price for his business. "People are really upset with the political
thuggery going on in their cities," said Madril. The Colorado legislature is
aware of the growing problem of municipal property theft and is taking steps to
correct the situation. Representative Shawn Mitchell wants to ban governments
from taking property from one business just to turn it over to another that
would generate more taxes. The Colorado Municipal League opposes any overhaul
fearing a determined individual could halt a project that might help an entire
community. However, the League could support changes to the bill such as
allowing elected officials to make the decision instead of un-elected city
planners. Lawmakers in Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Rhode Island and Virginia are
planning similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
CO is One of Six States Considering
Changing Urban Renewal
Species Not So Endangered?
Maybe the old disappearing
owl trick was a red herring after all. U.S. District Judge Owen Panner recently
ruled that logging can proceed in national forests in southwestern Oregon,
siding with the opinion of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) biologists
that no harm would come to the overall population of the owls. The decision was
a blow to the Oregon Natural Resources Council and other environmental groups
who sued to deny legitimate logging operations within areas designated for
harvest on federal lands. Joan Jewett, speaking for FWS, praised the decision
saying; "We're confident our scientists always do the highest quality work and
are glad the judge agrees." (Now that's a switch for a bureaucrat.) A lawyer
for Earthjustice (Sierra Club) groused that the FWS was just going along with
the Bush administration's policy of giving short shrift to environmental
protection. Lawsuits protesting endangered species designations are popping up
all over California, too. Public officials and private citizens in Santa
Barbara and Sonoma counties are fed up with regulations that impede development
and interfere with farming and want the tiger salamander removed from the
endangered species list. They claim the critical habitat designations are based
on "junk science." The Santa Maria Public Airport is considering climbing onto
the lawsuit bandwagon, too. Habitat protection for the salamander has delayed
construction of a light industry complex and a golf course on the airport's
property. Lompoc Valley has its own critical habitat flap and has filed a
federal lawsuit aimed at removing protection for the western snowy
plover.
Airport
Board Joins Effort to Sue Over Strict Salamander Rules
Judge OK's Logging in Owl Habitat
The "Anti's" Are At It Again
Seven environmental groups have filed a
lawsuit to prevent oil and gas drilling in an area set aside in 1923 for the
purpose of oil and gas drilling. The greeniacs say they will work to block the
drilling plan in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska if the Bush
administration does not agree to set aside more land for wildlife protection.
The National Audubon Society says its study concludes that two million acres,
or 23 percent of the 8.8 million acres the government wants to lease for
drilling should be reserved for wolves, bears and migrating birds. House
Resource Chairman Richard Pombo ridiculed the organizations saying; "These
groups say they are pro-environment, but it is clear that they are just
anti-energy, anti-American jobs, and anti-economic growth." He termed their
lawsuit "absurd," and said, "Their focus is on fundraising, politics and
obstruction." Where's that message in the main stream media?
Green Groups Sue to
Block Drilling in Alaska Reserve
Activist Groups Oppose Energy
Exploration