Liberty
Matters News Service
March 18, 2005
Good News, Bad News About ANWR
This week, the U.S. Senate defeated an amendment 51-49, by
Maria Cantwell (D-WA) that would have stripped language out of the budget bill
authorizing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge( ANWR). That's the
good news. The bad news is there is CARA language under Title Three: Reserve
Funds, Sec. 304. Reserve Fund for Land and Water Conservation Fund, which says
if a measure is enacted permitting exploration and production of oil in the
ANWR, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, (LWCF) Federal Land Acquisition and
Stateside Grant Programs and other government land grab programs may receive
funds from ANWR drilling proceeds. The language was very carefully crafted to
avoid detection until it was too late. Sec. 304 (b) says the chairman of the
Senate Budget Committee may revise allocations for the named programs if a
bill, resolution or amendment is offered to provide funding. The adjustment of
the new budget authority may not exceed $350 Million in each of fiscal years
2008 through 2010, which translates to $1.05 Billion for the three-year period.
This is the same issue that was fought and defeated several times in Congress
over the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA). The measure will now go to
the House. House members must be convinced to remove the LWCF funding language
from their Budget Resolution. America needs to tap the abundant ANWR oil
reserves, but the federal government must not be allowed to use part of the
revenue to buy more land.
Senate OKs Oil Drilling in the
Arctic
SEC.304. Reserve Fund for Land
& Water Conservation Fund
Private Property, a Thing of a Bygone Era
Land preservation is popular
with Americans all across the country, according to a report by the Trust for
Public Land (TPL). Last year, 76 percent of open space ballot measures were
approved by voters. Since 1998, 935 out of 1,215 conservation ballot measures
passed in 44 states, with voters approving nearly $25 billion to buy
development rights and establish conservation easements to protect open space.
An April 2004 poll conducted by TPL and The Nature Conservancy revealed, they
said, "65 percent of the nation's voters indicate support for increasing taxes
to fund state and local government programs to purchase land to protect water
quality, natural areas, lakes, rivers, or beaches, neighborhood parks and
wildlife habitat." The open space measures were funded by increased taxes or
general obligation bonds which can be paid off over a 20 to 30 year period,
thereby saddling future generations with the bill for their selfishness. Go to
www.LandVote.org and see how sophisticated and orchestrated this effort is to
place private property into nature preserves forever.
A Clear Victory
for Land Conservation: Americans Approve $2.4 Billion in New Open Space Funding
Tax Break Reduction Proposal Draws Fire
Land Trust organizations are circling the
wagons in an effort to keep their cushy tax breaks. Last month, Liberty Matters
reported that the Joint Committee on Taxation had recommended reducing tax
breaks associated with conservation easements and historic preservation. The
report stated the reforms could save the U. S. Treasury $1 Billion over the
next ten years. The report is a result of hearings held in the wake of a series
of investigative reports by the Washington Post uncovering questionable land
deals that benefited The Nature Conservancy bigwigs. In response, the land
trusts are working feverishly to drum up opposition to the Committee's
recommendations. The Land Trust Alliance (LTA) has produced an elaborate plan
of action that tells members how to contact influential members of Congress,
how to plant pro-land trust articles in local papers, how to recruit help from
friends and co-workers and provides links on their web site that serve as a
guide. LTA is working with all the usual suspects, The Nature Conservancy,
American Farmland Trust and many others, to accomplish their goals. They have a
team of tax lobbyists whose job it is to find Senators and Congressman who will
carry their water. Contact members of this committee to let them know you
support their work.
Stop the Nature Conservancy's Midnight Sweetheart
Deal
Land Trust Call to Action
Where's The Outrage?
A recent editorial expressed views held by
many who are disgusted by the environmental double standard that currently
exists. The writer asked why there were no investigations, no lawsuits or
arrests following the slaughter of the rare humpback chub, a species of fish
whose numbers are in decline. The fish were killed because the Bureau of
Reclamation released water and silt from the Glen Canyon Dam in northern
Arizona and southern Utah to try to replicate spring floods that
environmentalists said was necessary to restore the eco-system of downstream
rivers. Trouble is the flooding washed the juvenile chubs away, destroying 63
percent of the already sagging population. "Wiping out protected species
evidently only becomes a crime when some industry or private citizen is
involved," says the writer. The flush was the second time the experiment
failed. "If at first you don't succeed...turn failure into a routine." Someone
should be held accountable for the disaster, he continues. "If the government
is not going to rewrite this ridiculous law [ESA], it could at least apply it
consistently by seeking compensation from the groups that lobbied for the
flood. But thanks to what appears to be an endangered species double standard,
they seem to be able to tell others to go fish."
Double Standard: Eco Groups Silent on Federal
Fish Kill