Liberty Matters News Service

June 9, 2005

Fish & Wildlife Plan, All Wet

A U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) proposal to severely curtail public use of the Upper Mississippi River met with strong opposition from those attending a public meeting on the subject in Winona, Minnesota, last week. The FWS plans to limit overnight camping to main channel islands and shorelines. Boaters could use only electric motors and obey a 5-mph speed limit on 14,500 backwater acres. No-hunting zones would increase from 22 to 34, encompassing thousands of acres where hunters would be limited to 25 shells. Ken Rackow, who has spent much of his life hunting and fishing along the Mississippi, said; "They didn't think it out clear enough for the public, and I think they need to turn around and rethink this situation a lot better than they already have." Renee Walz, a Wisconsin resident, thinks Fish and Wildlife's plans to curtail camping along the Mississippi will throw a monkey-wrench into Wisconsin's efforts to encourage tourism, while others recognized the plan for what it is; an effort to keep people away from the Mississippi River. "Sometimes it seems that the birds and animals and insects are more important than what the people want," observed Daniel Burt. Hearings will continue to be held throughout the summer and comments accepted until the end of August. A new plan will be adopted early next year.

Strong Opposition to Mississippi Plan

Hostile Take-Over

A conservation group, Berryessa Trails and Conservation (BT&C), is hoping the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) will oust long-time private interests along man-made Berryessa Lake in Napa County, California. The group wants the owners of mobile homes out of the way so the lake can be turned into a canoeing, kayaking, and hiking paradise for urban yuppies and their dogs. Currently, about 1,300 mobile homes dot the shore line, along with dozens of travel trailers owned by people who have long-term rental agreements with the federal government. BT&C opposes private enterprise and private ownership as revealed on its website: "The Vision for Lake Berryessa is a proposal submitted to the government to redevelop the Lake to become a recreation area where one can learn about and enjoy nature, in addition to boating recreation. [BT&C] generally supports: (1) parity for nature-based (as opposed to motorized) recreation and (2) public (not commercial for-profit) management of all parks, day use areas and campgrounds." Carol A. Kunze, executive director of BT&C claims that the government is subsidizing the private interests surrounding the Lake. However, it is unclear how Ms. Kunze figures the government can revitalize the lake shore for the public without squandering more taxpayer dollars when it plans to evict all 1,300 mobile homeowners and close the privately-operated concession areas.

Plans to Oust Lakeside Residents Causing Waves

Only in San Francisco

The City of San Francisco has imported ten garter snakes from Denmark. The snakes were welcomed last Saturday at the San Francisco Zoo by local and national environmental dignitaries as well as the U. S. assistant secretary of Interior. "This snake is one of the most beautiful serpents in North America and it's associated with one of the most beautiful cities in North America," cooed Harry McQuillen, of the Sacramento office of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. McQuillen indulged in a bit of hyperbole when he said; "Imagine that San Francisco lost the Golden Gate Bridge. The same thing would be true with the snake." According to McQuillen, the Service had to import the snakes from Denmark because it was reluctant to rile the California Game and Fish Department by asking for a few of the wild ones that inhabit coastal areas of San Mateo County. When asked if the imported snakes could be considered "invasive species," McQillen said, "No," because they are descendents of snakes that were confiscated from smugglers in California and sent to European zoos in the early eighties. The imported garter snakes will be used as propaganda and brainwash props for outreach and education purposes in the school systems and will not be released into the wild.

City Welcomes Home It's Snake

Mayors Urged to Promote Sustainable Development

During last week's United Nation's "World Environment Day," conference in San Francisco, the nation's mayors were urged to commit their cities to adopting "sustainable" practices to conserve energy and to follow UN guidelines that will eventually lead to top-down control of every aspect of human life from food production to health care to community development. The mayors were expected to comply with the "Green Cities Declaration," that set out a very specific agenda in every town and city in the nation, "using culturally and economically appropriate local actions," to implement the UN's global governance goal. The second document, "Urban Environment Accords," outlined 21 specific tasks (Agenda 21) to be accomplished within a certain time frame. These include formulating policies to increase the use of "renewable" energy by 10% within seven years and to adopt policies to force citizens to reduce individual water consumption by 10% by 2020. If Mr. Mayor toes the UN line and forces his city into the dark ages, he will be rewarded by green stars and a meaningless title such as "Global Sustainable City," and America will take another step down the "road to serfdom."

UNs Agenda 21 Targets Your Mayor

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