Liberty
Matters News Service
December 8, 2006
Journey Through Hallowed Ground Land Grab Alert
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Act is believed to be set for a floor vote in the Senate sometime during this "lame duck" session, perhaps as early as this week or next. The bill will allow the National Park Service and certain non-government organizations to dictate how millions of acres of private property, from Gettysburg, PA to Charlottesville, Virginia, shall be used by their owners. S. 2645, has twenty sponsors, including ousted Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen. The bill will place land-use control in the hands of self-serving federal bureaucrats and their wealthy elitist partners. Contrary to its promoters' claims of wide-spread local enthusiasm, S.2645 is viewed with suspicion. "One of the big reasons I'm opposed to the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area is the inability to get the true facts about the project from the people who are promoting it," said Jim Clem, a member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. "While this project may be well intended, it's my opinion that it's just another means of stopping development in this area." Time is of the essence if this federal land grab is to be stopped. Help stop this bill by contacting those on the attached material. Tell them to oppose or withdraw support for S. 2645.
Journey Through Hallowed Ground
National Heritage Area Alert
Border Town Lawmaker Authors NAFTA Corridor Bill
Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, has authored legislation to provide funds for building roads and bridges to facilitate movement of commerce between Mexico and the United States. The money will be siphoned from the proceeds of bonds and public securities through the state highway fund amending a bill the Texas legislature passed in 2003. H.B. 51 will amend Section 222.003(c) of the Texas Transportation Code to read: "Proceeds from the sale of bonds and other public securities issued under this section shall be used to fund state highway improvement projects except that 20 percent of the proceeds shall be deposited in a separate account to be designated as the high impact NAFTA corridor account. The bill goes on to enumerate the projects that are to benefit the flow of international commerce across the border. An aide for Rep. Chavez denied that the bill was part of the Texas legislature's agenda to shove the Trans Texas Corridor segment of the NAFTA superhighway down Texan's throats. The bill clearly states the money will go to the NAFTA corridor account, a fact the aide downplayed. Chavez introduced the legislation at the behest of the Texas Border Coalition, an organization of border cities and counties who want Texas to build roads and bridges that will divert increased NAFTA truck traffic outside their cities.
Bush Signs New England Wilderness Bill
December 1, 2006, President Bush quietly signed into law a controversial bill that designates 42,000 additional wilderness acres in the Green Mountain National Forest. The New England Wilderness Act of 2006 was praised by noted Vermont leftists Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. James Jeffords. "This is a balanced plan, produced through bipartisan cooperation, which now becomes the heritage of all Vermonters," Leahy said. Not all Vermonters were as thrilled. Governor James Douglas had sent a letter to House Resource Chairman Richard Pombo, R-CA, complaining of a lack of fairness, who then managed to work out a compromise before the elections to remove 6,000 acres from the wilderness designation. Opponents charge the project was railroaded through. "This was an abuse of power by the congressional delegation by not allowing the appeals," said Steve McLeod, spokesman for the Vermont Traditions Coalition. The wilderness debate was trumped by the legislation - that was one of the things we were complaining about," the governor explained. Once again, Bush supports the Wildlands Project that eventually plans to lock up 50% of our nation's natural resources and land from human use.
Bush Signs Vermont Wilderness
Measure
White House Press
Release
Nonsensical Decision
The heavy hand of the federal government has squeezed the water from ranchers in Wyoming and Colorado to "save" endangered species along the North Platte River in Nebraska. The saga began in 1998, when the feds told the ranchers they must give up 238,000 acre-feet of their water annually used for their crops and livestock, which they thought they had the right to use in perpetuity. The ranchers discovered a U. S. Forest Service study that concluded as much as 396,000 acre-feet of new water could be generated by increased timber harvest from national forest land abutting the private ranch land. But, the Forest Service rejected the proposal by arrogantly responding that the Service had no obligation to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The ranchers took their case to a Wyoming federal district court where the federal judge dismissed it five weeks before trial date, saying the case was not "ripe." He said negotiations were still ongoing between Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and the Forest Service to revise its forest plan that might allow the states to harvest the timber to provide the extra water. Five years after the district court decision, the three-state agreement became final, at a total cost of $327 million; $157 million from U.S. taxpayers and the remainder coming from the three states supplying the remainder in cash, land and water. The agreement provided only 130,000 to 150,000 acre-feet per year, far less than the 396,000 acre-feet the ranchers had proposed.
A Million Here; A Million There;
Soon, We're Into Real Money