The Property Rights Report

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New Mexico Water Group Tells Monument-Happy Biden to Cool It
November 2024

At their October annual meeting, the 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in New Mexico (NMACD) in a Resolution voted unanimously to oppose designation of National Monuments and Wild and Scenic Rivers within the state.  The resolution states, “the Antiquities Act was enacted before the creation of federal land management laws and was intended to be used in emergency situations to protect historic artifacts, and sites of scientific value, from ‘imminent threat’ which in all cases should be confined to the smallest area necessary.”

The resolution continued by pointing out that:

  • the Antiquities Act has been misused for political purposes by presidents with large scale designations hindering the productive use of those lands;
  • monument designations appear to be nothing more than another attempt at  federal land grabs;
  • creating additional federal lands and placing public lands into permanent conservation status causes dramatic and irreversible harm to economies;
  • NMACD opposes the designation of lands, whether private lands or government lands, in New Mexico as national monuments, wilderness, wilderness study areas, wildlife preserves, open space, or other conservation land, thereby restricting public access to such lands and preventing the development and productive use of the resources on or within such lands
  • NMACD supports the continued private ownership of land in New Mexico, recognizing the Nation's need for domestic sources of minerals, energy, timber, food, and fiber.

Amicus Briefs Ask Supreme Court to Take Up Utah Lands Case
 
As reported in last month’s newsletter, Utah filed suit in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the question whether the federal government retain lands indefinitely.  Utah argues the Constitution only gives the government the power to dispose of unappropriated lands. The Federal Fault Line Series in five parts is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the constitutional origin of congressional authority related to federal land.
 
Eleven parties including states, counties, organizations and individuals have filed friend-of-the-court briefs asking the Supreme Court to hear the case. Directed to this threshold question, these amicus briefs describe why federal land ownership and control is harming individuals and local governments.  The Supreme Court’s website has a listing of all the filed documents including the amicus briefs. The federal government has been granted an automatic extension to November 21st to respond and will likely seek an additional 30 days to file.  
 
It will not be until January or a couple of months later that the Court will decide whether to hear the case. If the Court takes up the case, parties will submit briefs on the merits of the facts and legal arguments.
 
Alert - Wildlife Connectivity and Corridors: Setting Up the Next Federal Land Grab
 
In October, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a memorandum to USDA components calling for further conservation and restoration of terrestrial wildlife habitat through connectivity and corridors. Even though this is just guidance and is not a regulation, it is still of concern because there is corridor legislation brought forward even by Republicans to further delegate power to executive agencies for such purposes. 
 
Alert - The U.N. Is Coming for Your Land

There is a bid by various stakeholder groups to layer a UNESCO World Heritage Area over the Okefenokee wildlife refuge in southern Georgia. The refuge simultaneously proposes "minor" acquisition boundaries beyond existing acquisition boundaries that sweep in a mining company's deeded property as well as several thousand acres of lands held by a timber company. USFWS claims the acquisition expansion and the UNESCO Heritage Area are unrelated, but both represent expansions of national and supra-national interests to be imposed within the state of Georgia. 

Government's Power Grab Under the Guise of Conservation

Conservation policy expert Rob Gordon writes: “there is no biodiversity crisis in America. The real crisis is an expanding regulatory state and shrinking and shacked federal and private property. It’s an ever-constricting noose choking off and raising the price of things that make our lives possible: food, fiber, minerals and energy – the backbone of our existence and national security that comes from land.”  The ‘endangered species’ mantra is a convenient excuse for “Washington’s insatiable and dangerous desire for more control.”  Read more here.

D.C. Circuit Strikes CEQ’s Authority to Issue Regulations Under the National Economic Policy Act
 
In a stunning rebuke to the Council on Environmental Quality, the federal appeals court ruled, "The CEQ regulations, which purport to govern how all federal agencies must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, are ultra vires [beyond the law]."   The parties did not raise the issue; the court raised the issue on its own.  Separation of powers is the nub of the matter, as the court wrote:  “the Constitution does not permit the President to seize for himself the ‘law-making power of Congress’ by issuing an order that, ‘like a statute, authorizes a government official to promulgate . . . rules and regulations.’”  This is a very significant development when one realizes how much CEQ and the White House drove executive department rulemaking via implementation of international climate objectives.  More here.
 
Fallen Angels - The Devil Is In the Details of Conservation Easements
 
Everybody knows conservation easements reduce beneficial land use, thereby harming the local tax base.  But veteran land activist Howard Hutchinson points out that the people involved in these supposedly altruistic schemes are often skunks and scoundrels.  Hutchinson quotes from a Justice Department press release: “Two accountants were each sentenced today to 20 months in prison for their roles in the promotion and sale of abusive syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.”  Read the rest of the article here.
 
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: The Triumph of Political Agendas Over Science
 
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has received and dispensed billions of dollars appropriated by Congress. Their website describes what they have done since created by Congress in 1984. An interactive map shows where they have distributed their funding.  While many of the projects NFWF has supported have made contributions to conservation, there are projects that support organizations pushing for conversion of private lands to federal ownership in perpetual wilderness or preservation status.  The Board of Directors and Leadership are a who’s who of environmentalists and land trust affiliates. Many of the Non-Governmental Organizations that receive funding provide the revolving door of personnel employed at NFWF. Much of the scientific research funded by NFWF is used by NGOs to advance their own political and ideological goals. This may be some of the low hanging fruit that Congress and the incoming administration can target for cuts in the nation’s deficit spending.
 
Natural Resources Policy Guru Greg Walcher Has a Few Questions

  • Why is the government going full speed ahead on the ‘green energy transition’ when powering the nation's largest cities entirely with solar energy would require covering entire states with solar panels?   
  • Why do the feds keep closing state and local roads when the federal government doesn’t have any power to do so?  
  • How can local governments take private land under eminent domain for no purpose?  Isn’t a public purpose required?  
  • How can presidents commit the U.S. to international climate protocols that entail fundamental changes to the economy against the will of the people?

 
Sarcasm Draws Blood from Leftists with Thin Skin

Sarcasm  särˌkazəm – noun - the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

Sarcasm has been used since the concept first appeared in the Greek language sarkazein meaning “tear flesh.”  In political and social exchanges, it can be used effectively to alter perception of one’s opponent through humor.

Some examples:

  • Shouting “carbon dioxide is a toxin” by expelling that gas through the vocal cords.
  • They burned down their community to show solidarity with opposition to tyranny.
  • Left-wing government protects the Spotted Owl and other species habitat by setting fire to it.
  • They oppose patriarchy while praising transgendered men in women’s sports.