Regionalism Causing Property Rights Concerns

Here is an important message from the Coalition for Property Rights…

Look Out – Here Comes Another One!

Last month, CPR reported on a program within the Department of Interior to manage land and water stewardship efforts from the headwaters of a river to its mouth using a watershed approach. The program is called the National Blueways System and was established through secretarial order (like an executive order the President uses, only within a department). The Blueways Systems positions un-elected and un-accountable groups of “stakeholders” to define and implement policy on land and water use, all with the assistance of taxpayer dollars.

CPR has recently learned of another such program on a much larger scale designed to do something similar. It is called Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). To view this program, related documents, and a sharper image of the map, visit: www.doi.gov/lcc.

It was establish by Secretarial Order No. 3289 in 2009. It divides the United States into 22 regions and is defined as “a network of public-private partnerships that provide shared science to ensure the sustainability of America’s land, water, wildlife, and cultural resources.”

The Order says, “To fulfill our nation’s vision for a clean energy economy, Interior is now managing America’s public lands and oceans not just for a balanced oil, natural gas, and coal development, but also – for the first time ever – environmentally responsible renewable energy development… The realities of climate change require us to change how we manage the land, water, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage and tribal lands and resources we oversee… The Department is also taking the lead in protecting our country’s land, water, fish and wildlife, and cultural heritage and tribal lands and resources from the dramatic effects of climate change that are already occurring…”

According to a DOI paper, the network of LCCs is “a response to landscape-scale stressors.” The two mentioned that are evidently “stressing” America’s landscapes are climate change and carbon emissions. The LCCs are to be “public-private partnerships composed of states, tribes, federal agencies, non-government organizations, universities, and others.”

THE DOI feels the challenges of America’s sustainability transcend political and jurisdictional boundaries and require a networked approach to conservation. The structure of these plans includes leadership and direction from the Energy and Climate Change Council. They are establishing eight regional hubs called Climate Science Centers who will coordinate efforts with and through the 22 regions or LCCs.

Property owners should be concerned that unelected groups, who seem to be accountable to no one, will have massive amounts of taxpayer dollars to create and multiple regulations affecting and, most likely, restricting the use of land, water, and wildlife resources.

Stay alert. CPR will continue to monitor this program and others and, keep you informed.

Dan Peterson, Executive Director
info@proprights.com
407-481-2289