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MA LAND ACCESS ALERT!!! letters needed ASAP

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MA LAND ACCESS ALERT!!! letters needed ASAP

Postby Scott Hatch » Fri Jan 28, 2005 5:25 pm

The Nature Conservancy Dictates Policy On Public Land,
Where is the Outrage?

Scott Hatch & Mark Dupont

During a meeting with the Massachusetts Forestry Association on January 22, 2005, Mr. Robert O’Connor, Land Policy Director for MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), gave a presentation on Forest Reserves. In brief, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is attempting to create Forest Reserves. However noble this may appear, the staggering horror behind this activity is that the EOEA has enlisted The Nature Conservancy as its sole counsel.

During his presentation Mr. O’Connor stated that 20% of the Berkshire Region has been identified as “possible” reserves, and added that each area would incorporate a SIX MILE “buffer zone” around it. Hauntingly familiar, is the Wildlands Project. When asked what would be allowed on these buffer zones, Mr. O’Connor was evasive and only wanted to talk about the timber industry.

Scott Hatch, President of the Northeast Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs made a pointed observation that; “The Nature Conservancy is a private corporation with its own agenda and goals”, and then asked Mr. O’Connor; “How is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ensuring that the data compiled is unbiased and accurate? Is it your opinion that the Commonwealth is accepting these reports at face value? Was a third party un-biased company asked to review the data?”

Mr. O’Connor replied with praise that The Nature Conservancy made a generous donation to cover the costs of the testing and that they (The Nature Conservancy) saved the state $30,000. Mr. O’Connor continued by offering tax-exempt status to landowners that allow their lands to be placed in this Forest Reserve. Mr. Hatch’s question went unanswered.

The numbers aren’t quite right here; the Commonwealth saves $30,000 to give away millions in tax revenue? And the numbers become more benign as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is faced with a severe fiscal crisis. Now consider the already struggling Western Massachusetts hill community’s economies, whose revenue depends on property taxes and tourism to fund fire & police departments, local schools, and elderly programs, to name a few vital roles a local government depends on to provide service to its residents. The net result, if the state decides to protect its forests in this manner, will be compounded if a “Forrest Reserve” is created.

Scott Hatch, through his experience with public land issues stated, “In my experience in working with the US Forest Service developing a forest plan, public input is sought to determine the wants and needs of the public and then science is applied to when, where, and if these activities can be done.” Mr. Hatch continued, “It seems that the Commonwealth is doing the opposite. Why haven’t any recreational groups been included in the planning process and when will we be included in the process?” Mr. O’Connor replied that this was NOT about recreation but about timber harvesting. When asked by Mr. Hatch when the taxpayer would be included in the process, Mr. O’Connor stated that there would be a time for public input once the plan was finished.

To put it simply, the Forest Reserves Plan being created by the EOEA and The Nature Conservancy is just the Wildlands Project recycled with another name. Although it is public land, the public interest is of no concern to the Office of Environmental Affairs. So let us compare the Wildlands Project with the current push of the EOEA’s Forest Reserve Plan.

To understand the Forest Reserve one must first understand the Wildlands Project and thoughts and ideals of the people behind it. Below is a slogan emblazoned on the front page of the Wildlands website.

"We have got to share this planet with the other living creatures, and sharing means not merely preserving them in zoos or National Parks, but setting aside huge areas. Whole regions perhaps that will be free of human interference. Ideally, I would like to see certain large areas of the planet set off-limits to human entry of any kind, even aerial over flights." From the Edward Abbey-Deep Ecology for the 21st Century: The Natural Wonder: An Ecocentric World View. New Dimensions Radio, 1998.

The goal of the Wildlands Project is simple: set aside approximately fifty (50) percent of the North American continent (Turtle Island) as "wild land" for the preservation of biological diversity.

Furthermore in THEIR utopia there is NO PLACE for you and me. The Wildland Project seeks to achieve this goal by creating "reserve networks" across the continent. They further propose to create these reserves from a core of National Forests and Parks. Each of these cores will then have a “Buffer Zone” created from PRIVATE LAND adjoining their “core areas” to provide additional protection. The primary characteristics of the core are large areas (100,000 to 25 million acres) that allow little, if any, use by people. The primary characteristics of the buffers are to limit use by people so long as it is managed with biodiversity as the over riding concern. There are literally hundreds of various groups working towards this long-range goal that may very well take up to 100 years to implement.

http://wildlandsproject.com/

http://www.wildlandsprojectrevealed.org/index.html

http://www.newildernesstrust.org/article/articleview/2335


Here is a short list of facts concerning the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its publicly held land:

·According to the Trustees of Reservations, 44 acres of land are developed every working day in MA. However over the last 5 years, conservation has outpaced development by nearly a 2-1 margin.


·Massachusetts is the 44th largest (land mass) state, but it ranks as the 6th largest in acreage under environmental management.
Source: National Association of State Parks directors/ The Trustees of Reservations.

·Massachusetts land mass comprises 5.2 million acres.
1.1 Million acres are environmentally protected.
1.1 million acres have been developed.
3.0 Million acres are undeveloped.
Massachusetts has more land trusts than any other state.
Source: 2001 EOEA Annual Report


·In August 2001, Governor Jane M. Swift announced the Administration’s accomplishment of having protected more than 100,000 acres of open space in less than three years.
Source: MA DCR 2001 Land Acquisition Program Annual report.


·The following projects were completed in Fiscal Year 2002 (July 1, 2001 – June 30, 2002).
With the help of our partners, just over 11,385 acres of land were acquired or protected. Source: 2002 LAP report.


·The following projects were completed in Fiscal Year 2003 (July 1, 2002 – June 30, 2003).
With the help of our partners, just over 2,390 acres of land were acquired or protected. DCR acquired most of these properties outright, through “fee acquisition.” The remaining projects were protected through conservation restrictions (which essentially remove the right to develop a property).
Source: 2003 LAP Annual Report


Once again, our state Government is making decisions for the taxpaying public, mostly without taxpayer input or knowledge.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

Send a letter to YOUR elected Massachusetts State Representative, YOUR elected Massachusetts Governor, and YOUR elected State Senator. Ask them why the public is deliberately being left out of the planning process. Shouldn't YOU, the Tax Payer, steer the plan for lands YOUR tax dollars support? These individuals work for YOU, lets put them to work! If you are not sure who your elected official is, use the link below.

www.state.ma.us/legis/citytown.htm

Ask your friends, spouse, colleagues, and family to write and/or sign our petition. The future of our sport rides on YOU, the Massachusetts registered voters; please help us to help you!

When writing or speaking with your elected officials remember to let them know you are opposed to:

* the Forest Reserve Plan
* Forest Plan without Public Input during the steering process
* Buffer Zones on PRIVATE lands
* Steering only from one special interest group with its own agenda.

Out of state residents please send your letters to Governor Romney’s office:

State House
Office of the Governor
Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: (617) 725-4005
FAX: (617) 727-9725
TTY: (617) 727-3666
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