Selected Articles from the LAND Newsletter
WHAT LAND REALLY STANDS FOR
By Mike Mahoney, Past LAND President
Editor’s Note: This was written in March, as a letter to the editor of the Grand Forks Herald.
I would like to respond to a 4-14-02 letter from hunting advocate Tony Dean of Pierre, SD (Federal meddling, no; Federal subsidies, yes, page 3D).
(1) Dean lists the “farm bill payments received during the past four years, by Dennis Miller of Lawton, ND, past President of the Landowners Association of North Dakota (LAND).” I will make two clarifications. (A) The amounts listed are, in fact, for the past six years - not the past four years. (B) The amounts listed also include commodity loans (not subsidies) that have been repaid.
This information has been made available on website www.ewg.org by the leaders of a “so-called environmental organization” that calls itself the “Environmental Working Group.” I have my opinions why Dean included this information in a letter to the editor - but they are merely opinions, and I will keep them to myself.
(2) Dean states that “Miller and his pals at LAND want to drain wetlands so they can farm more unproductive land so they can get even bigger checks.” It is a practical and scientific fact that nealy always, these low-lying areas are (A) our most fertile soil and (B) federal farm payments would not increase on these additional acres.
Dean’s letter implies that LAND favors the wanton draining of sloughs anywhere and anytime. This is unfair and untrue. In written testimony given to the ND House and Senate Ag Committees in 1995, LAND stated, “we (ND) have had laws for decades preventing the unwanted drainage of water from one property owner to another. No reasonable person would object to these laws being strictly enforced.” This is a public record!
LAND does believe farmers and ranchers should have the right to manage surface water on their own land. In Canada they call it Slough Consolidation and it is legal. During the drought years of 1988-90, you could drive for miles across North Dakota and see no water. This caused undue hardship and even death for much wildlife. Slough Consolidation could have prevented much of this.
(3) Dean states, “If you want to see how real radicals think, visit the LAND web site.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines radical as “one who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions or institutions: radical seeking to overthrow the social order.” This does not define LAND!!
LAND was formed in 1989 and our main focus is to stop the assault on property and management rights, both rural and urban, by certain government agencies and the leaders of other groups claiming to be primarily concerned with wildlife or the environment. Pennsylvania was the first state to form a landowners association and North Dakota was the second. During the past ten years, nearly all state have formed some type of landowners association and, in fact, there are now several thousand property rights organizations nationwide representing such diverse groups as the Pacific Northwest Loggers (victims of spotted owl fiasco) and the Alaskan Miners. The Internet has enabled us to network with these organizations and exchange valuable information and verbal and written support.
A recent example of organizations such as LAND working together, and lending support to bring public attention to a mindless transgression by the USFWS, is the case of the farmers in Klamath Falls, Oregon that had their irrigation water entirely shut off. Fox News then picked up on it, and it looks now like the Oregon farmers may get their water back. That is not radicalism - that is promoting justice, fair play and sound economics.
It should be noted, as predicted, that several “so-called environmental organizations” offered the Klamath Falls farmers pennies on the dollar for their farmland. How magnanimous of them.
LAND has had a good deal of success in North Dakota since organizing. We have disciplined ourselves to rely on facts, scientific data, sound logic, good judgment, and fair play; and to refrain from indulging in blatant appeals to emotionalism and mindless name calling.
(4) Dean states that “water always flows downhill and always ends up in a lake or river.” Dean did manage to get that one 50% right. Indeed, water always flows downhill. In ND, the topography does not allow water to always end up in a lake or river. That is an absurd statement.
(5) Dean states that “wetland drainage does not help agriculture.” In 1995, LAND submitted to the ND House and Senate Ag Committees scientific data from a noted ND soil scientist explaining how standing water increases soil salinity and therefore decreases fertility. We also submitted scientific data from a noted ND plant pathologist explaining how increased wet conditions decreases resistance to plant diseases.
I would like to quote form the cover letter for the scientific data submitted by the soil scientist. In the last paragraph, he profoundly states - “I would comment that it is the nature of the system I serve to understate problems we see, but lack data to properly identify. However, there is a ND economy dollar loss associated with cessation of drainage development that has not been reconciled. I would suggest that when the data are finally assembled, it will be recognized as painfully large.” This is a public record!
We are happy to hear Tony Dean is visiting our web site. We encourage him to subscribe to our monthly newsletter - it contains a lot of relevant information. Obviously, Tony Dean needs to do his homework and get his facts straight. Dean should use more rifle and fewer shotgun tactics.
