Selected Articles from the LAND Newsletter
President's Report
By Richard Volk, LAND President
Greetings,
February is nearly over. As I write this, the Legislature is in recess. We have had some success with the defeat of SB 2283 (concerning perpetual conservation easements) by 38 nays and 8 yeas. Again I wish to thank the 38 senators for their no vote and their understanding that this was not a good bill for property rights. It boggles my mind that there are people, that want to get control of our land forever (perpetual) and have us pay the taxes.
One provision of SB 2283 was especially bad. It allowed for third party enforcement of easements. So the Sierra Club, PeTA, etc. could sue to enforce provisions on an easement based on their interpretation of the language, even if the landowner and easement holder agree to a different interpretation.
There’s also been a hearing on SCR 4032. It asks Legislative Council to study the feasibility and desirability of enacting legislation authorizing perpetual easements. I think we should have a class on what part of “no,” these people understand.
SB 2048 (hunting pressure concept) did pass the Senate. This is another bill that does the state no good. We hear about all the tourists that will be visiting the state but now we tell our out of state friends to come but leave your guns at home. We want all of our hunting for ourselves. We still have a chance of beating this in the House.
You can make a difference on how these bills turn out. Call or write your state legislators. If you have email use that.
Until next time, keep informed.
