Selected Articles from the LAND Newsletter
President's Report
By Richard Volk, LAND President
Hello from northeast North Dakota. I hope your seeding has been finished although in my area there is still a lot to be done. We are down to our last four hundred acres that a week ago was still too wet to get into.
The last month has been a busy month for some LAND directors. On May 7 Dennis, Chuck and I participated in a teleconference call pertaining to “Federal Wetlands Regulation on Legislation: The state of play in Washington, DC.” There were four panelists: Robert Szabo, Sam Collinson, Howard Bleichfield and Karon Harnel. John Higgins, editor of the “Crops Report” an independent journal covering Army Corps of Engineers activity, was moderator. Dennis and Chuck were able to ask some very good questions and we got some very good answers.
More good news for all who believe in private property rights. Farm Bureau has formed the North Dakota Northern Plains Public Interest Law Firm to file a lawsuit against the state’s posting law. They believe, just as LAND does, that all land should be regarded as private and posted UNLESS there are signs designating otherwise. As you recall, there have been attempts to just change the law in legislation. When we discussed that option this year, Farm Bureau indicated to us that they intended to sue. We appreciate Farm Bureau’s leadership in this area and also thank Representative Rod Froelich from Selfridge, who is the plaintiff in the case.
In other matters I would like to welcome our new members to the LAND newsletter, which is our main means of communication between our board and the membership. At this time I would also request that every LAND member recruit one new member. I know this can be done as we have one director that has recruited several new members just through communication. Thanks for the job well done Bob Lebacken.
One other matter. I will greatly miss one of our past presidents and director, Roger Branning. Roger has become bored with retirement and has joined the Peace Corp and will serve two years in Romania. I along with the rest of the Board wish to thank Roger for his dedication and inspiration that he has given us. I wish Roger all the success and happiness in his new endeavor. Thanks Roger.
