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February/March 2007
Volume I; Issue 1
Special Report:
Trans Texas Corridor

New Course For Private Property
Unite to Fight Lays Foundation for 2007 Agenda
By Margaret Byfield

While the political power shifted in Congress, property rights defenders representing 19 different states gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah, to chart a new course for private property in America.

“The Conference set the stage for everyone to go home and begin networking,” commented Tim Ravndal, president of Montana Multiple Use Association. “We all need to look at each and every branch of local government to begin the process of returning our resource management and our rights back to the people.”

Stewards of the Range, Liberty Matters and the American Land Foundation hosted the conference. The two day agenda spent less time discussing national issues than previous annual conferences had done and more time introducing strategies landowners can use to keep the anti-private property polices from being implemented in their backyard.

“We are winning key battles in the backyards of America,” commented Margaret Byfield, executive director of Stewards of the Range. “We have a chance to win the war by teaching more people how to do this.”

Several of the speakers echoed the same theme throughout, and explained how the three organizations had been changing their focus to work more at the local level for over a year and a half.

“We have been spending more of our time helping people win their local battles, and have won every battle we have engaged in,” commented Fred Grant, president of Stewards of the Range. The second day of the conference taught several strategies that can be used to fight for private property at the local level. “Every federal, state and local law must be implemented at this level. This is where the people still have power over the government. This is where we can stop them,” added Grant.

The conference didn’t ignore pressing national issues, but rather showed people how to fight them in a local way. Patrick Wood, editor of The August Review discussed one of the most critical threats facing Americans today, the creation of the North American Union (NAU). He revealed the many international and national corporations and
policymakers working to erode American sovereignty in an effort to merge Canada, Mexico and the U.S. into one Union.

Wood was followed by Dan Byfield, president of the American Land Foundation and a native Texan fighting the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC), which is the Texas leg of the NAFTA Superhighway, designed to connect the Panama Canal to Canada through the heartland of America.

Byfield explained how through local organizing, they were able to force the release of the maps where the road is proposed to be built through Texas, which had been in litigation for over a year and a half. “We firmly believe if we stop the TTC, we will cripple the NAU agenda,” commented Byfield.

Every speaker had one element in common – actively fighting for private property rights in America. Leo Schwartz, president of the Virginia Land Rights Coalition, spoke on National Heritage Areas. Ladd Bedford, a California attorney with McQuaid, Bedford and Van Zandt, updated the audience on the status of key western property rights cases before the courts.
Others, including Tanya Storer and Sherry Vincint, both from Nebraska, Kimmi Clark Lewis from Colorado, and Brenda Richards from Idaho were ranch women first who became actively involved in their local areas to guard against the policies that threaten their way of life. They delivered sage advice that only feet on the ground can reveal.

Robert Brace, a true property rights warrior from Pennsylvania, spoke of his 18-year court battle working to remove the harsh wetlands restrictions from his land.

Two county sheriffs, Tony DeMaeo from Nye County, Nevada and Gary Aman from Owyhee County, Idaho, who is also a board member of Stewards, spoke of how important it is for federal, state and local governments to respect the law, and what they were doing in their counties to ensure that the property rights of the citizens were lawfully protected. The brilliant writer, Tim Findley for Range Magazine, lent his advice on how to get property rights’ issues covered by the mainstream media.

The audience was given a sneak preview of “Preserving America, It’s Land and It’s People,” a compelling documentary being filmed about those victimized by the environmental movement. Filmmaker, Cirina Catania and film editor Scott Hayward, showed the trailer to the movie, which they are planning to finish this year.

The second day was taught by the newly elected president of Stewards’, Fred Kelly Grant.

He introduced several different strategies that can be used at the local level, depending upon the issues being faced. For instance, some situations require political action, such as zoning issues, viewshed ordinances, and smart growth policies, where the elected official’s positions must be reversed.

Another strategy requires a long-term plan, such as “Coordination Plans” for a local entity, where citizens try to work with the elected officials to accomplish their goals.

Most importantly, attendees left understanding that there were effective ways to reverse anti-private property policies, whether they were federal, state or local polices, by fighting at the grassroots level.

Follow up regional conferences are being set to expand on the specific strategies introduced. See page 4 for details on the Yreka Regional Training.