HOME

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

Armed and Ready
Yreka Training Session Teaches New Approach
By Margaret Byfield

Coordination plans are no longer a mystery to the 74 attendees of the first regional Unite to Fight conference in Yreka, California, held February 16-17th. They are now the likely path most will take to protect their local community, economy, resource industries and way of life from the burdensome federal and state land use policies.

People came from seven different states, each with a different problem to solve. For Deanne Gonzales, it was the General Plan her area of San Luis Obispo, California was fighting, which is forcing coastal regulations on inland property owners. For Dennis Mayo and Ed Salsedo, they are fighting to protect their fishing industry on the Northern pacific coast where, within the next two weeks they face losing the permits that authorize the use of their historical fishing rights.

Bryan Baumgartner has been fighting the Cascade Siskiyou Monument for the past three years that would drive ranchers and other resource users out of business and be an irreversible blow to the Klamath region, which has already lost most of its farming community as a result of bad federal policy. A farmer from the Klamath Basin listened intently knowing that without rain soon, the federal government will once again turn off his water.

Each came with a different problem to solve; needing hope, direction, and solutions.

Fred Grant, president of Stewards of the Range, began the session reading from federal statutes. He read the coordination language in the Federal Land Management and Policy Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and others. He explained how these short phrases in nearly every federal land use statute requires the federal agencies to coordinate and make consistent their activities with any local unit of government that has a land use plan. Some state statutes have similar requirements.

As the questions from the audience began, the concept of “coordination” was becoming clear; this was a tool authorized by the U.S. Congress that allows local governments to determine the land use priorities of their community.

Sean Curtis, resource analyst with Modoc County Farm Bureau, read the coordination language found in the National Forest Management Act and explained how Modoc County, California has used this language since 1993, to solve many of their resource issues. They border Siskiyou County, where the seminar was held.

Throughout the first day Grant continued to take the mystique out of the coordination concept, explaining how the land use plan could be one page or fifty pages. It could require coordination for one issue or as many as needed, and be amended as issues arose. The plan was not like a zoning plan, or general plan, or other types of land use plans people were most familiar with. This plan tells federal and state agencies that they must coordinate and make their plans and management activities consistent with the policy of the local unit of government.

Grant then explained that the burden is on the agencies to show their activities are consistent with the local plan and read the case rulings that affirmed this requirement. For example, if the local plan said there must be a minimum number of cattle grazing in the area, and the BLM attempts to reduce grazing below this minimum, the burden is on the agency to make such policy consistent with the local plan.

By the second day, attendees were convinced, coordination plans could help them fight their issues, but the difficult step would be getting them implemented. Grant and Curtis showed how to write a purpose statement and then divided the class into working groups to develop a plan for a specific issue. They analyzed and provided comments to each of the plans created and complimented the attendees on how well they incorporated the necessary elements to make these effective. Then they discussed political strategies that must be employed to ensure passage and implementation of the local plan.

The session ended with attendees ready to begin the process of developing coordination plans in their area. For the two fishermen, they had two weeks to make theirs work, but left with a draft plan, a political strategy, and the opportunity to help a coast full of fishermen stay in business. Others would have more time.

At the end of the session, Katherine Lehman with People for the USA-Grange, co-sponsor of the seminar, commented; “This region will be different next year. We had several Supervisors/Commissioners, one Sheriff and a room full of people from the State of Jefferson in attendance, and they are ready to go to work to force the agencies to coordinate with our priorities. I will be contacting many people in other areas to tell them they must get to one of these coordination seminars.”

Stewards, ALF and Liberty Matters are planning three more regional training sessions this year. June 26-27 they will be in Valentine, Nebraska and are currently setting dates and locations for two more sessions this year.