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May/June 2007
Volume I; Issue 2
Special Report:
Conservation Easements

2007 Freedom 21 Conference
Saturday, July 21st; 10:30 am – 5:00 pm

Creating Coordination Plans to Fight the NAU

One of the most effective tools being used at the local level to stop anti-private property agenda’s and give people meaningful input into the direction of their community are “coordination plans.”

Fred Grant, President of Stewards of the Range, is the pioneer of this strategy, and he will be at Freedom 21 to teach attendees how to use these plans to fight the NAFTA Superhighway and other damaging agendas. Coordination plans give local citizens the nexus they need to fight federal, state and local policies and laws that conflict with their community’s priorities.

By using a little known provision existent in almost every federal land use statute and most planning and zoning laws, agencies are required to coordinate their policies with the local authority, but only if the local authority has properly implemented a coordination plan.

Coordination plans are developed by local individuals and adopted by a local authority like a county commissioner’s court, water district, school board, or any local elected government unit.

When in place, a coordination plan has two major requirements – federal agencies must coordinate their land use policies with the local authority, including giving them written notice of their plans prior to any public notice or involvement; and, the agency’s policies must be consistent with the local plan.
This special session on Saturday, July 21, 2007, will introduce attendees to the concept and provide instruction on how to write and pass a “coordination plan,” including how to:

• Bring together varying people and interests;
• Identify the unique resources and economic priorities of your area;
• Write a plan that will stand up to a court challenge;
• Persuade your elected local leaders to adopt the plan; and
• Set up a council that will ensure the plan is enforced.

Communities that are now using coordination plans are successfully protecting the property rights of the citizens while neutralizing restrictive federal and state land use policies.

“It levels the playing field for citizens to help make decisions affecting their own back yard,” explained Sean Curtis, Resource Analyst with Modoc County, CA, which has had a coordination plan in place for the past 10 years.

“Using this approach, we have stopped ESA listings that would have driven our ranchers out of business, helped small mill operators secure more product, and even stopped federal land acquisitions that didn’t comply with the county’s priorities.”

The Saturday portion of the Freedom 21 three-day conference is an abbreviated version of the two-day, in-depth training session Stewards, American Land Foundation and Liberty Matters conducts on Coordination plans. Lunch and a comprehensive workbook will be provided.

You can register for the entire three-day Freedom 21 event, which includes this session for $225, or you can register for just the Saturday session at the registration fee of $75.

This year’s Freedom 21 conference (8th Annual) is focused entirely on discussing “The North American Community and the Trans-Texas Corridor.” Over 30 guest speakers will make presentations, with keynote speakers to include: Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily; Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum; Henry Lamb, Environmental Conservation Organization; Tom DeWeese, American Policy Center; Dan Byfield, American Land Foundation; David Stall, CorridorWatch; Cathy Adams, Texas Eagle Forum; Dr. Michael Coffman, Environmental Perspectives Inc.; Patrick Wood, The August Report; Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in Media; and Michael Shaw, Freedom Advocates; and a host of other great speakers from Washington, D.C and other think tanks from across the nation.

Go to www.freedom.org to register or call Freedom 21 at (731) 986-0099.