Posted on 01/10/2002 6:59:31 PM PST by brityank
January 08, 2002
Feds help fund green activists
By JEFFRY MULLINS, Associate EditorHERNDON, Va. - Environmental groups that promote their own political agenda are among the recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants handed out each year by federal agencies, according to a Virginia-based legal foundation.
Landmark Legal Foundation has received documentation of grant awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dating back to 1993.
"We've learned that approximately half of the EPA's budget goes toward doling out grants," said Mark R. Levin, president of Landmark. "Some of that is required by statute, and some of it is not. And most of it is done without competition," he added.
Since last summer the grants have been administered without any oversight from internal or external review boards, according to Levin. His non-profit law firm plans to investigate how the money is being used.
"I think that we have a massive fund of money that is going out to organizations which are largely academic, or organizations that are largely left of center - with precious little oversight, and precious few standards," he said.
Environmental groups and other nonprofit organizations routinely receive taxpayer dollars for their causes, but the fact that some groups have their own political agendas drew the attention of Landmark attorneys after reading a newspaper article last October in the Sacramento Bee.
The paper reported more than $400 million in grants had been awarded to national environmental groups since 1998. Some of that money went to groups involved in environmental advocacy and lobbying, the article said.
That prompted Landmark to file Freedom of Information Act requests with four federal agencies seeking information on grant awards. When the agencies failed to respond, Landmark filed lawsuits against the EPA, the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Levin said a lawsuit will be filed in coming weeks against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service if it does not produce the information.
The foundation recently received data on thousands of grants issued by the EPA to nonprofit groups since 1993. Levin said the reason he thought the EPA started cooperating was due to another legal action Landmark brought against the agency last year.
That lawsuit was over last-minute regulations imposed in the closing days of the Clinton administration. Landmark discovered the EPA was erasing computer files a federal judge had ordered it to preserve.
The story received national attention in several major newspapers in April. Currently, a U.S. District Court judge is considering contempt charges against the EPA and officials in the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Now, Landmark believes taxpayer money is being used by "activist" groups such as the Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund and World Wildlife Fund to push their own political agendas.
"America's taxpayers have a right to know if their money is being used to feather the political nests of radical environmental groups," Levin said. "And the agencies of our government have a responsibility to ensure that the money it pays to private organizations is used appropriately, and not to lobby lawmakers or spin public perception to achieve the groups' political goals."
For example, one environmental organization cited in the Sacramento Bee story is The Lands Council, a Spokane, Wash.-based group that has publicly stated its goal of ending commercial logging on national forests.
"The Lands Council is a front-line activist-based forest conservation group that doesn't pull any punches," the group boasts on its Web site. "Program highlights include ending commercial logging of National Forests, breaking the timber corporations hold on our forest lands and political processes, and restoring watersheds ravaged by mining pollution."
The group received $30,000 from the Forest Service to help people in rural areas protect their homes from wildfire. "If you're an organization and you get several million dollars in grants," Levin said, "then obviously you don't need to raise funds for an area the federal government is funding." That frees up donations raised by the groups for purposes such as lobbying, he said.
The Nature Conservancy - which describes itself as "the world's largest private international conservation group" - received more than $60 million from the government in the year 2000 alone. That compares with $357 million it obtained from private donations.
The EPA data given to Landmark lists millions of dollars worth of grants to The Nature Conservancy. Last year it received $104,000 from the agency in "consolidated research grants."
Spokesman Mike Horak told the Sacramento Bee, "When you look at what it is going to cost to protect biodiversity, it far exceeds our capability, even as one of the wealthiest conservation groups."
The Nature Conservancy listed $2.5 billion in net assets in 2000. The group has been accused by property rights advocates of conspiring with the federal government to lock up huge tracts of land so they cannot be used for their natural resource value. Turning land over to the government lowers the tax base, but some big corporations cooperate because it makes their remaining land and resources more valuable.
The trend in Congress is to provide more federal grant money to special interest groups. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., supported the American Wildlife Enhancement Act passed by the Senate last month. It provides half a billion dollars a year for conservation activities, with the money going to environmental and sportsmen's groups as well as to state governments and Indian tribes.
Reid also is sponsoring the multi-billion dollar Conservation Assistance and Regional Equity (CARE) Act, which includes funding for wildlife preservation and conservation easements that may be purchased from willing farmers and ranchers.
From The Nature Conservancy website:
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
Establishing a charitable remainder annuity trust with The Nature Conservancy is one of several ways you can receive a fixed income for life or term of years while making a major gift to support our work. Your charitable remainder annuity trust will help us protect habitat needed for birds like wood storks, grasshopper sparrows, and the southern bald eagle.
A charitable remainder annuity trust is similar to a charitable remainder unitrust. The main difference is that with an annuity trust your payments remain fixed for the term of the agreement.
Benefits Fixed Income
When you establish a charitable remainder annuity trust you transfer assets to a trust for the Conservancy's benefit and you receive fixed income from the trust -- a fixed payment you can count on!
Immediate Tax Savings
By creating a charitable remainder annuity trust, you qualify for an income tax charitable deduction in the year you make the gift. If you decide to fund your annuity with appreciated property, you may also be eligible for capital gain tax savings.
Leave A Legacy
After a term of years of the lifetime of your and/or your designated beneficiary's, the Nature Conservancy will use the principal remaining in the trust to preserve significant natural areas that protect threatened species like piping plovers.
Become A Legacy Club Member
Legacy Club membership is for those who wish to join the tradition of making a lasting gift. Membership is voluntary and without obligation -- it is our way of recognizing an extraordinary gift.
How It Works
The following chart illustrates the approximate federal income tax charitable deduction for an individual creating a $100,000 annuity trust with a 5% payout.*
Age Annual Income Income Tax Deduction
50 $5,000 $41,000
60 $5,000 $49,000
70 $5,000 $59,000
*These figures are for illustration purposes only. These figures will change based on your age, the size of the gifts used to fund the trust, the number of beneficiaries, the percentage to be paid out and the current IRS mandated discount rate. Please call us at 877-812-3698 for more information.
Calculate your own potential benefits from a charitable remainder annuity trust by visiting our planned giving calculator.
Gift Requirements
Minimum Age: 50
Minimum Dollar Amount: $50,000 for trusts funded with cash or securities
Making a Gift
For more information on charitable remainder annuity trusts or other gifts that provide income, please fill out our online form, e-mail legacy@tnc.org, or call us at 877-812-3698.
In order to provide you with a personalized proposal for a charitable remainder annuity trust, please let us know the date of birth of the income beneficiary and the approximate amount you are considering giving.
Information provided on our Internet site is not intended to be tax or legal advice. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making a gift.
On top of the fraudulent grant writing, these groups have used bogus scientific evidence to bolster their positions, like the campaign that was waged against eating swordfish (which never really endangered).
The WSJ gave a link to a web-site that tracks the over-lapping board members and the contributors to the various enviro-nazi groups, but it's on my other computer. I'll try to post it for you when I get it set up, again. (I got a new computer).
Thank you; that could be a handy tool.
(I know what you mean about new computers; I'm still pulling stuff off my old one from two years ago.) :^)
They have Billions because they seduce/solicit money from the caring elderly. !! !!
Yet the individual States (The Nature Conservancy of Arizona) magazines have the nerve to publish a "Wish List" for the Preserves and Offices.
Example:
Muleshoe Ranch WISH LIST:
Golf cart cover; telescope; new galvanized water tanks; wicker furniture; canister vacuum cleaner; sets of 4+ matching stoneware; gas barbeque; lumber for decking; brush hog; tractor; wooden book shelves; tire-changing machine; floor lamps; end tables; wine glasses set; oven-safe casserole dishes.Preserve and office needs are not limited to those items listed above. Please call the preserve or office in need if you have an item listed above. All ITEMS contributed NEED TO BE STURDY AND GOOD TO EXCELLENT WORKING CONDITION; ALL OFFICE EQUIPMENT, RECENT MODEL.
Oh my, they must be SOOO underfunded!!!
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