Trouble brewing in Florida's swamps: Henry Lamb explains why property owners are fighting mad

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Sunday, July 7, 2002 | Henry Lamb

[JohnHuang2]

"The Wildlands Project," published in Wild Earth in 1992, chose a map of Florida to illustrate its concept of core wilderness areas, connected by corridors of wilderness, all surrounded by "buffer zones," managed for "conservation objectives." What are conservation objectives? Reed Noss, author of "The Wildlands Project," says "... the collective needs of non-human species must take precedence over the needs and desires of humans."

The humans who live in South Florida are seeing the needs of non-human populations being given priority over the property rights and livelihoods of the people who live there. The entire Everglades is shown on the Wildlands map as a core wilderness area, surrounded by buffer zones that reach from Miami to Key West.

CERP – the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan – is the name used to describe 52 projects to transform South Florida into the Wildlands project's vision of how the state ought to be.

The initiative was launched by environmentalists who convinced the politicians that the Everglades has been destroyed, and must be restored to save biodiversity in the ecosystem.

Among the organizations that are promoting the restoration project are: the Nature Conservancy, which received more than $136 million in federal grants between 1997 and 2001; the Audubon Society, recipient of $10 million in federal grants during the same period; and the World Wildlife Fund, which has received more than $70 million in federal grants.

The Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society funded the writing of "The Wildlands Project," according to its author, Reed Noss.

Politicians, however, depend on votes and money from industry, as well as from environmental organizations, so the plan necessarily included input from the business community.

When the plan finally came together, it was supposed to achieve three equal priorities: expand water supplies for South Florida's exploding population; control water flows and prevent flooding; and provide sufficient water flows to restore the Everglades. This tenuous agreement was the basis on which President Clinton and Gov. Jeb Bush launched the $7.8 billion project on Dec. 11, 2000.

From day one, the project was in trouble. While the U.S. Corps of Engineers is the agency with overall responsibility, there are several other federal agencies, state agencies and county agencies involved – all with turf to protect and agendas to advance. Riding herd on all these agencies, is a network of environmental organizations, each with their own interests and agendas. Then comes the powerful industries that employ people and pay taxes. At the bottom of the list are the land owners – those who are most directly affected by the restoration plan.

At the moment, everyone is unhappy. The environmentalists are threatening to withdraw support if higher priority is not assigned to Everglades restoration. Scientists within the implementing agencies have no idea whether the plan will work. And the landowners are finally organizing to say "enough is enough."

According to an extensive report in the Washington Post, Stuart J. Appelbaum, the Army Corps of Engineers man in charge, says "We have no idea if this will work." The EPA's South Florida director says of the project, "It's falling apart before my eyes." And Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, Bob Gasaway, says "I don't see a shred of evidence that all this money will help the environment."

Shannon Estenoz, an engineer for the World Wildlife Fund, says he is getting angrier by the day and thinks his organization's folks may have been "suckers" for having supported the CERP.

All these problems with the CERP may be dwarfed by the trouble that is now brewing in the Florida swamp. The land owners are getting tired of seeing their property flooded, or condemned and taken, or devalued by the threat of future projects.

Homeowners associations, property-rights groups and legal-defense funds have sprung up all across South Florida. Edmund W. Antonowicz, secretary of the 15,000 Coalition, fired off a letter to President Bush, urging him to step in and prevent the massive land grabs that are going on. Madeleine Fortin's Legal Defense Foundation sued the Corps of Engineers, charging that the Corps lacked legislative authority to condemn land outside the original "footprint" authorized in 1989. A preliminary ruling finds in favor of the land owners.

These efforts have attracted the attention of the Paragon Foundation in Alamogordo, N.M., which sent Jay Walley, to meet with more than 40 representatives of area organizations in Homestead on June 29. The meeting produced a skeletal plan to create a broad coalition to guide a national effort to stop the erosion of private property rights in South Florida, and restore some semblance of sanity to the CERP.

[JohnHuang2]

Sunday, July 7, 2002

Quote of the Day by governsleastgovernsbest

[lewislynn]

Edmund W. Antonowicz, secretary of the 15,000 Coalition, fired off a letter to President Bush, urging him to step in and prevent the massive land grabs that are going on.

Oh yea, that'll happen. They're asking the guy who shut off water to patriotic American farmers under the guise of saving bottom feeding sucker fish to now save "the massive land grabs that are going on" in his brother's state?...after his brother went to bed with the devil (Clinton) for 7.8 billion American tax dollars.

This tenuous agreement was the basis on which President Clinton and Gov. Jeb Bush launched the $7.8 billion project on Dec. 11, 2000.

But hey, Republicans don't do land grabs and suck taxes for bogus environmental scams do they?

[wingnuts'nbolts]

I do not like the land grabs. The Everglades is a river.
It needs to be protected. Why can't it be done without grabbing private lands, or are the private land those that belong to developers who want to put communities from coast to coast?

[First_Salute]

Jaw drop again?

[First_Salute]

See: Sustaining Nothing, Losing Everything, Sierra Times, June 20, 2002, by Tom DeWeese (posted June 21, 2002 by brityank).

"What is Sustainable Development? ...

On June 29, 1993, former President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order #12852 to create the President's Council on Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development calls for changing the very infrastructure of the nation away from private ownership and control of property to nothing short of a national zoning system.

Locally elected officials will no longer be the single driving force in making decisions for their communities. Rules will be made behind the scenes in non-elected "sustainability councils" armed with truckloads of federal regulations, guidelines and money.

According to Sustainable Development policies, air conditioning, convenience foods, single-family housing and cars are among the products that have already been determined to be unsustainable. Under such a system, the federal government, backed by an army of private, non-governmental organizations.

(NGOs), like the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, and the National Education Association will influence, if not dictate, policy in state governments and in local communities...

...The Community Character Act (S.975), and its counterpart in the House of Representatives (H.R.1433), is the legislation that will legalize enforcement of Sustainable Development in every community in the nation. The bill requires local governments to implement land-management plans using guidelines outlined in a federal document called the "Smart Growth Legislative Guidebook." This publication was developed with $2 million provided by the Clinton Administration to "guide" counties, cities and towns on how to "update their local zoning."

The Community Character Act offers grants to communities that will pay up to 90% of the costs for localities to "update" their zoning, but only if they do it the way the federal government dictates. The Community Character Act requires localities to "conserve historic, scenic, natural and cultural resources." These are euphemisms that mean more land grabs and fewer places where people can freely go about their daily lives. It means planned economies, restricted housing, and diminished use of cars. It means government control of property. The bill contains not a single mention of private-property rights protection..."

[First_Salute]

Bump.

[Budge]

Ree: Your #5.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[backhoe]

Here are the sites of two very tireless crusaders against this nonsense:

-Eco-Logic online--

-Joan Veon--

[jaq]

Here's another one: www.propertyrightsresearch.org. Click on articles and then "national" and start reading. It's the best site I've found so far for getting the whole picture as to what is going on. BTW, the site used to be named "No Darby Refuge." These people are Amish farmers who've been fighting for five years now to hang on to their property.

Also, I subscribe to this: prc-digest-request@freedom.org. (Send email with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.) It's a daily report on enviros, property rights erosion, Smart Growth, the U.N., etc.

[snopercod]

Not this time. Those "wildlands" idiots were up here where I live pushing their corridor crap at the latest city council meeting.

This project should be named "U-CERP".

[summer]

I think Henry Lamb is giving a very lop-sided view of what is actually happening in SW FL, and in fact, is giving a lot of inaccurate info. Here is an article from the Washington Post which of course gives a different view, and I think somewhere in between these two extreme views (Lamb and the WP), one may be able to ascertain the truth:

Growing Pains in SW FL (Re: too much private development; not enough conservation)

[summer]

See my the article linked in my post #11.

[summer]

See the article linked in my post #11.

[backhoe]

Further information is useful, and appreciated!

[summer]

My pleasure. Like I said, somewhere in between these two extreme is where you can probably find the TRUTH.... :)

[summer]

My pleasure. And, like I said, somewhere in between these two extremes is where you can probably find the TRUTH.... :)

[jaq]

With all due respect, the article to which you refer is full of the same blather these people are using all over the country, but especially in the west. "A major threat to the ecology ... the last refuge for endangered species ... unbridled sprawl ... chewing up 1,000 acres of wetlands ..."

We have more wetlands now than ever before, and we're creating more and more. (And btw, let's call a spade a spade, shall we? Wetlands are swamplands.) How do we accomplish this? By using The Wetlands Protection Act, The Endangered Species Act, The Clear Air and Water Act, etc. to force private property owners off their land. This has been a successful venture out west. As a result, the government now owns 40 percent of the land.

Here in Michigan, for instance, beach owners on Lake Huron can't do what they've been doing for years: groom their beaches to prevent them from becoming swamplands. Why? Well, because the Army Corps of Engineers says that the beaches are "emerging wetlands ... which are globally important ... to our biodiversity." How much is your house worth when it has swampland as a front yard? What happens when the government decides to protect this wetland? Well, along comes The Nature Conservacy, who'll buy the land and resell it to the government. If you don't want to sell, tough. You'd better be richer than Bill Gates and have a darn good attorney.

Conservation should be a local decision, not a federal government decision. Also, readers should note that once an area is "saved," the enviros push to have it declared a "Wilderness Area." This, in turn, invokes the Roadless Initiative, which then makes the area off limits to all. This is what happened out west with their forests. As they say, "Fire trucks can't fly ..." so they we unable to effectively fight the fires.

The point here is that all this concern for saving and protecting and restoring is nothing more than an attempt to circumvent private property rights. Henry Lamb knows this, and many of us out here do, too.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

"Among the organizations that are promoting the restoration project are: the Nature Conservancy, which received more than $136 million in federal grants between 1997 and 2001; the Audubon Society, recipient of $10 million in federal grants during the same period; and the World Wildlife Fund, which has received more than $70 million in federal grants."

I think it's just grand that we use our tax dollars to support communist fronts. Why don't we just openly send $500 Billion to Cuba while we're at it?

[summer]

jaq, With all due respect to you in Michigan -- I know more about SW FL than you and Henry Lamb combined, and his articles are way off base. He should contact the person mentioned in the WP post who works with GW and Jeb, and he might learn a thing or two. Jeb is walking a tightrope in this state, balancing environmental concerns with the concerns of his close friends who are developers, and he (Gov. Bush) is doing an outstanding job at this. All the people on FR who are screaming hysterics about SW Fl are in fact quite clueless.

[jaq]

Look, you're missing my point. If overdevelopment is your concern, then you should work toward better zoning laws and elect local politicians who will support your ideas. I have a problem with using the federal government to prevent "urban sprawl" by protecting, preserving or restoring anything. Go to www.propertyrightsresearch.org and read about how this has affected property rights in other states.

Also, most people think urban sprawl is the excessive property development. In fact, smart growth sites describe sprawl as three or fewer houses to a mile of property. Their cure is to create exactly what you see happening in FL.

[summer]

If overdevelopment is your concern,

My concern is for a balanced situation, with growth and the environment protected, and in FL that is what we have had under Gov. Bush. FL is soon to overtake NY as the 3rd largest state in terms of population. The idea that some promote on this forum, that all private property in FL is being snatched, is just plain nonsense.

[summer]

And, as I have posted before, but will not bother to do so again, because the people who insist the govt is taking all private property ini FL are just a bit too loooney and one-sided for me, Gov. Bush has passed a law specifically to protect rural land owners and others. He is not heavy handed in govt taking of property, not by any stretch of the imagination.

[lewislynn]

The Everglades is a river. It needs to be protected. Why can't it be done without grabbing private lands,

Because the core of, or goal of environmentalism isn't protection, it's control. The sooner everyone accepts that the sooner we can deal with them. Oh, and everyone in politics, including the Bush's know that too.

[lewislynn]

It's the same old story. The evil developers are raping the land. Sorry you and your boss Jeb fell for it.

Thank goodness they weren't raping the land when your house/community was built there in Florida though huh...Too bad there weren't people like you, Jeb, Clinton and billions of taxpayer dollars to stop them then huh.

[summer]

There IS such a thing as conservation which is NOT private land grabbing by the government. Cleaning up the Everglades is just one example, and the Bush brothers get lots of credit for that. And, believe me, they will also win lots of FL votes for it too. But, I guess they could be like you and try to ignore FL's environment -- yet, to do so would also damage their shelf-life as public servants and political leaders in this state. You need to realize THAT.

[summer]

It's the same old story. The evil developers are raping the land. Sorry you and your boss Jeb fell for it.

You sound like you are unaware the "evil developers" include some of his strongest supporters. Try reading the article I linked to in my earlier post, though I know you people who want to terrorize everyone about govt land grabs have little use for any facts different than your own.

As I said to someone else, Gov Bush has both kept his support from private developers, who are so financially loaded they could easily go create and support another candidate for gov; and, Gov Bush has maintained a positive relatiosnhip with environmentalists and others in this state, to the point where he has been awarded twice for his environmental leadership. Not an easy tightrope to walk, but he does an outstanding job as governor with these two competing groups.

[summer]

Sorry you and your boss Jeb fell for it.

Gov Bush is not my boss; he is the governor of this state. Facts never get your way, do they?

[summer]

Sorry you and your boss Jeb fell for it.

Gov Bush is not my boss; he is the governor of this state. Facts never get in your way, do they?

[Mulder]

The plan is to force the peasants into large urban areas, where access in and out can be controlled.

Meanwhile, the elites will have their thousand-acre lots alongside whatever "protected environment area" they choose.

And those tyrants will cut down as many trees and clear as much land as needed to build their 20,000 square foot palaces.

[summer]

BTW, I do realize there have been land grabs elsewhere in this country, but why the sudden, constant and inaccurate focus by Henry Lamb on FL, during this gov race, is beyond me.

[summer]

Not so in FL, where Gov Bush signed a new law specifically protecting the private property rights of RURAL land owners and others.

[summer]

FYI, and this is one mere example --

Gov Bush supports Private Property Rights -
Legislation ensures Just Compensation

[wingnuts'nbolts]

I know that what you say is true, buut , and I am no greenie, preserving the river is important. Are you a Floridian? I promise I won't pull any dumb PBC jokes on you.

[summer]

Gov. Jeb Bush, explaining why he would not approve a certain bill, and instead, used his veto power:

The use of eminent domain authority is one of the most harsh proceedings known therefore the justification for expanding the scope of existing eminent domain authority must be proven to be essential, not just convenient or economical. For reasons provided above and out of concern over the precedent this bill might set, I am withholding my approval of Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1230, and do hereby veto the same....Jeb Bush, Governor

To read the entire letter from Gov Bush, click HERE.

[AAABEST]

Sorry summer. I can see you are NOT a property owner near the Glades, nor have seen first hand what goes on with these psycho enviro-orgs where I live.

You're right when you say the Government isn't taking everyone's land now, but they could if they wanted to and they're using our tax money to slowly strangle the life out of our property rights.

This bullshit was sold to the public to protect furry and feathered creatures from extinction. Then hundreds of abstract species of animals and plants were added. Now, in my area, if you have any one of 8 different types of soil on your property it can be declared a "wetlands (which is literally any property anywhere). This is pure insanity.

Our "compassionate" politians give these sicko eviral orgs millions of our tax dollars to wage war on us. They ruined a developer in my area just to settle a score, using MY money to continually sue him for one frivolous issue after the next. Finally a judge who was wise to these freaks ways ordered them to post a 2 million dollar bond if they wanted to go after him again. Unfortunately it was too late and the guy declared bankruptcy, only to sell out to another developer (Bonita Bay) who continued with the project.

I realize that most of what you do around here is about propping up Governor Bush but this government/enviro partnership is dangerous and destructive. The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund are rancid political fronts and we're their enemy. They are not to be made friends with, they're to be stomped out of existence. They shouldn't be receiving millions of our money so that State and Federal executives can appear compassionate.

BTW, the "we need to spend gazillions funding envirals because it's good for tourism" is a huge horseflop, propaganda myth, created in the offices of political advisors designed for public consumption. None of what we're doing now is doing a damn thing for the environment or the tourism industry.

[summer]

From the Private Lands Organization, here is info on the new law signed by Gov Bush protecting private property rights of rural land owners in FL -- click: HERE.

[AAABEST]

I think I need to borrow that chainsaw of yours .... the big one.

[summer]

AAABEST, No, I do not own land out there in Golden Gate, but, good grief, everyone who bought land out there could have figured out it was a swamp if they had opened their eyes and looked at it.

[lewislynn]

Not so in FL, where Gov Bush signed a new law specifically protecting the private property rights of RURAL land owners and others.

It would be interesting to see the particulars of that little scam. Is there some specific reason Jeb decided to protect private property rights of ONLY "RURAL" land owners?....By protecting their "rights" does the bill also protect the neighbors from their neighbors developing THEIR land...if you know what I mean?

[summer]

only to sell out to another developer (Bonita Bay) who continued with the project.

The last time I drove by Bonita Bay they looked like they were doing just fine. They are making so much money they can barely fit in all into their truckloads on their way to the banks.

I realize that most of what you do around here is about propping up Governor Bush but this government/enviro partnership is dangerous and destructive.

As a teacher I take some offense to that, because I actually try to provide factual information about his record, as so few people seem to actually know anything about it (and, I myself am always learning too).

If there is some big issue I am missing, then you should write to him about it and tell him, AAABEST. Seriously. Here is his email address: jeb@jeb.org He reads his own email.

[Carry_Okie]

Florida was the first state in the nation to sign on to Sustainable Development, statewide. The programme is called Sustainable Florida, and yes, it is a naked land grab. You need to understand how these real estate squeeze control systems work to maintain political control before you so flippantly discount them.

As you can see from the quotes above, there is no guarantee that it will work for the Everglades, indeed there is increasing doubt. They would do better maintaining what they have. St. Augustine grass and melaleuca will destroy the everglades no matter how much land they have unless the Corpse and the State get their act together. In short, none of this effort will matter ecologically.

[summer]

Re your post #39 - see the link in post #36 - BTW, a PRIVATE LANDS ORGANIZATION APPLAUDED HIM for this. APPLAUDED HIM! OK? Geesh.

[lewislynn]

Gov Bush has both kept his support from private developers, who are so financially loaded they could easily go create and support another candidate for gov;

There's something very curious if not telling in your line there.

[summer]

In short, none of this effort will matter ecologically.

I disagree.

[summer]

RE your post #43 -lewislynn, this is why I dislike trying to provide iniformation on these "land grab" threads -- because when I do provide solid information, such as my link about the private lands organization SUPPORTING Gov Bush's legislation, instead of a "thank you" or "GEe, I didn't know that" from you, I get an assine comment about GOv Bush's supporters. Jaq, that's what I was trying to explain to you earlier. Facts mean nothing to these people. They know all and everything about this issue, even if they don't live here. They are the experts, and anything GOv Bush has done to help private property owners "doesn't count" for some bizarro reason.

[summer]

assine = assinine

[Grampa Dave]

Maybe you and I can get the big chainsaw franchises for Floriduh and No. Kali. and Southern Oregon.

I will be coming back with a link re TNC.

[Grampa Dave]

I don't know if you were flagged on this thread or not: (Are Nonprofit Land Trusts Taking Advantage of the Public's Trust?)

[AAABEST]

AAABEST, No, I do not own land out there in Golden Gate, but, good grief, everyone who bought land out there could have figured out it was a swamp if they had opened their eyes and looked at it.

WTF kind of an elitist response is this? What are you saying, that people got what they deserve because they bought property in Golden Gate? I suppose they should expect their government and the pinko orgs it funds to make their lives miserable and destroy their nest egg? You know nothing about Golden Gate Estates, 99% of it is dry and the other 1% is only wet during the rainly season.

The last time I drove by Bonita Bay they looked like they were doing just fine. They are making so much money they can barely fit in all into their truckloads on their way to the banks.

You didn't read my post. If you did you would have gathered that Bonita Bay wasn't the developer that was stomped into the ground, it was the private individual that sold out to them that had his business and life ruined by these evil pigs, only to have the biggest developer in the area (Bonita Bay) continue the project exactly as he had.

Sorry m'am, many of us don't get the warm and fuzzy feeling you do when our elected officials are posing for photo ops with these facists.

[Carry_Okie]

private lands organization SUPPORTING Gov Bush's legislation

Of course they do. It will make prices rise and put them in control of the "patronage for permits" control loop. Real estate manipulators love that.

Summer, I did a thirty year study, of rural land conversion to residential development, for a book on this topic. You are out of your league.