The first step in a modern-day land grab is to create a federal jurisdiction. Federal Jurisdictions may take the form of a Park, Historical District, Preserve, Wildlife Area, National Trail, or National Heritage Area. A recent example here in Kansas was the proposed National Heritage Area that would have encompassed north-central Kansas and south-central Nebraska. National Heritage Areas are federal boundaries, voted on by Congress.
The second step of the modern-day land grab is to create a Land Management Plan for all lands within the boundary of that federal jurisdiction. Whether it is a military installation, Borough of Land Management lands, National Monument, or National Heritage Area, all federal jurisdictions have a Federal Land Management Plan. The Land Management Plan is guided by the National Park Service as dictated by the Department of Interior. The Department of Interior is also in charge of implementing the Executive Order known as 30 x 30. To see what a Land Management Plan looks like, you only need to take a look at the other National Heritage Area inside Kansas.
Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area on the eastern side of Kansas and western Missouri has a Land Management Plan for 19 million acres within its boundary. Most of which is private property. Not one property owner was notified, advised, or consulted before having their lands placed within the boundaries of a Federal Land Management Plan. In fact, my Freedom of Information Requests on the National Heritage Area intended for north-central Kansas and south-central Nebraska, reveal the deliberate decisions of board members to keep the public from knowing about the National Heritage Area. For five years, these board members solicited Congress, insisting that the people within these boundaries support the Federal Land Management Plans.
The third step in the modern-day land grab is to implement the Federal Land Management Plan. How that is done, depends on the politics of the area, what the courts will tolerate, and how strong the federal offices are within that region. They may use the Endangered Species Act, as the species map produced by the Freedoms Frontier National Heritage Area show. They may use WOTUS or other flood plan management, the Historical Preservation Act of 1966, or local zoning laws.
Two examples here in Kansas are the North Central Planning Commission’s solicitation for Architects to design new Comprehensive Plans and Zoning Regulations. The public request stated that the Planning and Zoning Regulations would be the means by which landowners would be notified of land use changes involving their properties within that Federal Jurisdiction. In other words, when you go in to apply for a permit, is when you will be notified of the changes. And on that day, you will be shamed for not knowing about the changes prior to the denial of your building or use permit.
Another example, here in Kansas, is the attempt to zone everything outside the incorporated areas of Lyon County as a park. Lyon County planned elaborate trails along creeks and rivers, limited road use of mechanized vehicles, ban growth of any business, create minimum acres for any purchase of land outside of city limits, and prevent any new industry. Of course, the best way to remove the Flint Hills cowboy is to ban all facilities, group feeding, and fencing needed for livestock husbandry. No one was surprised to discover that Lyon County Commissioners had passed a resolution asking to be included in Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area just prior to the scheduled passing of the zoning regulations. By conforming to the Federal Land Management Plan in exchange for federal grants, Congress is more likely to expand the federal jurisdiction of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area and add Lyon County to its boundary.
The fourth and final step of the modern-day land grab occurs only when the economy has been stifled and the population has dwindled to the point that Congress will pay no attention to the few constituents remaining, when representation at the state capitol has already been lost to the nearby city, and when the press does not consider the stories of a few rural families worthy of telling. That is when the harassment starts. The western states are full of victims who are burned out, starved out, harassed out, and dragged through court on ridiculous charges with the sole purpose of bankrupting them into selling or abandoning their homes.
What can we do to protect ourselves from federal coveting of our lands?
Fifty-one counties have passed resolutions wanting out of the federal jurisdiction of the two National Heritage Area boundaries. Those will make good witnesses in the court of law for any of the few, remaining landowners who are left long after the Federal Land Management Plan has been implemented. However, it has not stopped the federal coveting of Kansas lands.
Our representatives can slow the exodus of constituents being crowded into the cities by passing laws that require the notification of landowners of federal jurisdictions and their Federal Land Management Plans. Our representatives can even deny any state funding to be used in the building of these federal jurisdictions and land management plans. These measures will slow the march of Congress in creating Federal Jurisdictions. It may even slow the implementation of Federal Land Management Plans on private property. However, that will not stop the federal coveting of Kansas lands.
Only an Amendment to the Constitution, defining the role of the federal government in land management of state and private property, can solve this problem.
Please pass the application for a Convention of States, the future of our meal choices depends on it.
