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Stop the bleeding from Colorado’s wolf disaster

Jun 27

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Guest Opinion: Stop the bleeding from Colorado’s wolf disaster

Dr. Duray’s column paints Colorado’s wolf reintroduction as a poorly managed, ethically flawed program causing avoidable livestock losses and financial strain on taxpayers. He strongly advocates for Initiative 13, which would legally end the importation of wolves and impose stricter oversight—argued as necessary to correct CPW’s failures and restore public confidence.

Here’s a breakdown of the guest opinion “Stop the bleeding from Colorado’s wolf disaster” (Western Livestock Journal, Jun 26, 2025):

🐺 Key Points from the Author, Dr. Chuck Duray

  • Argues that Colorado’s wolf reintroduction has become a “man‑made disaster,” with only 8 survivors out of the initial 25 wolves (32% survival) en.wikipedia.org+2wlj.net+2wlj.net+2.
  • Says Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) is treating wolf reintroduction as an “ongoing experiment” rather than responsible wildlife management, ignoring ethical and legal concerns wlj.net.
  • Highlights significant livestock losses attributed to wolves, including direct kills and stress-induced issues like pregnancy losses wlj.net+1en.wikipedia.org+1.

Criticism of CPW & Support for Initiative 13

  • CPW allegedly violated its own protocols by relocating chronically depredating wolves, leading to “Memorial Day massacres” at three Pitkin County ranches wlj.net+3wlj.net+3en.wikipedia.org+3.
  • The author argues that CPW ignored warnings against translocation and lost public trust .
  • Initiative 13 seeks to halt further wolf importations and reintroductions, legally preventing CPW and the Department of Natural Resources from continuing what the author views as reckless management wlj.net.

Broader Implications & Stakeholder Critique

  • The author criticizes ranchers’ associations for being “short‑sighted,” lacking effective engagement with Gen Z/millennials urban voters who supported 2020’s Proposition 114 wlj.net.
  • Compares CPW’s ongoing compensation to Colorado taxpayers to the inefficiencies of “Cash for Clunkers,” noting compensation claims are 153% over budget wlj.net.
  • Concludes that supporting Initiative 13 is the only way to stop what he calls an ideological, government‑driven wolf experiment, restore trust, and protect both livestock interests and taxpayers

A few in office realize the drastic loss federal land ownership causes the citizens.

Jun 24

Posted by admin in Agenda 30/30, Government Overreach | 1 Comment

No, Mike Lee isn’t paving over Yellowstone for condos

Glenn Beck

June 20, 2025

The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control compared to federally owned. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

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Ohio Property Tax WAR: Homeowners Fight Back!

Jun 23

Posted by admin in Government Overreach, Tax | No Comments

To sign the petition to eliminate property taxes in Ohio, you must do it in person. Use the link below to find a location near you where you can sign. https://drive.google.com/drive/folder…

Go to Axohtax.com for more information or contact Brian Massie with Lobbyists for Citizens @ stoppropertytaxes@gmail.com

Ohio homeowners are DONE renting their homes from the government.

With property taxes ballooning—$22 billion paid last year alone—and home values up 67% since 2020, the financial pressure is breaking people. Seniors are being forced out of lifelong homes. Working families are crushed under taxes tied to phantom home equity.

Now, a constitutional amendment to eliminate all property taxes in Ohio may be headed to the November ballot.

In this video, I sit down with Brian Massie from Lobbyists for Citizens to break down: What’s actually in the amendment Why your tax bill keeps going up

This is a grassroots movement, not a political one. If you’re tired of paying forever for a house you supposedly own, you need to watch this.

Memo to Egypt Valley Wildlife Refuge committee:

Jun 19

Posted by admin in Agenda 30/30, Egypt Valley Wildlife Area, Green Agenda | No Comments

When Biden bought 24 million acres of open land from private owners
few cared. Now when Trump wants to sell 3 million acres, the way
this article is written you would think they were auctioning to the
quickest bidder Niagara Falls, Old Faithful and Pikes Peak. The twist
of militant environmentalists is extremely sad and humorously comical.
The ever expanding national debt could be blasted down with funds
from federal, state, county wasted “public lands.” 

Republicans who check it out know this is the right thing to do–sell
90% of “public lands.”  Pay the national debt. And, to embellish the
twist, “mass sell-off” equals only 0.46% of federal land holdings. D


https://dailycaller.com/2025/06/18/benji-backer-mass-sell-off-public-lands-bad-america/

30×30 Conservation Welfare Programs Remain in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”

May 27

Posted by admin in Agenda 30/30, Government Overreach, Green Agenda | No Comments

While the House bill makes significant cuts to the green new deal agenda, including eliminating pro carbon sequestration pipeline language, the final bill failed to cut one of the key 30×30 programs authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act. $10,050,000,000 remain authorized for conservation welfare programs that commit private lands to mitigating the climate crisis.

American Stewards exposed the slick way in which environmentalists managed to authorize trillions of dollars for existing conservation programs through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by adding funds to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). These existing programs are funded through the Farm Bill.  But the IRA added trillions of dollars to these, and also changed the purpose for these funds now obligating private landowners who enrolled to mitigate climate change and reduce livestock emissions.

Most landowners had no idea the legal purpose for the funds had been changed, and the Biden USDA failed to inform landowners of this switch. This was deliberate so they could create a federal nexus to private lands obligating the use of these lands to mitigating the made up climate crisis.

But free money is hard to pass up, so instead of protecting property rights, lobbyists for big Ag have been working hard to preserve these “climate smart” funds, which they say is necessary for farmers to put food on American’s tables. 

They succeeded in preserving those remaining funds for EQIP, CSP and ACEP for a total of $10,050,000,000 through 2026. 

The House did reduce the funds obligated to the RCPP program, which directly funds environmental organizations implementing the green new deal.  These funds have been reduced from $3,050,000,000 for 2026 to $425,000,000 for 2026, but then also authorizes $450,000,000 annually through 2031.

These are conservation welfare subsidies. They are not necessary for agriculture production. They drive up land and food prices and drive out the small landowners who want to stay in business without relying on federal welfare. They also tie every landowner who enrolls in this pot of funds to mitigate the climate crisis.  It creates a dangerous federal nexus to their land, likely to be called in during the next democratic administration.

After Heated Debate, Wyoming House OKs Bill Limiting Private Property Sales To Feds

Jan 20

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By: Leo Wolfson – January 20, 2025

State Reps. Karlee Provenzea, D-Laramie, and Ken Pedergraft, R-Sheridan, were part of a spirited debate over private property rights on the floor of the Wyoming House at the Capitol in Cheyenne on Jan. 20, 2025. (Matt Idler for Cowboy State Daily)

One of the most popular political topics in Wyoming is private property rights and how far, or not, they should extend.

On Monday, that topic took center stage in the Wyoming House over a discussion on a bill that would require the sale of all private property to the federal government in Wyoming be matched with a corresponding decrease in federal land. 

House Bill 118 would mark a significant change for those wanting to sell their land for recreation or other purposes to the federal government, and likely limit most of these transactions moving forward. 

The crux of Monday’s debate came down to whether it’s most important to prioritize blocking growth of federal government land or retaining private property owners’ rights to sell their land to the government as they desire. Blocking the growth of federal land won out, which is the main purpose of HB 118.

The bill sponsor, Rep. Dalton Banks, R-Cowley, said just because federal land transfers have been accepted throughout Wyoming’s statehood doesn’t make it right. He also said his bill protects property owners from federal overreach and sweeping government mandates.

“We’re not limiting who you can sell to, we are limiting the federal government under our Constitutional responsibility by our act of admission that we’re limiting their right to purchase,” Banks said.

The House rejected by a 34-25 vote Monday an amendment brought by Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, that would have removed the private property owners’ aspect of the bill while retaining the ban on selling state land without a corresponding trade-off with federal land.

“This limits just compensation,” Provenza said. “This means that, potentially, the greatest buyer who wants to spend their money here can’t buy that property from that private property owner.”

The bill advanced on second reading and will be considered one more time before it’s sent to the Senate.

Stopping Federal Growth vs. Private Property

There have been a few private and state land sales in Wyoming over the last few years that have drawn criticism from some for adding to the acreage that the federal government owns.

The most recent example is the Kelly Parcel that was finalized at the end of last year, which conveyed 640 acres of pristine state land in Teton County to the National Park Service for $100 million for the land to be incorporated into Grand Teton National Park.

Another prime example was the 2023 sale of the 35,670-acre Marton Ranch in Natrona County, private property that was sold for $21 million to the BLM.

“Those people that sold that — it’s their land, it’s their right,” Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, said of the Marton sale. “To infringe on private property rights, it gives me pause.” 

Jess Johnson, government affairs director for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, told Cowboy State Daily the Marton sale was critical in providing continuous public hunting and fishing access. She said other land transfers can be beneficial for agricultural interests by preventing land from being sold to make residential subdivisions.

She also pointed out that her organization supported the Marton Ranch sale being opened up to a public comment period even though they already supported the sale. This happened after the state of Wyoming filed an appeal of the sale, which required the agency to seek public comment and complete an additional environmental review.

“Because the process matters,” Johnson explained. “That is there as a stopgap. It’s not willy-nilly sales. There are approval steps the government has to go through.”

Babysitting Or State Sovereignty? 

Rep. Tony Locke, R-Casper, said he sees the issue as a matter of protecting Wyoming’s sovereignty as a state. Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, agreed, saying that nothing precludes the federal government from pressuring private landowners to sell their land.

Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, disagreed and compared the bill to “babysitting” on part of the state government, while Rep. Cody Wylie, R-Rock Springs, described it as “a cloth we don’t need to be cutting.”

Others who spoke in support of Provenza’s amendment expressed a desire for private property owners to have the final say in what happens to their land rather than the federal government.

“I believe every individual has the right to develop his potential, to use and enjoy his own property, tangible or intellectual, and pursue his own interests, free from restrictions or arbitrary force,” said Rep. J.T. Larson, R-Rock Springs.

Rhetoric against the federal government was sharp Monday from those who support Banks’ bill, with some going as far as comparing the government to an adversarial foreign nation.

“We could have a real debate about adversarial, and I think the federal government could definitely be linked in there,” said Rep. Reuben Tarver, R-Gillette.

Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne, brought up the example of a piece of contaminated land owned by the city of Cheyenne west of the city that neighboring private landowners have been unable to get help in cleaning up from various public entities. 

“I could see selling it to the federal government to help with,” Geringer said. 

Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, pointed out that for any purchase made by the federal government, the money comes from taxpayers.

“Actually taking opportunity away from private citizens who paid into the government’s coffers,” he said. “If you want to protect private citizen’s ability to make these types of transactions, we should limit the ability of the federal government to come in and to make these purchases.”

Constitutional Arguments

Both the Wyoming and U.S. constitutions state that private property shall not be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation. The U.S. Supreme Court has also said that property rights are necessary to preserve freedom by allowing property owners to plan their destiny on an individual basis.

“You have said here this morning, members, some of you have argued that the government knows better on who you should sell your land to,” Provenza said. “That’s a dangerous slippery slope isn’t it? The government knows better. I argue the government doesn’t know better here.”

But under the Wyoming Acts of Admission when it gained statehood, Wyoming was “admitted into the union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever; and that the Constitution which the people of Wyoming have formed for themselves be, and the same is hereby, accepted, ratified and confirmed.”

“This is the ability of the state of Wyoming to have jurisdiction over all the lands within our borders,” Banks said.

The U.S. Constitution also limits what types of property the federal government can purchase, which Rep. Ken Pedergraft, R-Sheridan, believes it has far exceeded.

“At some point we the people need to stand up,” he said. “Yes, you are a private citizen, you can sell to whomever you want, but the federal government doesn’t have the right to buy any more land.”

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.

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The World’s Biggest Landlord Is Washington

Jan 14

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Selling off some of the government’s holdings would ease fiscal stress and help the economy.

By: Thomas Sowell, Wall Street Journal

The incoming Trump administration will confront some huge financial challenges. It will have to cope with the vast increase in the national debt created by the Biden administration’s reckless spending. It will also need to maintain the solvency of the Social Security system after decades of financial irresponsibility by politicians of both parties.

On top of all this, there is an urgent need to build up American military defenses, which have been neglected while taxpayers’ money has been lavishly spent on such things as subsidizing electric cars and paying hotel expenses for illegal immigrants.

There is no question that doing all the things that urgently need doing will require huge amounts of additional government spending. The key question is: Where will the government get this money?

There is much to be said for the new administration’s plan to have a nongovernmental organization investigate how well, or how badly, government agencies are currently handling the taxpayers’ money. But there is a limit to how much money can be recovered by simply cutting back on “waste, fraud and abuse” in federal spending.

There are, however, additional billions of dollars that could be tapped, from a source that not many people think about. That is the vast—almost unbelievable—amount of land owned by the federal government. Some of that land—such as military bases—is used to house the government’s own operations. But the great majority of that land is not.

The rest of this government-owned land is so vast that there is little to compare it with—except whole countries. And not small countries like Belgium or Portugal. The amount of land owned by the National Park Service alone is larger than Italy. The land owned by the Fish and Wildlife Service is larger than Germany. The land owned by the Forest Service is larger than Britain and Spain combined. The land owned by the Bureau of Land Management is larger than Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the Philippines combined.

The idea of selling huge amounts of government-owned land is not new. Before the federal income tax was created in the early 20th century, land sales were sometimes a significant source of federal government income in the preceding two centuries. The prospect of large-scale land sales was considered during the Reagan administration, but the political opposition was too strong.

As of 2015, government-owned lands were valued at $1.8 trillion by the Commerce Department. This is the kind of money that can make a real contribution to the government’s fiscal balance, at a time when so many government operations are urgently in need of support.

As for the current value of these lands to the government, that value is largely negative. The money that these lands bring in is often only a fraction of what it costs the government to take care of them. Wildfires on land managed by the federal government have been about five times the size of wildfires on “non-federal lands,” according to a 2022 study by the Congressional Budget Office.

Land transferred from federal ownership to the market economy can also contribute to more affordable housing. When the same kind of house costs several times more in one part of the country than elsewhere, it is often because the cost of the land is higher rather than because the house costs more to build. That in turn is often because the land is either more scarce or because of laws restricting the building of anything on that land. But, where more land is available to build on, the same kind of house can cost a fraction of what it costs elsewhere.

The federal government owns a little more than one-fourth of the total land area of the United States. The time is long overdue to consider whether that is the best economic arrangement. And reconsideration is especially needed at a time of urgent fiscal problems.

Mr. Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

The Federal Plan to Monetize Sunlight, Bee Pollination, and Photosynthesis on Your Land

Jan 9

Posted by admin in Agenda 30/30, Government Overreach, Green Agenda | No Comments

https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/the-federal-plan-to-monetize-sunlight-bee-pollination-and-photosynthesis-on-your-land-facts-matter-5787722?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2025-01-08&src_cmp=gv-2025-01-08&utm_medium=email&est=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZeM5eh8z2c

On a previous episode, we went into some great depth exposing the 30 by 30 agenda. Also known as the “America the Beautiful” program, it was a plan to place 30 percent of America’s land under conservation by the year 2030—essentially locking up a lot of America’s real estate for ostensibly environmental reasons.

One avenue through which the federal government was attempting to do this was to have the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) create an entirely new class of assets called natural asset companies.

This move would have created a new class of company that would then allow investors to purchase the rights to millions of acres of public federal lands, as well as private lands under easement contracts.

Essentially, it would have turned much of the natural resources (such as air, sunlight, and photosynthesis) on America’s land into a tradable stock, open to all investors—including our geopolitical adversaries.

Furthermore, the creation of these “natural asset companies” would have effectively locked up these lands, making it illegal for any entity to conduct any type of financially motivated activity on those lands—such as mining, drilling, farming, ranching, grazing, hunting, fishing, harvesting timber, and so on.

It would essentially take American land out of useful economic production.

And the cherry on top of all of this was the fact that the SEC’s planned rule change seemed to go under the radar—with very little fanfare and with a very short public comment period.

However, it was Margaret Byfield and her organization, the American Stewards of Liberty, who spearheaded the effort to kill this rule before it went into effect.

But while the SEC rule was canned, the idea of locking up U.S. land has morphed into something called “natural capital accounts,” which are now being created to quantify nature’s value and list those values as new assets of the federal government.

We had a chance to sit down and speak with Byfield about what this all means for the average U.S. citizen, as well as her efforts to fight back against what she calls encroachments on our liberty.

Join host Roman Balmakov on this week’s episode of “Facts Matter.”

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Utah Fights for Control of Federal Lands

Dec 26

Posted by admin in Agenda 30/30, Government Overreach, Green Agenda | No Comments

In 2024, Utah filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s control over 18.5 million acres of “unappropriated” land—areas without specific congressional designations like national parks or forests. The state contends that the indefinite federal retention of these lands is unconstitutional, arguing that the Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to “dispose of” federal lands, not to hold them without designated use.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes emphasizes that federal control over nearly 70% of Utah’s land limits the state’s sovereignty and self-governance. The lawsuit also challenges the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) recent Public Lands Rule, which elevates conservation to a status equal with grazing and mineral development. Utah argues this shift contradicts the BLM’s legal obligation to promote multiple-use and sustained yield under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA).

The case has garnered support from various states, counties, and organizations, all urging the Supreme Court to hear it. Critics of federal land retention assert that it infringes on state sovereignty and hampers economic activities such as grazing, energy production, and recreation. They also claim that policies mandating indefinite federal land retention treat states like Utah unequally compared to those with greater control over their lands.

This legal challenge underscores ongoing tensions between state and federal authorities over land management in the Western United States, with significant implications for public land policy and state sovereignty.

Full Article here: https://americanstewards.us/utah-fights-for-control-of-federal-lands/

The State of Utah has a website called Stand for our Land at https://standforourland.utah.gov/

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Federal Agencies Using Tricky Accounting to Grab More Power

Dec 21

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The Epoch Times sits down to speak with Aurelia Skipwith, the former director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service under President Trump.

And she explained to us her insights regarding the Biden Administration’s Agenda 30×30, (to place 30% of America’s land into conservation by the year 2030) and how ultimately, it’s all a giant government power grab under the guise of environmental policy.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/federal-agencies-using-tricky-accounting-to-grab-more-power-facts-matter-5522671