This was the boast of ODNR published by Farm and Dairy. They are proud of their history of taxing the
Ohio residents and buying their land from them. To buy thousands more acres all they have to do is raise taxes. Their plan is clear. The damage is plain.
Memo: On April 3 a Town Hall meeting was held by the Egypt Valley Wildlife Refuge Committee with all area land-owners invited. Author and special speaker Tom Deweese spoke on government confiscation of lands and what recourse citizens have against this heavy-handed takings. The event was well
attended by elected representatives and filmed by Fox news 9. Photos of the event with a written presentation of losses caused by ODNR from their lack of management of the property were presented. Copy below. DD
“As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene in government
and become involved – it’s the citizen who stops the bleeding.”
The day President Biden was sworn in he made mention of his 30×30 goal. Later he added a 50×50 goal to his list of future plans.
The 30×30 is a plan for the government to own 30% of the USA by 2030, then 50% by 2050. This is a flawed Agenda 21 plot that the people can not manage and should not own land—the government should be the owner of all land and all production.
This is their end game. The reason for the 30×30 land grab. The purpose for the climate crisis hysteria. We will own nothing. They will own everything. ~Margaret Byfield
In three years the government has added 24,000,000 acres to government ownership, the most of any administration. This land is taken out of private enterprise and removed from the tax base. More land “takings” are planned and states are conspiring with the feds to help confiscate these private properties. Under words like “conservation,” “wildlife refuges,” “natural areas,” “parks,” “protected lands,”and “public lands” these acres are adding up by the millions with names that are designed to be palatable to tax payers.
“Governments are capable of absolutely anything because they consider their citizens
a national resource available for exploitation, almost like cattle.” ~Doug Casey
LOSS DAMAGE REPARATIONS FROM ODNR:
DEVELOPMENT FUNDING:
ASSET VALUES TAKEN FROM BELMONT COUNTY CITIZENS:
ORDERLY LIQUIDATION:
Other considerations:
Feb 16, 2024
FAIRVIEW, OHIO — More than 30 landowners met Thursday at the Pennyroyal Opera House, where they took issue with the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area’s management and called for action to correct the situation.
Organizer Darol Dickinson of Dickinson Cattle Co. said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has owned and operated the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont and Guernsey counties since the 1990s. Area residents allege poor management on the part of the state, and that taking away the tax base of those 28,000 acres has impoverished Kirkwood Township.
Dickinson said that early on, ODNR made promises including building a 100-acre lake and public water system for nearby communities, as well as providing fishing and hunting opportunities. However, the agency would not be taxed for the acres.
Dickinson alleged the area has not been maintained and that hunting there is impractical. He also said the lack of select cut harvest timber and negligence in spraying for blister rust, which damages pine trees, and emerald ash borers, which feed on ash trees, has led to rot and loss of timber.
Dickinson also said the area has been infested by nuisance predators such as coyotes and bobcats that have decimated the wild turkey population.
“It isn’t a refuge, it’s a death camp,” he said.
He calculated the loss from property tax for 28 years at $11 per acre has cost the township more than $8 million. He mentioned other losses, including surface leasing for agriculture or recreation and oil and gas leases and future oil and gas royalties. At a lease rate of $5,000 per acre, the potential payout for 28,000 acres amounts to $140 million, not including any royalties.
Dickinson proposed that the land parcels be released for sale and private development, as well as the release of parcels for select cut mature timber and immediate release of all parcels where oil and gas leasing is possible. He also suggested loss damage reparations to the township and county from ODNR, including back taxes, a lake and a public water system.
The attendees were largely in agreement, but one man objected to some development and the loss of forests.
Kirkwood Township Trustee Tim Lara spoke and elaborated further afterward, saying there are unfulfilled promises from ODNR dating back about 15 years, but they were not made during official meetings and no minutes were taken.
During the meeting, Dickinson said he searched through Belmont County Board of Commissioners and Kirkwood Township Board of Trustees meeting minutes from the 1990s and could find no records of agreements made.
“When there are no minutes and it’s an after-hours meeting, you may know what they’re going to do and they may tell you what they’re going to do, but when you go back and look at it you have no evidence,” Dickinson said.
Attendees included Belmont County Commissioners Josh Meyer and J.P. Dutton and Port Authority Director Larry Merry.
Dutton said the commissioners also have been discussing the wildlife area.
“It’s time for the state of Ohio to hear from Belmont County government, from Belmont County residents, the concerns you have with the property,” he said. “At minimum, 28,000 acres with no plan on what they plan to pursue with this property, and I think it’s time they provide some answers.”
Dutton added that the state has decided to allow for oil and gas exploration under state lands, which begs the question of whether Egypt Valley will be tapped and what potential revenues could be used for. He added that there are communities on the outskirts of the wildlife area that do not have water service.
Merry said there are similar issues with government-owned land in other counties around the state.
Also present were representatives from the office of Ohio Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, and Ohio Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta. Riley Eberhart, legislative aid to Jones, commented after the meeting.
“There are genuine concerns here. We’ve seen a community show up about this, and we are listening. Rep. Jones does want to listen to what they have to say, what they want to tell him about the situation. We may not have a solution right away — this is a pretty big issue that’s been going on for quite a few years and there’s a lot of moving pieces to it,” she said, adding that Jones encourages residents to remain active in their communities and government. “We can use that information ourselves to work through the state legislature with state directors, with different organizations to make a difference.”
Several attendees agreed to join Dickinson to form the Egypt Valley Recovery Committee. He said they will continue to gather information and reach out to elected representatives at the state level.
“I think we’re asking for something that’s fair and reasonable,” Dickinson said. “It is so easy for our state to be kind to this area, and they’ve sucked this value out of here and it’s time they gave back. I’m not sure all of what they will give back, but I hope they will be honorable about it and realize there’s a need.”
Dickinson said more information can be found at the website, www.downsize-government.org.
Feb 14
EGYPT VALLEY WILDLIFE AREA is a large expanse of land, up to 28,000 acres located north of I-70 in Belmont county, mostly Kirkwood Township. Title to EVWA is held by the Ohio Dept of Natural Resources. What is it? What is it for? Who profits from it, and who does not?
The best informative web site on EVWA was built by the Belmont County Tourism Council. https://www.visitbelmontcounty.com/visit/egypt-valley-wildlife-area/ This site shows the jungle and wilderness acreage at it’s best.
When driving I-70 the big signs along the interstate indicate that something worthwhile is ahead. These large signs cost a private business $2300 per year for one sixth of this sign. Governments do not charge governments for signs. This is tax payer supported 100%.
When entering EVWA these signs welcome guests. Much of the land has been ignored of any management care for over 20 years and has grown into briars and brush/jungle impossible to hunt or even enter.
Gates have been installed with “No vehicle beyond this sign” This eliminates travel on historic mining, hunting and timber roads that crisscrossed EVLA.
Although EVWA is dozens of square miles, hunters are not allowed to drive on EVWA, so hunting is only done near county or township roads. Deer must be hand-carried off EVWA. As a result EVWA is not considered a good area to hunt. Don’t kill a deer further from the road than you can carry it. This is not hunter friendly.
Due to the large land area of EVWA the local townships spend a large part of their budgets installing cement culverts, and graveling roads to eliminate erosion.
Due to no physical management or supervision EVWA has become a huge free dump area. Disposable trash is dumped, or tossed into flowing creeks. These secluded areas are also popular for illegal drug sales and use.Due to no physical management or supervision EVWA has become a huge free dump area. Disposable trash is dumped, or tossed into flowing creeks. These secluded areas are also popular for illegal drug sales and use.
Although signs welcome hunting and fishing, the steel barriers make a very different statement. As a result of over 20 years of jungle growth land values in EVWA have deteriorated. The cost of reclaiming for useful farming or ranching, or food productions will be financially impossible.
Due to no select cut harvest of timber by ODNR, nor spraying for Blister Rust and Ash Borer, much of the timber value is gone. Beautiful forests have rotted. Lack of management has cost jobs and millions of dollars of timber value for the area.
EVWA roads are maintained by county and townships. The chipping and cleaning of right of ways cost above $200 per hour, which local tax payers fund due to the refusal of ODNA to assist with any funding.
As of 2-02-2024 ODNR pays no tax on the 28,000 acres. They do not assist with roads, libraries, schools, law enforcement, or any cost of community services. Just to consider the sucking-away of prosperity from the area, loss in taxes and normal property profits, ODNR has taken more in the last two dozen years from the people of Belmont county than Al Capone’s life time earnings in the city of Chicago.
This is what private ownership of property looks like in the same area of EVWA. The land produces food, fiber, and timber for families, and they pay taxes to support other good local things for their neighbors.
Private land ownership, care of the soil, love of the land and hard work look very different than government controlled land. Know the difference. The governments should not own any agriculture land. They have no ability or knowledge to manage it, nor the generational love of the land to care.
Egypt Valley Waste Land committee. 2-3-24
Join the group.