At the Mercy of Environmentalists

Recent mainstream news coverage on the possibility of offshore drilling has raised public awareness of how powerful extremist environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy really are. It is becoming increasingly clear that environmentalists are to blame for today's high food prices, the idiotic plan to produce fuel from grain and the stalled U.S. energy industry. These multi-billion dollar organizations hold a virtual stranglehold on our Congress.

Investors Business Daily covered this topic in detail, and it should send shivers down the spine of any clear-thinking American. There groups are as dangerous to our future as any threat on the horizon. While some have already given in (one writer said "you don't want to make enemies with The Nature Conservancy), others should take notice of the the veracity of the attacks against scientists, politicians and anyone else who expresses views contrary to The Nature Conservancy. This should be warning to us all.

One blogger writes "The massive damage these organizations have done is only a prelude to what they're planning as they use the global warming scare to ram dangerous new laws through Congress to allow this or prohibit that". Scary.

The Nature Conservancy as an energy broker

The article at http://constitutionalmatters.com/oped/environmentalists-orchestrating-our-oil-woes?commented=0#txpCommentInputForm points out the pros and cons of drilling for gas and oil on America's protected lands.

One thing that appears clear is that The Nature Conservancy has quite a financial windfall after gathering these lands at rock-bottom prices, gaining funding from public sources and now owing the land on top of the largest energy reserves in North America.

TNC clashes with Hawaii constitution

The state constitution provides hunting rights for native Hawaiians on state lands. Article 12, Section 7 on the Hawaiian Constitution says "The State reaffirms and shall protect all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and possessed by ahaupua’a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, subject to the right of the State to regulate such rights." TNC manages much of the native Hawaiian land on Molokai and is taking additional conservation programs that concern local residents.

Locals questioned how TNC was going to work to protect native Hawaiian gathering rights. It is not surprising that they are getting little of no information from The Nature Conservancy about its plans. TNC's mission would appear to be in direct opposition to the state constitution on this issue. Given TNC's history of bullyiny tactics, the residents have good reason to be concerned that their rights will be trampled.

See http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/86917575.asp

Protecting developers from falling land prices

The Nature Conservancy provides a financial parachute for commercial developers who purchased land but then found that declining real estate markets made commercial development impossible. While American homeowners have to suffer the full effects of recent real estate price corrections, developers find that land trusts are eager buyers to bail them out of financial blunders. See the Wall Street Journal article May 9, 2008 at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121028811193679127.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today.

Cristina Mestre of The Nature Conservancy is quoted as saying that as a result of the market drop TNC is being approached en masse to buy development rights from owners of large tracts of land. These conservation easements are a relatively new tool in the real estate industry and there are both positives and negatives to consider from the perspective of public policy.

Spin breeds more spin

A small startup company in Texas called Avasaire Cosmetics announced that a portion of all its sales will be going to The Nature Conservancy. I don't blame them; it is smat marketing. Cosmetics is a competitive business playing almost completely on image and public perception. Market positioning is everything. The Nature Conservancy certainly knows this. Among their greatest achievements is the development of a public image as "the good guy" leading the cause toward worldwide conservation while diverting attention from the corruption within the organization, shady political dealings, bullying of private land owners and a pattern of greed that would make any Fortune 500 company blush. But a small business aligning itself with TNC is certainly a smart marketing move. Unfortunately we all know that brilliant product marketing has lead to some really awful things for our society (think junk foods, video games, bottled water, SUVs, etc.).

I wrote the small company owners to suggest they find a more worthy environmental group to support. There are plenty of them - unfortunately none with the marketing savvy or ability to spin public opinion like TCN.

Landowners Beware

The National Center for Public Policy Research is publicizing a paper "Conservation Easements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," posted online at www.nationalcenter.org/NPA569.html. The paper details many of the concerns expressed here on this forum and includes stories of individuals and families whose lives have been unturned by the powerful legal resources of The Nature Conservancy. The story also throws light on the issue of The Nature Conservancy's hugely profitable business model that centers on "flipping" conservation easements to the government at taxpayer expense. The underlying issue is that the public is not aware of the huge power that The Nature Conservancy has amassed as the largest and most profitable land broker and their track record in using that power against property owners.

A press release titled "Landowners Beware - The Government's Found a New Way to Control Your Land" was released today.

Tax watchdogs criticize The Nature Conservancy deal

Grassley Watch blog criticises the inclusion of $250 million taxpayer funds that goes to The Nature Conservancy under the much-criticized recent farm bill. The "tax refund" to the tax-exempt organization amounts to nothing more than a subsidy.

Citizens Against Government Waste, another consumer watchdog, is also criticizing the federal grant that subsidizes The Nature Conservancy for the purchase of a tract of land known as Plum Creek. See http://swineline.org/2008/05/20/if-an-earmark-falls-in-the-forest-does-anyone-hear-it/. The author refers to The Nature Conservancy as a "gazillionaire environmental group".

The Republican Study Committee says:
"The Plum Creek Timber Company is attempting to sell the land to the “Nature Conservancy” – which the Washington Post exposed as the “world’s richest environmental group, amassing $3 billion in assets.” The earmark would allow the Nature Conservancy to claim a $250 million “tax refund,” providing incentive for the group to purchase the land from Plum Creek. The tax refund would be provided even though the Nature Conservancy is a non-profit group that does not pay taxes".