I got this email last night . . .

American Land Rights Association - Land Rights Network
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973 - Email: <alra@landrights.org> -
http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 508 First St SE - Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com

**CRISIS ALERT** "CARA" Land Grab!!!

"SON OF CARA" is poised for a vote in the United States Senate!!!!!

***** In a sudden, last-minute backroom maneuver, two United States
Senators
- Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada and Republican Bob Smith of New Hampshire -
are attempting to move a new version of the CARA Land Grab to an immediate
vote by the entire Senate!!! *****

*** TONITE *** Thursday, December 20, or TOMORROW Friday, December 21,
there may be an attempt to move a version of CARA through the Senate - by a
voice vote if the land grabbers can get away with it! They may even be
voting over the weekend. A voice vote means the vote totals for and
against will not be recorded, covering up how individual Senators voted!!!

The "SON OF CARA" has been renamed and renumbered Senate Bill 990 - S.
990 - with the politically correct title the "American Wildlife
Enhancement Act." See bill details below.

Congress is finishing its business with other legislation, and most of us
are out Christmas shopping.

*** However, Senators Harry Reid and Bob Smith are planning a late nite,
end of session sneak attack on YOUR private property rights!!!

***** ACTION ITEM!!!!! *****

***** IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!!! *****

S. 990 has been suddenly placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar, and can
be brought to the floor at any time. There is so much last-minute activity
going on in Congress now that this sneak attack has barely been noticed.

HOWEVER - by the rules of the Senate, ANY Senator can place a "hold" on
the bill, which will temporarily prevent it from being brought to the floor
for a vote.

*** If even ONE Senator places a hold on S. 990, then a vote will have to
be put off until next year, which will stop this sneak attack. ***

Contact YOUR United States Senator, say that S. 990 has been put on the
Legislative Calendar, and ask to have a HOLD put on the bill, which will
stop this last minute sneak attack!!!

*** SEE CONTACT INFORMATION BELOW ***

*** HERE IS WHY S. 990, like a late nite Frankenstein movie, is really
the "Son of CARA" - a massive federal government land grab, with plenty of
pork to finance the enviros:

--- S. 990 creates a $3 BILLION DOLLAR fund - $600 million per
year for five years - to seize private property and hand out millions in
grant money to leftwing environmental and animal rights outfits.

--- S. 990 has NO protections or prohibitions against eminent
domain, allowing land acquisition agents to threaten condemnation at their
will.

--- Private property can be condemned for a whole laundry list of
reasons, including any area that is "adaptable as a feeding, resting, or
breeding place for wildlife." Lock up your bird feeders! Here is the most
vague and dangerous excuse to seize land - funds "shall be used to address
the unmet needs for wildlife and the habitats on which the wildlife
depend." What about the unmet needs of people???

--- Environmental outfits will feast on millions in taxpayer grant
money every year, which they will then use against YOU, the taxpayer!!!
For example, there is a gigantic piece of pork for a land grabbing outfit
called the Trust for Public Land - NINE MILLION dollars of your money!!!
And plenty of cash for "wildlife conservation education projects" so your
children can be told that people are the enemy of nature!

--- Like the Big Daddy CARA bill - nicknamed the Condemnation and
Relocation Act - which was stopped last year, the "Son of CARA" is growing
as it moves through the legislative process:

S. 990 started with three land grab schemes, was 40 pages long, and cost
$475 million per year.

S. 990 has already grown to four schemes, is now 54 pages long, and costs
over $600 million per year - a total of over $3 BILLION dollars over the
five year span of the bill!

Who knows where it will end!!!


CALL BOTH YOUR SENATORS IMMEDIATELY!!!

This is one of those times when you can clearly hold your Senator
responsible. It only takes ONE HOLD BY ONE SENATOR to stop S 990
until next year. You will be able to see real quick whether your Senator
supports you. You will be able to see if he or she supports access to
Federal lands and private property . . . . . . or not. Talk is cheap.
Here is a chance for your Senator to stand tall.

Don't worry if you get this after hours. Congress will be working late.
Call the Capitol Switchboard numbers we have below. They will be open
late also. If your Senators off is closed, call EARLY IN THE MORNING.

Send a fax asking your Senator to place a hold on S 990. This is a big
deal.

Call your friends to get them to call.


Call BOTH YOUR SENATORS. Every Senator may be reached at the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. One number gets them all.

There is a temporary FREE NUMBER of (800) 648-3516. That will also get
you every Senator. This line may get busy. If so, use the regular
switchboard number above. Do not fail to make your calls.


Please forward this message to everyone on your list.

If you need more information on why CARA is a very bad idea, look here:

http://www.crowley-offroad.com/cara_in_a_nutshell.htm

And there are several more articles on CARA here:
http://www.crowley-offroad.com/environmental%20issues.htm

American Land Rights Association - Land Rights Network
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973 - Email: <alra@landrights.org> -
http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 508 First St SE - Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com



How did "Son of CARA" sneak thru?

The bad guys won a round in the United States Senate late Thursday night,
as Senate Bill 990 - S. 990 - the "Son of CARA" - was approved. S. 990 is
a $600 million per year land grab, much smaller than the Big Daddy "CARA"
Land Grab legislation also being considered by Congress.

QUESTION: What happened? What was the vote? Who voted with us and
against? Who spoke out during debate?

ANSWER: There was no vote. There were no amendments. There was no
debate.

It happened in the dark of night, on the final day of the 2001 session of
Congress, when other business was finished and many Senators had already
left the Capitol.

Senator Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, working with Senator Bob Smith,
Republican of New Hampshire, brought S. 990 to the floor of a nearly empty
Senate chamber. Reid asked for "Unanimous Consent" that the bill be
approved on the spot, with no debate, no amendments and no recorded
vote.

ALL Senators had been notified just a few days before that Reid would
make
a Unanimous Consent request - and NONE, not even one Senator, stuck
around
to defend private property rights!

If even ONE, just ONE Senator had objected, then consideration of S
990
would have been put off for several weeks. Amendments and debate would
have been allowed, and a recorded vote taken.

How did this happen? Two reasons:

First, in the end-of-session confusion, very few people were paying
attention. It was the end of one of the longest sessions of Congress in
decades, a few days before Christmas, and there were still several
multi-billion dollar appropriations bills to be approved. Congress was in
a crisis, which made for a perfect opportunity to slip through Son of
CARA.

Second, incumbent politicians don't want to rock the boat. No Senator,
not
even one, was willing to hold up S. 990 for fear of offending the four
Senators who sponsored the bill - because they may need those Senators to
help them on something else.

Who did this?

The final language (see portions below) of S. 990 as it was considered by
the Senate was sponsored by four Senators. They are Republican Bob Smith
of New Hampshire, Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, Independent Jim Jeffords
of Vermont, and INCREDIBLY, Republican Mike Crapo of Idaho!!!!!

Crapo's office was called and asked, "Since Idaho is more than 60% owned
by
the federal government already, how could the Senator cosponsor S. 990, a
multibillion dollar land grab?" The caller was told, "Someone will get
back to you on that." There was no return phone call.

ACTION ITEM - IDAHO:

ESPECIALLY if you are from Idaho, contact or go see Senator Mike Crapo -
he will be in Idaho for the next three weeks, ask for his schedule - and
ask him the question he has refused to answer: "WHY did you cosponsor S.
990, the Son of CARA???" (see below for bill specifics)

Boise Office of Senator Crapo
304 North Eighth Street, Room 338, Boise ID 83702
208-334-1776, fax 208-334-9044

Coeur d'Alene Office
1000 Northwest Blvd. #100, Coeur d'Alene ID 83814
208-664-5490, fax 208-664-0889

Idaho Falls Office
490 Memorial Drive #102, Idaho Falls ID 83402
208-522-9779, fax 208-529-8367

The other three Senators, Bob Smith (New Hampshire), Reid (Nevada) and
Jeffords (Vermont), have a long record of land grabbing. They should also
be contacted - in particular by residents of their home states.

ACTION ITEM - NEW HAMPSHIRE:

You have a choice in New Hampshire. Senator Bob Smith faces a difficult
Republican primary election in 2002. He is being challenged by Republican
Congressman John Sununu. Sununu supports property rights, and voted NO
on the CARA Land Grab in the House last year!

We're not telling anyone who to vote for, just pointing out that there is
a
clear choice in New Hampshire: Bob Smith - land grabber, or John Sununu -
for property rights. Here are both campaign's offices - you may want to
contribute to the candidate of your choice, and tell the other candidate
to
re-read the United States Constitution:

Sununu for Senate
P. O. Box 500, Rye, NH 03870
603-964-7077, fax 603-964-7205
www.teamsununu.org

Bob Smith for U.S. Senate
116 South River Rd., Unit D, Bedford, NH 03110
Phone: 603-647-0202, Fax: 603-665-9099
www.Senatorsmith.com

How bad is "Son of CARA"??? Let's count the ways:

FIRST: Up to $600 million per year for five years, that's up to $3
BILLION dollars total can be allocated, for two purposes: land
acquisition with no protection against condemnation, and grant money to
leftwing environmental and animal rights organizations.

SECOND: The government can grab your land for nearly any reason,
including, to quote directly from S. 990, "acquisition of an area of land
or water that is suitable or capable of being made suitable for feeding,
resting, or breeding by wildlife."


And it gets even better - again, to quote direct from S. 990, your
taxpayer
funds can be used "to address the unmet needs for wildlife and the
habitats
on which the wildlife depend."

In other words, private property can be condemned for nearly any reason
that can be cooked up by extreme preservationists and their allies in
federal and state agencies.

THIRD: S. 990 exempts government land acquisition agents from FACA, the
Federal Advisory Committee Act!!!!! Despite scandals and misappropriation
of funds with Pittman-Robertson money in the past few years!!! And
despite
the current case of federal and state agents working together to plant
lynx
hairs in a national forest in order to eliminate access, S. 990 proposes
to
exempt these very same agents from public scrutiny under the FACA law!!!

To quote directly from S. 990: "Coordination with State fish and game
department personnel or with personnel of any other state agency under
this
Act shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act."



PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR LIST.
__________________________________________________ _______________







* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *NOTE: In accordance
with
Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit
or
payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this
information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For
more
information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be removed from future mailings just reply with REMOVE in the subject
line.

Senate 'Land Grab' Angers Property Rights Activists

Christine Hall, CNSNews.com
Thursday, Jan. 3, 2002

CNSNews.com -- In the waning days of 2001, the Senate passed a $600 million-a-year bill designed to conserve habitat and open space in a way that doesn't hurt farmers and local economies.
Still, opponents call it a "land grab" that gives state bureaucrats and environmental groups the power to call the shots over private property.

The American Wildlife Enhancement Act of 2001 was passed by voice vote in the Senate on Dec. 20 as an add-on to an existing law, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA).

But Michael Hardiman, a lobbyist for the American Land Rights Association, dubs it the "Condemnation and Relocation Act."

"Reinvestment" is a just a euphemism, said Hardiman.

"In other words, you're going to seize property and hand out grants to your friends," he said.

CARA and the new Senate bill work by granting federal tax collars to a variety of conservation groups, with state land management agencies getting the lion's share of the money. State agencies can then condemn a property owner's land and use CARA grant money to compensate the property owner for what the agency deems is the land's "fair market value."

Landowners argue that what the government calculates as fair market value is far below the land's real market value. They also complain that their only option in challenging a government agency's decision is to take the government to court - a long, arduous and expensive process for the average landowner.

According to Hardiman, the Senate bill's success was due to the deft political maneuvering of the bill's chief sponsors, Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Bob Smith, R-N.H. The duo was able to get a voice vote on the bill the afternoon the Senate adjourned for the year.

Also, Hardiman said Reid and Smith were successful in recruiting a key conservative - Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, - to co-sponsor the bill as a favor to Smith, who Hardiman believes is trying to court liberal voters to win a 2002 primary challenge from fellow N.H. Republican, Rep. John Sununu.

With Crapo signed on, said Hardiman, other conservative senators assumed the bill would not harm landowners.

Susan Wheeler, a spokesperson for Crapo, said the lawmaker "is good friends with Sen. Smith, as he is with a number of members of Congress, [but he] would not sign onto a bill as a favor to a senator that would abrogate private property rights."

Wheeler did agree with Hardiman that Crapo stood out among the bill's otherwise liberal-to-moderate co-sponsors. "It is an interesting group," she said.

But, said Wheeler, Crapo believed the bill was "consistent with ... allowing states to make [conservation] decisions. The bill does not go after private property [and] there is no federal land acquisition in the bill; it's only at the state level.

"The senator would have preferred to see more debate on this bill," Wheeler added. "But no senator stepped forward to place a hold on the bill or seek debate."

The American Land Rights Association, a Washington state group, plans to mobilize its members against the House bill, which goes even further than its counterpart passed in the Senate.

The pending House bill spends more ($3.1 billion annually versus $600 million) and sets up a trust fund for the CARA program in which the money is automatically spent, instead of requiring Congress to agree on spending every year.

Also, the House bill, which land rights groups call "full CARA," has "additional threat[s]," as Hardiman puts it. It allows state agencies to designate urban parks and recreation land as conservation areas.

Spokespeople for Senators Reid and Smith did not return calls seeking comment.

Copyright CNSNews.com