I found this elsewhere anyone else hear about this, please follow link and advise.

http://www.jeepn.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10263

Rich

Tuesday, November 19, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------
House green lights major enviro bill
By Sarah Foster
------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted: November 19, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Literally minutes before adjourning for the year, the House of
Representatives without debate unanimously approved a $261
million-a-year legislative grab bag of goodies for environmentalists
and their allies in government, and sent it to the Senate for final
approval.

Co-authored by Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Bob Smith, R-N.H.,
<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:S.990:>The American
Wildlife Enhancement Act - S 990 - provides the wherewithal for
massive land acquisition by state government agencies and non-profit
groups, boosts the powers and status of the environmental
organizations, and enacts a major amendment to the 1973
<http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/16/ch35.html>Endangered Species
Act by adding a new designation - "species at risk" - to the familiar
"threatened" and "endangered" categories. The establishment and
expansion of several national wildlife refuges and a five-year rodent
control program are thrown in for good measure.

The congressman responsible for its passage by the House Friday was
<http://www.house.gov/hansen>Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah. Although
Hansen headed the House Resources Committee, to which the bill was
assigned after it passed the Senate in December, he held no hearings
on it. Instead, he kept it on a back shelf until 2:22 a.m. Friday,
when he asked that the Resources Committee be discharged from further
consideration of the bill and that it be placed on the calendar for a
vote. Three minutes later - with major sections stripped from it - S
990 was on its way to the Senate.

The same tactic was used for 14 other bills submitted for last-minute
approval. Each was labeled non-controversial, placed on the consent
calendar, voted upon, and sent to the Senate.

This was essentially a rerun of the bill's passage by the Senate. On
the evening of Dec. 22, at the end of one of the longest legislative
years in decades, and with a mere handful of senators still present,
Reid called for "unanimous consent" to pass S 990. The bill passed.

"Who voted for and against the bill? No one will ever know. Was there
even a quorum present? No one will ever know," wrote Henry Lamb, in
an <>article in WorldNetDaily.

Lamb suggested that the bill would be better named the
"Screw-the-Landowner Act of 2001," and observed: "It is one of
several proposals to provide tax dollars and authorization to convert
even more of the rapidly diminishing private property in America to
government inventories. The bill provides $600 million per year for
five years for the 'acquisition of an area of land or water that is
suitable or capable of being made suitable for feeding, resting or
breeding by wildlife.' With this broad purpose, no land anywhere is
safe from condemnation and acquisition by an agency of government."

"Apparently, the U.S. Senate will use our tax dollars to buy pig
swill if it is sold in a green bucket," Lamb added.

And, apparently, so will the House of Representatives.

Hansen's move in the dead of night caught S 990's opponents
off-guard, but they moved quickly to try and derail it in the Upper
House. Faxes and e-mails have been flying through the phone lines and
across the Internet, urging property-rights activists and the public
to contact their senators and demand that a hold be placed on the
bill.

Under the Senate's unanimous consent rules, if one member objects to
a bill it must be removed from the consent calendar, and cannot be
considered until next year. A vote could come as early as today. The
Senate is scheduled to adjourn Thursday.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen's Beef
Association and the National Water Resources Association (the Western
irrigators) have weighed in opposition, joining the American Land
Rights Association, a grassroots group based in Battle Ground, Wash.,
which has been actively fighting the bill from its inception, along
with its earlier variants.

Lobbyist Mike Hardiman, who represents ALRA on Capitol Hill, views S
990 as "the most dangerous property rights bill this session" - and
not only because of its land-acquisition provisions. In fact, as
approved by the House, the sections that would have allocated some
$350 million a year for the Pittman-Robinson Fund were eliminated.
The Pittman-Robertson Fund is a long-established, dedicated fund,
supported with a tax on purchases for sporting equipment: guns,
ammunition, archery equipment and other outdoor supplies.

This was to be augmented by the $350 million per year, the largest
allocation in the bill. It was inexplicably removed by Hansen, who
requested and was given permission to amend the bill that had been
voted upon by the Senate. Hansen not only removed the funding
provision, the entire section dealing with amendments to
Pittman-Robertson was deleted, and several new sections were added.

The cost of the bill went from $3 billion over five years, to $1.3
billion - a cut of over half - in 30 seconds.

But $1.3 billion over five years is a great deal of money, and
Hardiman has dubbed S 990 "Son of CARA," as it is a scaled-down
version of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, the mega-land bill
that environmentalists and land-trust advocates have been trying to
get through Congress for several years, with only partial success.

"The reason I call it 'Son of CARA' is that it is just a fraction of
what they [environmentalists] want," Hardiman explained. "We've
really beaten them up on the CARA bill so badly that now they're just
taking little pieces of it and trying to slip these through."

But there are differences, he added. "CARA was a 15-year
authorization for guaranteed money. It is a trust fund: guaranteed
money for 15 years. A total disaster. CARA-Lite, which did pass last
year, is a five-year program with several hundred million for land
acquisition each year. S 990 is a Son of CARA, which is several
hundred million more for up to five years, but it is not a trust
fund. It is not guaranteed money. They will have to go back and ask
Congress for it every year, and there's no guarantee they're going to
get it."

But money matters aside, in Hardiman's view the most egregious
section in S 990 is the one amending the Endangered Species Act.

"This is the most dangerous part of the bill, as well as the most
overlooked," Hardiman told WorldNetDaily. "If it passes, people will
have to worry not only about endangered and threatened species on
their property, but 'at risk' species, too."

Species at risk

Specifically, S 990 creates a category called "species at risk,"
defined as any species identified by the secretaries of Interior and
Commerce to be a "candidate species" for listing as endangered or
threatened. Some $150 million a year would be allocated to enforce
this new provision, with the grant money going to environmental
groups, sportsmen's groups, land trusts and selected individuals for
land acquisitions and programs.

"That's money handed out mostly to environmental groups to go tell
people that they have a species at risk on their property," said
Hardiman. "It expands the reach of environmental groups into people's
lives, their property, their livelihood. The burden of evidence the
environmental groups will have to provide is virtually nothing, it's
vapor. This is not about endangered species. It is not about even
threatened species. It's a new invention called 'species at risk,'
and it can apply to potential habitat for a species at risk, as well."

"We've come a long way from the actual Endangered Species Act," he said.

The $150 million per year allocation is the largest single financial
component of the bill and will come to $750 million over the next
five years, but there are other allocations and costs. These include:

$50 million-a-year for a competitive matching-grant program for
"cooperative conservation" plans that include "property acquisition."
The federal government will make grants to states and groups of
states "to pay the federal share . of the costs of conservation of
non-federal land or water of regional or national significance." The
federal share will be no more than 50 percent to 75 percent of the
cost, depending on the kind of project it is. Much of this
"conservation" is essentially land acquisition, and there are no
prohibitions on condemnation power.

$50 million-a-year will go for "shrubland and grassland" conservation
(that is, acquisition), "with environmental organizations again
eligible to feed at the taxpayer trough," as Hardiman puts it in an
e-mail alert. "Even worse," he adds, "grass and shrubs are defined
as, well, grass and shrubs - and - areas 'historically dominated' by
grass and shrubs - and - areas that 'if restored to natural grassland
or shrubland, would have the potential to serve as habitat for
endangered species, threatened species, or species at risk.'"

"In other words," he quips, "Just about every inch of America outside
the Mojave Desert."

$6 million-a-year goes for nutria eradication in Maryland and
Louisiana. Nutria are furry rodents native to South America, that are
causing considerable damage to marshlands.

$5 million-a-year to begin implementing a new completely new statute:
The Marine Turtle Conservation Act.

That's $261 million-a-year for the five-year programs: a total of $1.3 billion.

And it does not include additional one-time expenditures scattered
through the bill, such as the purchase of 198-acre Garrett Island,
Md., to expand the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge - for which no
cost figures are given.

Nor does it include the $9 million that outgoing Sen. Bob Smith wants
to give the <http://www.tpl.org>Trust for Public Land for property
that will cost the trust $7 million. Smith lost in the primary to New
Hampshire Rep. John Sununu, a fellow Republican, who went on to win
the Nov. 5 election.

And it does not include $15 million to the state of Utah for a
quitclaim deed for state-owned properties in the Bear River Migratory
Bird Refuge in Bear River Bay of the Great Salt Lake.

Of that, $5 million must go for trail development, including $2
million for the "development, improvement, and expansion of the James
V. Hansen Shoshone Trail."

In addition, $11 million is to be spent on the construction of an
education and administration center at the Bear River refuge.
Reportedly, the center is to be named after the Utah congressman, but
that is not specified in the current version of the bill.

Hardiman attributes Hansen's maneuverings to secure approval for S
990 to his pending retirement after 20 years in the House.

Hansen's 'legacy mode'

"Hansen is completely in legacy mode," Hardiman said. "He wants to be
able to name something for himself, like a trail or building, so he
put all that green stuff in so the environmentalists will let the
bill go through. He's saying, in effect, "Here's a whole bill with
several hundred million in it for you guys, and I'm just going to
tack a couple of things of mine on it.'

"Then he can go to the Republicans and say, 'Hey, I'm a fellow
Republican, so leave my bill alone.'"

If Hardiman is correct, it would help explain Hansen's action earlier
this month when he introduced legislation to reform the Endangered
Species Act. In what has been termed "a parting shot to detractors in
the environmental community," Hansen proposed exempting private
property, military land and plant life from the federal ESA.

Hansen conceded that the bill would not move this year, but said he
hopes others would take up the cause next year.

"Right now, in this country, the rights of an endangered fly or a
species of seaweed take precedence over national security, commerce
and many people's right to the enjoyment of property and the pursuit
of happiness," Hansen said in a statement. "Our founding fathers
would be appalled."

Debbie Sease, national legislative director for the Sierra Club, an
environmental organization, told The Spectrum, a southern Utah
newspaper, that she "wondered" about his motives in proposing such a
controversial bill at the end of the term.

"Maybe it's for his legacy," she said. "I think it's pretty
outrageous. Limiting biological diversity will come back and harm man
in the long run."

Which legacy?

While the retiring congressman was apparently sticking it to the
environmentalists by threatening to push an unlikely amendment to the
Endangered Species Act, his action - whatever his motive - served to
distract property-rights watchdogs from his moves in Congress.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29707

Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002
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!!! Senate Vote to EXPAND E.S.A.!!

### IMMEDIATE CRISIS ### TOTAL ALERT!!!!!!!! ###

MOBILIZATION NEEDED ### PLEASE ACT NOW!!!!! ###

******* The property you save may be your own! *******

The United States Senate will vote THIS WEEK on bill number S.990, which
proposes dramatic new expanded powers for the ENDANGERED SPECIES
ACT!!!!!!!!!

It also authorizes over a BILLION dollars for land acquisition and grant
money to leftwing environmental and animal rights groups.

S.990 was approved by the House by "unanimous consent" last Friday at 2:35am
- after nearly all the congressmen had left the Capitol building!!! This
was engineered by Representative Jim Hansen, who slipped funding into the
bill for a trail and a visitor center to be named after himself! S.990 had
NO recorded vote by the full House or in committee, NO debate, NO hearings!

Now S.990 goes to the Senate for final approval in the Senate's final week
in session. This is a dream bill for the enviros - it expands their
favorite law, the Endangered Species Act, and provides oodles of tax money
for land acquisition and grant money for themselves. No wonder the enviros
are NOT willing to face the sunshine of public scrutiny, and are trying to
pull off another midnight land grab!

********UPDATE!!!! - it appears that opposition is building - that your
calls, faxes, and emails are working!! The vote on S.990, planned for
Tuesday, has now been put off till probably Wednesday in order to give
supporters time to stamp out opposition. KEEP IT UP!!!!


ACTION ITEMS BELOW ******** ACTION ITEMS BELOW ********

}}}}}}}}}} S.990 does three things: {{{{{{{{{{

## FIRST ## - ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT. It creates an entire new category
of land use control within the Endangered Species Act. Currently, species
can be listed as "endangered species" or "threatened species." S. 990
creates a new category called "species at risk" (page 5) which has an even
lower threshhold for plants and animals being listed, and property being
taken by regulatory fiat!!!

AND THEN, the bill hands over up to $150 million per year for
environmental groups to go out and find more species. All this money
provides a huge INCENTIVE for the enviros - the more species they
"discover," the more money they can make!

S.990 does NOT address the fraudulent scientific data being used to claim
that species are endangered, it does NOT address compensating property
owners whose land is rendered useless by an ESA listing.

## SECOND ## - LAND ACQUISITION. The bill provides a total of up to $105
million per year for land acquisition, with no protections against eminent
domain proceedings. $50 million is for "cooperative conservation" plans,
which sounds very nice. However, those plans include land acquisition (page
17), which is not so nice.

ANOTHER $50 million is to "conserve" grass and shrubs, which also sounds
nice, except that it also can include land acquisition (page 20). Except
that the definition of grass and shrubs also includes any area "historically
dominated" or even "if restored to natural grassland or shrubland, would
have the potential to serve as habitat for endangered species, threatened
species, or species at risk." In other words, just about every inch of
America one way or another is threatened!

ALSO, there is $5 million per year to "conserve" marine turtles in foreign
countries, which sounds all warm and fuzzy. However, this also includes
land acquisition (page 59), although at least it is outside the United
States.

AND - there is a special prize for the huge land trust, the Trust for
Public Lands - a $9 million payoff to purchase land in New Hampshire (page
19), when the property will cost less than $8 million!!

## THIRD ## - GRANT MONEY TO ENVIROS. Environmental organizations
are entitled to feed at the taxpayer trough in every part of S.990. They can
apply for grants to find endangered species, to locate land to grab, to
water the shrubs that need conserving, or to get all warm and cuddly with
marine turtles in foreign countries. This is a DREAM BILL for the enviros
and animal rights activists that finances our enemies!


*** ACTION ITEMS *** ACTION ITEMS *** ACTION ITEMS ***

PLEASE call AND Fax AND email both your Senators so their offices are
deluged with messages beginning Tuesday.. This is not a time you can depend
on someone else. YOU must do it. You can use the reasons listed above -
the bad parts of the bill are referenced above, so there is NO EXCUSE for
a Senate staffer to say he or she doesn't see where it is in the bill.

TELL your Senator to put a "hold" on S 990. Ask his staff person for a
commitment that his or her boss will do it. Follow up to make sure they
did it. Then you must keep up the pressure to make sure the hold is not
taken off. Because it is the last few days the Senate is in session, a few
Senators putting a "hold" on any bill will effectively kill it, since it
will delay it till next year.

ANY Senator can stop S. 990 by simply putting what is called a "hold" on
the bill. That will delay it until next year. WHOEVER your Senator is,
PLEASE contact them. The "conservatives" may not like it because of the
land grabs and wasted tax funds, and the "liberals" and Democrats may not
like it because it is a big payoff to a couple of retiring Republicans.

Both shouldn't like it because it never received ANY debate in either the
House or the Senate. It was snuck through both houses at the last minute.

The Senate Must Now Vote On S.990.

Harry Reid (D-NV) and other S.990 supporters will try to vote on S.990 by
unanimous consent again with only three Senators on the Floor of the
Senate. The Senate never debated S.990. Don't let them expand the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) without a debate. Don't let them vote in the
dark of night.

Your Senator can stop the secret vote. Insist that he or she put a hold on
S.990.

You MUST make sure the hold gets put on and stays on. Don't assume
that because the staff person tells you the hold is on, that it is on. Keep
calling. You must call your friends and get them to demand a hold.

ACTION NOW:

-----1. Write a fax immediately and fax it to your Senator. If you don't
have his or her fax, call and get it. INSIST that he or she put a hold on
S. 990. USE the reasons listed above.

-----2. Call both your Senators TODAY. Every Senator may be called at
(202) 224-3121 or use the temporary FREE NUMBERS: (800) 648-3516 or
(877) 762-8762. Don't take your Senator for granted.

-----3. Send your Senator an E-mail. But don't just send an e-mail. The
FAX and phone will be answered much more quickly and are far more effective
in a short notice deadline situation like this.

-----4. Call at least three times on Tuesday and Wednesday. A vote could
come anytime from late Tuesday to Thursday of this week, and the sooner
that Senators place "holds" on the bill the better.

-----5. Call your friends and neighbors. This is for all the marbles.


YOUR SENATORS PLUS THESE SENATORS HOLD THE KEY TO YOUR FUTURE. This
list had been updated.

Call and FAX your own Senators plus any of the others listed below. You can also email these Senators from this page by clicking the Senators' email addresses.

Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) - Phone: (202) 224-2644 - FAX: (202) 224-8594
- E-mail: conrad_burns@burns.senate.gov Be aware there is an
underscore between conrad and burns.

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) - Phone: (202) 224-2752 - FAX: (202) 228-1067
- E-mail: larry_craig@craig.senate.gov There is an underscore between
larry and craig.

Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) - Phone: (202) 224-6142 - FAX: None Listed -
E-mail: Use his website to send e-mail: http://www.crapo.senate.gov Senator
Crapo is afraid to hear from you in Washington, DC. Here's the fax number
of his Boise, Idaho office: FAX: (208) 334-9044.

Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) - Phone: (2020 224-6621 - FAX: (202)
228-0900 - E-mail: senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov Put an
underscore between senator and domenici.

Senator Mike Enzi R-WY) - Phone: (202) 224-3424 - FAX: (202) 228-0359 -
E-mail: Senator@enzi.senate.gov

Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) - Phone: (202) 224-2934 - FAX: (202) 228-2856 -
E-mail: phil_gramm@gramm.senate.gov Put an underscore between phil and
gramm.

Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) - Phone: (202) 224-6342 - FAX: (202) 228-1339
- E-mail: jesse_helms@helms.senate.gov Be sure to put an underscore
between jesse and helms.

Senator Jon Kyle (R-AZ) - Phone: (202) 224-4521 - FAX: (202) 224-2207 -
E-mail: info@kyle.senate.gov

Senator Don Nickles (R-OK) - Phone: (202) 224-5754 - FAX (202) 224-6008 -
E-mail: senator@nickles.senate.gov

Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) - Phone: (202) 224-6441 - FAX (202) 224-1724 -
E-mail: craig@thomas.senate.gov

THIS MUST BE A GRASSROOTS UPRISING!!!

PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS. Call every one you know to urge them to call.

FORWARD THIS MESSAGE AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE.

It was killed in the senate last night.. An email I received this morning:

PRIVATE IMPROPERTY
Unnamed senators
block enviro bill

Posted: November 21, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Sarah Foster
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com



A major environmental bill went down in defeat in the U.S. Senate Wednesday, as proponents failed to persuade certain of their colleagues to remove the "holds" they had placed on it to block its passage.

"It's a huge victory for grass-roots activists," exclaimed lobbyist Mike Hardiman, who represents the American Land Rights Association, the group that has spearheaded the opposition to S 990. "It was a genuine grassroots revolution – spontaneous combustion from the bottom up."

As WorldNetDaily reported Monday, S 990 – the American Wildlife Enhancement BBill – a measure that had drawn the ire of many property-rights advoccates, was approved by "unanimous consent" of the House of Representatives at 2:35 a.m. Friday morning, just minutes before adjourning for the year. The request was made by Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah, who is retiring at the end of this session. Only a handful of representatives were present.

S 990 – which had been passed by the Senate Dec. 22 in much the samee way, in the dead of night, just before adjournment, and by unanimous consent of the three or four members present – was sent immediately to thee Senate for final approval.

But the tactic didn't work this time.

Under the Senate's unanimous consent rules, if one member objects to a bill it must be removed from the consent calendar and cannot be considered until next year.

In response to concerns expressed by constituents in faxes and e-mails that flowed into Senate offices over the weekend, by Monday one anonymous senator had placed a hold on S 990. By Wednesday, two others had joined him, and their names, too, have not been made public.

Hardiman reports that Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., who introduced the bill in 2001, and cosponsor Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., "worked it and worked it, and tried to get the holds taken off, but guess what? Instead of giving in, the three senators held firm and were joined by three more."

S 990 is dead for the session.

"It's had a stake driven through it," says Hardiman, who is quick to point out that neither he nor ALRA carried the ball by themselves – there wwere people on the Hill who helped behind the scenes.

"This is all part of the very ugly, dark-of-night, sausage-making process," Hardiman said. "It works both ways: Terrible things get done, but good things get done, too. And in this effort there were heroes and heroines who can never be publicly acknowledged or thanked."

Hardiman attributes S 990's defeat to the force of grass roots that bolstered the resolve of the opponents on the Hill. Several major organizations spoke out in opposition – the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Natioonal Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Water Resources Association (which is the Western irrigators) – and their members responded.

So, too, did the rank-and-file property-rights advocates across the country. Some senate offices were so swamped by incoming messages that they turned off their fax machines and put their telephones on answering machines during business hours. The e-mails were even more overwhelming.

For Hardiman, there were two reasons for the popular rallying that led to S 990's defeat.

In his words: "Number one, on its merits it was a terrible, terrible piece of legislation. It called for a dramatic expansion of the Endangered Species Act, combined with hundreds of millions of dollars for land acquisition.

"Number two, the hidden, dark-of-night manner by which the environmentalists tried to get it through."

But a victory of this kind would not have been possible without the Internet. It was through the Internet that the American Land Rights Association was able to communicate information to its members, who picked up the ball and ran with it. The members contacted others, who contacted others, in ever-widening circles.

"Due to the modern technology of the Internet, the facts of the issue and the merits of the bill were laid out to grass-roots activists – tens oof thousands of them across the country," Hardiman explained. "Backing up the descriptions of the bill's shortcomings was the underhanded … manneer in which was being sneaked through the legislative process. The underhanded way in which the bill was moving served to confirm how bad the non-merits of the bill really were."

For Hardiman, this shows that if there's a legitimate case to be made for or against something, the system works.

"The people can speak out, they can pass good bills and they can defeat bad ones. They can take on the big, powerful, big-money environmental interests," he said. "They can defeat them and take them to the cleaners."

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: 507 Seward Square SE - Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com


GRASSROOTS VICTORY !!!!!!!!




**** INCREDIBLE WIN FOR GRASSROOTS !!!! ****

DARK-OF-NITE ENDANGERED SPECIES LAND GRAB

EXPOSED & DEFEATED !

Senate Bill #990, which was a massive expansion of the Endangered Species
Act combined with hundreds of millions in new land acquisition, was exposed
to the light of day for the first time this week.

And thousands of grassroots activists across the country said NO WAY!

And the United States Senate heard you LOUD AND CLEAR!!!!!!!!

S. 990 could not stand up to public scrutiny this week and was NOT
brought
up for a vote in the Senate. The Senate just concluded its session for the
year, and S.990 is right where it belongs, in the dustbin!!!

Sometimes, democracy works - YOU MADE THE DIFFERENCE!!!!

The Endangered Species Act certainly needs changes. But there should be
input from the public, debate and discussion should occur in the light of
day, and there should be a record of who is for and against various
proposals.

NONE of that occurred with S.990. This was a dark-of-nite land grab
promoted in the back rooms of Washington, DC by powerful environmental
organizations seeking to:

greatly expand their favorite law, the Endangered Species Act,

convert more lands from private property to government ownership, and

3) line their pockets with more, more and more grant money from taxpayers.

S. 990 and other ideas to change the Endangered Species Act may be
considered in Congress next year. But it should be done out in the open.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOUR calls, YOUR faxes, YOUR emails made the
difference in demanding consideration for private property rights, multiple
use of federal lands, and OPEN GOVERNMENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a look at the legislative history of S.990:

***S. 990 was first approved by the United States Senate just before
Christmas in 2001. It was after the last roll call vote of the year,
nearly
MIDNIGHT, with no debate, and voted through by "unanimous consent" -
when
only three Senators were present, everyone else having gone home to their
home states!

***S. 990 then languished in the House of Representatives Resources
Committee for ELEVEN MONTHS. Property rights activists, having been
caught unprepared by the Senate's sneak action, wanted an open discussion
about the Endangered Species Act in the light of day. But there were NO
hearings, NO debate, NO votes, NO action on the bill for eleven
months.

***Then, late in November 2002, Resources Committee Chairman James V.
Hansen
of Utah, who is retiring from Congress, got into "Legacy Mode." He decided
to create a legacy for himself at taxpayer expense. He stuffed S.990 with
pork projects for Utah. These included the James V. Hansen Shoshone Trail,
which cost $2 million, and construction of a visitor center at the Bear
River Bird Refuge for $11 million, which upon completion would be named
after - you guessed it - James V. Hansen!

***In the wee hours of Friday morning, November 15, 2002, the second sneak
attack was launched. Hansen brought S.990 to the House floor and gained
approval by "unanimous consent" - after nearly every congressman had gone
home, at 2:35am!

HOWEVER - because it was changed in the House, the revised version of S.990
now had to be given final approval in the Senate.

Property rights activists had been burned twice, and would not be caught
again!

******** GRASSROOTS UPRISING !!!!!!!! ********

The "Big Green" enviro machine had only three days to get S.990 through the
Senate, which was already packed with a full agenda of other legislation.
They could not risk an open debate, which would expose S.990's flaws. They
would need one more dark-of-nite "unanimous consent" sneak attack in order
to slide S.990 through.

But it was not to be.

Property owners large and small, cabin owners, inholders, farmers,
foresters,
ranchers, miners, four-wheelers, anyone who wants to make reasonable use of
their private property, or who makes recreational or commercial use of
federal
lands, rose up and spoke out!

For the past three days, Senate offices were swamped with calls, faxes and
emails DEMANDING open discussion of changes to the Endangered Species
Act!

Many Senators listened to their constituents and placed a "hold" on S.990.
A "hold" places a temporary delay on legislation. With only three days in
session, Monday through Wednesday, November 18 to 20, it would be enough to
stop the Endangered Species Land Grab.

The Big Green enviro's point man on S.990 is leftwing Senator Harry Reid of
Nevada. Reid worked desperately to convince Senators to remove their
"holds" and allow S.990 to slip through without a vote or debate. But with
the grassroots tide rising and the light of day shining on S.990, there was
no way.

Sometimes, democracy works.

ACTION ITEM - Pat yourself on the back. YOU DID IT!













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