ACTION NEEDED: Eco Groups Sue, Then Settle ESA Lawsuit - Rancher Faces Eviction

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American Land Rights Association - Land Rights Network
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973 - Email: <alra@pacifier.com> - 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

Eco Groups Sue, Then Settle ESA Lawsuit - Rancher Faces Eviction


Sweetheart ESA Legal Settlements Must Stop


Every Private Property Owner and Federal
Land User Is Threatened By These
Sweetheart Backroom Endangered Species Act Settlement Deals


Immediate Action Required To Stop Eviction


Call and Fax Your Senators and Congressman Today

The Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121.


Call and Fax Interior Secretary Gale Norton
Call her at (202) 208-7351. Her FAX number is (202) 208-5048.

Summary of Taking of Private Property by the Bureau of Land Management
Dave Fisher vs. the BLM


Dave Fisher is a cattle rancher at Ord Mountain, near Barstow, California.
He is a third generation rancher on land he and his family improved, and
he has a grazing permit from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for lands
surrounding his. His property and the BLM leased land amounts to 54,000
acres of desert grazing terrain.

Several months ago three environmental groups: the Center for
Bio-Diversity, the Sierra Club, and Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER) sued the BLM in federal court over a variety of
environmental issues throughout Southern California related to so-called
threatened or endangered species habitats.

The BLM, without consulting its inholders or its grazing permit lease
holders, settled the case out-of-court, and agreed to a wide-ranging set of
stipulations on how these specified habitats would be used in the future.

As a result of this agreement, Dave Fisher was given 15 days to remove his
cattle from the BLM land and his own land. BLM has decreed these lands as
critical habitats for the Desert Tortoises and the Peninsular Bighorn
Sheep.


The BLM Deadline was April 24th. IGNORE IT!! THE COWS WILL NOT BE
MOVED!!

It is likely to be extended. Keep calling Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.


The Deadline could easily be eliminated if you do your part.


It is very important to note that BLM encouraged the environmental groups
to sue them and then settled out-of-court. This was not to save money on
litigation, but to make sure no judges or jury interfered with their plans
to use the Endangered Species Act to take over and control all public lands
in California and the West.

Numerous BLM & FWS employees, having direct dealings with these issues, are
members of the three groups that filed suit against their agencies. In any
other form of government this would be considered collusion and a gross
conflict of interest. If is were private enterprise involved, they would
be guilty of the equivalent to "price-fixing."

It is equally important to note that until the Fisher family drilled wells
on their own land, the now flourishing bighorn sheep were non-existent on
Fisher's or the BLM's land, and the Desert Tortoises were much fewer in
number than they are today.

For 75 years the Fishers have skillfully nurtured both public and private
lands, improving the environment for man and animals alike. And for 75
years the bighorns, tortoises, and cattle have coexisted with no problems.
Now the BLM wants to end this symbiotic relationship without discussing it
with the very people who made it possible.
BLM will cut off the water thereby killing the sheep and the tortoises . .
. but gaining control of the land, both Federal and private.

For 11 years Dave Fisher has been communicating with the BLM and the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), trying to get them to do the environmental
studies on his land and on BLM's land, required by law.

Despite these years of effort, the BLM and FWS have never responded to his
requests. Now they want him to remove his cattle, in 15 days, under the
guise that they want to do a court-ordered study. Can you say, "manure"!

Mr. Fisher has stated flatly that he will not allow his cattle to be
removed from his land or the BLM grazing lease land. He will not allow the
Federal government to arbitrarily destroy his livelihood and 75 years of
excellent conservation traditions.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, in a strongly worded letter
to BLM, has revoked BLM's Law Enforcement Memorandum of Agreement (MOU).
BLM has lost much if its authority to enforce various laws.

The Sheriff believes that the BLM is being unjust and has created an
untenable situation in dealing with Mr. Fisher. Sheriff Penrod refuses to
endanger his personnel or allow BLM to act in the name of the Sheriff's
Department, regarding the taking of Fishers land or cattle.

This entire issue is getting hotter each day as more-and-more county,
state, and federal official, and property rights activist groups weigh in
to loudly protest the BLM's Gestapo-like actions. What could be brewing in
the deserts of San Bernardino County, is another Waco incident. A new
Range War!

That must not be allowed to happen. Unfortunately, in recent years the BLM,
Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service have been a lot more
willing to threaten users. This issue needs to be settled peacefully.
There is never an excuse for violence in a democratic society.

There is always a way to win peacefully if enough allies respond. That
means you. Your calls to your Senators, Congressman and the Interior
Department can help bring a peaceful resolution to this controversy. You
can help stop these sweetheart backroom deals that ruin lives and destroy
property.


What You Can Do

-----Call your Congressman and both Senators at (202) 224-3121 to urge them
to ask Secretary Gale Norton to block the eviction of Dave Fisher's cows.
Urge them to call Secretary Norton to encourage her to overturn this
sweetheart settlement and many others completed by Clinton-Gore sympathetic
employees in last minute backroom deals.

-----Call and fax Interior Secretary Gale Norton to ask her to overturn
this sweetheart legal settlement that undermined the rights of this four
generation rancher. Her phone number is (202) 208-7351. Her FAX number is
(202) 208-5048.

-----Call your local newspapers, radio and TV stations to talk about the
BLM and Forest Service encouraging sweetheart Endangered Species Act
lawsuits and then settling, giving away the rights of landowners and
Federal land users. This is happening all over the country.


For more information contact Chuck Williams - 909 989-9920 /
chuckhole@earthlink.net

Dave Fisher - (760) 252-1350 (Both phone and fax) - Cell (760) 954-7516.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod - (909) 387-3669.

California State Assemblyman Phil Wyman - (916) 319-2034

Chuck Cushman, American Land Rights - (360) 687-3087 /
ccushman@pacifier.com