Producers can manage their land much better than government bureaucrats.
STOP THE GOVERNMENT LAND GRAB
By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor
THE STILL-LINGERING 30 by 30 program was described by the Biden administration as a way of “tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad.” But by scraping away the fluff, ag-state leaders and private property rights advocates contend 30 by 30 is a fierce effort by radical environmental groups to place private land under government control. President Biden signed Executive Order 14008 just after his inauguration last year. It set a goal “of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.” Margaret Byfield, executive director of American Stewards of Liberty (ASL), outlined the pitfalls of 30 by 30 while speaking at March’s Southwest Beef Symposium in Tucumcari, N.M. ASL is a non-profit organization working to protect private property rights and the liberties they secure. Byfield warns producers and other landowners that 30 by 30 is an unconstitutional policy “that moves us from a nation founded on private property principles to one controlled by the administrative state.” A forum aimed at toppling the program,“Stop 30 by 30 Summit,” was
held on Earth Day, April 22, in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts headed the summit. Ricketts was one who countered Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and his efforts to promote President Biden’s 30 by 30 agenda. Other speakers were former Sec. of Interior David Bernhardt and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.).“Experts came together to fight the largest federal land grab America has ever faced,” Byfield said. “We [ASL] challenge the policies that seek to undermine America’s ability to produce the food, fiber, energy and minerals our nation needs. We confront the radical environmental movement, which believes the administrative state, not individuals, should determine how people use their land.” Ricketts has been a 30 by 30 opponent from the beginning. He said the 30 by 30 policy “parrots the policy goals of radical environmental groups. For years, environmental groups have sought government support for policies that are harmful to agriculture and a productive economy. “In Nebraska, 97 percent of our land is privately owned,” he said.“Getting to 30 percent would require a major federal
intervention that would trample on both the state of Nebraska’s sovereignty and individual property rights. Setting aside that much land and water for conservation would also devastate food production, our rural communities and our state’s overall economy.” Biden’s executive order directs the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and other heads of agencies to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of American lands and waters by 2030. Byfield said there are concerns in Congress that this order would add to the many acres of U.S. land already under federal control. That land equals roughly 12 percent or 289 million acres as of 2020. Many farmers and ranchers take part in federal conservation programs. However, Byfield said,“It’s not often publicized that programs that pay landowners for conservation activities create a federal nexus to the property, giving the administration an avenue to [further] control the use of private land.”
Major ag groups still voice concerns over the 30 by 30 plan’s potential
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