"Signing the 1993 Rangeland Improvement Agreement, and trusting the federal government are the dumbest mistakes I've ever made," stated my husband Chuck.
Aggie May & Chuck
Here's a micro-glimpse into what rancher/farmers like Chuck, deal with day in and day out; an illustration as to how readily and easily our government breaks promises that will eventually reach out and hurt you... whether you reside in the country or the city.
In 1993 BLM officials told permittees (Those who have cattle grazing agreements with federal government. ) that there would be no range improvements on a common allotment unless they signed an agreement that asked for AUM (Animal Unit Month) cuts.
The permittees signed the agreement, took the cuts, and got ready to co-partner with BLM on developing more water and fences, and initiating prescribed burns.
The federal government got to work filling in this newly acquired space with feral (Generally but incorrectly referred to as wild.) horses.
After several years of growing feral horse numbers, and not one range improvement, Chuck publicly told BLM, "It's now apparent the BLM reduced our AUM numbers just to take care of and increase feral horse numbers." Not one government agent, or any present, denied or challenged his claim.
BLM forms still list total and original BLM permit numbers as active. This is not true, for BLM continues to restrict permittees by 55% of turn out, even though federal broke the agreement. Due to this AUM restriction, Chuck has calculated his fifteen year income loss to be considerable; money that could of been contributed to a worthier cause than feral horse feed.
It is indeed, a sorry state of affairs when a citizenry is forced into unnecessary, costly and harmful agreements with a federal government that has no intention of honoring its part.
Yet it is through government's layers of unattainable regulations, unjust mandates, added federal land designations, water diversion for "speculated as endangered" species, and bogus agreements that America's land and water is being systematically taken from the original owners and out of resource production, and gifted to others including the Nature Conservancy.
A parallel to this would be if the government seized every wink, ink, song and dance from our entertainment providers, then doled them out free to others. Without their words, images, notes and swing, just how long to you think entertainers would keep producing?
The ripple affect of this already shows through our increasing dependency on foreign products, higher fuel and food costs, elimination of jobs, and depletions of financial support for schools.
The next time you buy an egg, potato, gas, apple, table, bacon or donut, please know that the person who produced it spent more time and money than you, just to be able to stay in business long enough to insure you the opportunity to buy it.
Tell your representative that you've been studying up on resource production, and you know it's more important than anything else in the world to keep America's land and water producing safe, cheap, domestic supplies of food fuel and fiber!
Tell them that when you look out across your great country, that you've chosen the hillsides active with cow, corn and honey bee, over fallow vistas that few will see.
Tell them if they don't honor agreements with resource providers like Chuck, you're going to take their job and money, and give them to someone of your choosing!
http://www.blogger.com/
In 1993 BLM officials told permittees (Those who have cattle grazing agreements with federal government. ) that there would be no range improvements on a common allotment unless they signed an agreement that asked for AUM (Animal Unit Month) cuts.
The permittees signed the agreement, took the cuts, and got ready to co-partner with BLM on developing more water and fences, and initiating prescribed burns.
The federal government got to work filling in this newly acquired space with feral (Generally but incorrectly referred to as wild.) horses.
After several years of growing feral horse numbers, and not one range improvement, Chuck publicly told BLM, "It's now apparent the BLM reduced our AUM numbers just to take care of and increase feral horse numbers." Not one government agent, or any present, denied or challenged his claim.
BLM forms still list total and original BLM permit numbers as active. This is not true, for BLM continues to restrict permittees by 55% of turn out, even though federal broke the agreement. Due to this AUM restriction, Chuck has calculated his fifteen year income loss to be considerable; money that could of been contributed to a worthier cause than feral horse feed.
It is indeed, a sorry state of affairs when a citizenry is forced into unnecessary, costly and harmful agreements with a federal government that has no intention of honoring its part.
Yet it is through government's layers of unattainable regulations, unjust mandates, added federal land designations, water diversion for "speculated as endangered" species, and bogus agreements that America's land and water is being systematically taken from the original owners and out of resource production, and gifted to others including the Nature Conservancy.
A parallel to this would be if the government seized every wink, ink, song and dance from our entertainment providers, then doled them out free to others. Without their words, images, notes and swing, just how long to you think entertainers would keep producing?
The ripple affect of this already shows through our increasing dependency on foreign products, higher fuel and food costs, elimination of jobs, and depletions of financial support for schools.
The next time you buy an egg, potato, gas, apple, table, bacon or donut, please know that the person who produced it spent more time and money than you, just to be able to stay in business long enough to insure you the opportunity to buy it.
Tell your representative that you've been studying up on resource production, and you know it's more important than anything else in the world to keep America's land and water producing safe, cheap, domestic supplies of food fuel and fiber!
Tell them that when you look out across your great country, that you've chosen the hillsides active with cow, corn and honey bee, over fallow vistas that few will see.
Tell them if they don't honor agreements with resource providers like Chuck, you're going to take their job and money, and give them to someone of your choosing!
http://www.blogger.com/
1 comment:
You have such a gift, Roni! Way to put into words what the rest of us would love to shout out!
Becki
Post a Comment