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WILLING SELLER - A
MYTH
May 6, 2000
"John Jones is a
willing seller. He didn't want to sell and held out as long as he could.
First the Park Service came in and purchased the homes, farms and
timberlands of his neighbors who did want to sell. There will always be
some. Then the agency began to search out those families who were in some
kind of financial distress such as from a death, divorce, loss of job and
other reason.
"Jones watched as his community was checkerboarded by
the Park Service. He remembered being told when the park was created that
he would not be forced out. But now the agency was targeting local
businesses and the county itself. Many small businesses were purchased and
put out of business. The Park Service purchased the holdings of several
large timberland companies. Smaller timber owners began to sell as they
saw that the logging infrastructure might eventually not be there. The
mill eventually had to close because it could not get enough wood. Like a
natural ecosystem, the economic ecosystem of a community is very
fragile.
"As more timberland was purchased, more homes and farms
began to disappear. Many residents wanted to hold out but with fewer jobs
in the county, the value of their homes and property began to go down. As
the Park Service purchased them, they lay empty for months or even years
because the agency said they did not have the funds to clear them out.
They became havens for vandals and drug houses.
"The Nature
Conservancy and other land trusts began to circle like buzzards. They
would buy from financially distressed landowners, then turn the land over
to the Federal government. Time after time this happened, quietly,
secretly and silently they helped undercut the community.
"As
properties were taken off the tax rolls, the schools and county services
began to suffer. Several closed making longer trips to school necessary
for families. The school district didn't have the money for the busses
they needed. Roads began to close. As large areas were purchased by the
Park Service, the agency put up chains across the roads. Some of these
roads had been used for years by neighbors as access points to the river
or to go camping, swimming, woodcutting or berry picking. Usually we knew
another way but over time, all the access was closed
off.
"Churches, clubs and other community services began to close.
The Rotary Club couldn't keep enough members. The library was in trouble.
The hours were cut for it and other county services. There had been
several markets in town and three gas stations. There is only one of each
now and it looks like the store will close. That means a 80 mile drive to
Millersville for groceries. Over time, other essential services and stores
began to disappear.
"When the park was created they promised
tourism. I don't know where it is. We gave up a lot of good jobs for this
park and the tourists don't come. Several motels and restaurants were
built in anticipation of the visitors. All but one restaurant is closed,
and it cut its hours back. We have two motels still open but they are
struggling.
"We have a very nice ski area but a Park Service trail
runs through it. The agency has harassed the owners so often that they're
close to giving up. They can't get any kind of commitment from the Park
Service as to a final trail location so they can't invest in modernizing
and expanding the ski area. There sure are a lot of people in town who
would benefit if the ski area were allowed to meet its
potential.
"We thought the Park Service supported recreation. Now
it seems the opposite is true. We heard from people out West that the Park
Service and the environmental groups were becoming anti-recreation. It
couldn't be true we said. It looks like we were wrong. They seem to be
against skiing and snowmobiling. Snowmobiles are being kicked out of all
parks. It doesn't make sense.
"The county had no choice but to
raise our taxes. The tax base for the county was shrinking almost daily.
We had one local bank and several bank branches. Now there is only one
branch open as part of the market, but it may go away too. The banks have
not made loans in our town for several years now because the future is
unstable. They won't make loans to loggers, equipment suppliers, or small
businessmen because of threat from the Feds. No new houses have been built
in some time. The theater closed and the cable television company is
considering shutting down. It feels like a ghost town.
"We always
thought we could fall back on our farmers and ranchers. But as farmland
was purchased, more and more farmers began to leave. Their kids didn't see
any reason to stay. There aren't enough farmers now to support the supply
store and the farming infrastructure and other needs. The farmers have to
drive so far to get services that it just doesn't make sense. More and
more are selling.
"It's ironic. When the park was proposed there
was a big land acquisition fund before Congress at about the same time
that included some funding for recreation. Many county commissioners
supported it because they wanted money for soccer fields and swimming
pools. Now they see they've lost their tax base and have trouble finding
the resources to maintain those assets. The population has changed so much
they may not even need them soon.
"Surprisingly, even homebuilders
and realtors supported the land acquisition funding originally as well as
the park. They really thought the tourism would come and provide an
economic boom. Now they see they don't have a market anymore and most
people have been driven to the city. The land acquisition has sucked the
vitality right out of the community. But it's too late to go
back.
"Frankly, it seems like most of these big organizations like
the realtors and homebuilders and even the county commissioners are
controlled by hired guns from the big cities so I'm not sure they really
care about what happens in our community. And our local county
commissioners are so busy they hardly have time to go to all the meetings
as the planners from the Federal government come and take over the
process.
"The Government even wants a buffer zone around the park
now and is trying to close down the roads and access to the National
Forests. What a difference between now and when I was growing up. So many
places we used to enjoy are either owned by the government or regulated so
tightly you can't go there or use them.
"The hunters and sportsmen
really got a surprise. They supported all the land acquisition only to
find that they lost access to many places. And frankly, game was more
plentiful on the land when it was private. I've never been convinced these
hot shot fancy education government officials knew much about protecting
wildlife. I know we had better hunting around here before all the private
lands were taken by the government, especially when tree harvesting was
taking place.
"Some of my neighbors are determined to stay and
suffer the consequences and severe hardships of living within a now nearly
all Federal enclave. I love my town. I was born and raised here, went away
to college and came back. It looks like that even though I stood up to
those Federal land acquisition agents, there will soon be nothing left to
stand up for. I never thought I'd be a willing seller. But I am
now."
"This is a composite of experiences from landowners who have
been forced to sell their property against their will."
WANT TO STOP CARA (HR
701)? You have only a few days until the vote is scheduled May 10th. The bill advocates are trying to say CARA has protections for private property rights. Don't you believe it. They do have a couple of token provisions which will only slightly slow the land acquisition process down. The bottom line is: "IT'S THE MONEY, STUPID." If the Feds have the money, they'll find a way to get you. Count on it. There must be no trust fund. No new Entitlement. All the money must go through the appropriations process. Why does land acquisition take a higher priority than health care, the military, education and many other important social priorities? It shouldn't and you can make sure it doesn't. $45 billion dollars over 15 years is a lot of money. It is a lot of other priorities that won't get funded so a Government agent can buy your house. Something isn't right here. Call your Congressman at (202) 225-3121 to urge him or her to vote NO on CARA. Send a copy of "Willing Seller, A Myth" to your Congressman. Better yet, had deliver it to him over the weekend when he or she is home. We have attached a formatted version with this E-Mail. We've suggested that you use a phone call or fax over E-mail at the last minute. In this situation, E-mail is very appropriate and some will get read in time. Send a copy of "Willing Seller, A Myth" to at least five other people. Make photocopies of the formatted version and hand them out to your neighbors and friends. As them to call your Congressman at (202) 225-3121. |
Be informed! Don't allow yourself to be snowed by CARA.