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This week, we need help pushing back against two bills. We’ve teamed up with the incredible folks at American Stewards for Liberty, Margaret & Dan Byfield, to find out what exactly these bills do.
HB1890/SB2099
The bill, without specifically defining “conservation easements”, is in fact, creating the Farmland Preservation Fund to allow the TN Commissioner of Agriculture to acquire “agricultural easements” that “imposes limitations or affirmative obligations on the owner of the the owner’s heirs of the servient estate, and assigns with respect to the use and management of the servient land, structures or features thereon…”
The key word in this definition is “servient.” That is precisely the definition of a conservation easement (or in this bill “agricultural easement”) – the landowner becomes the servient (lesser) estate to the holder of the easement who becomes the “dominant” estate holder. Environmentalists years ago realized what they were creating were actually “conservation servitudes”, but they knew landowners would not take kindly to that nomenclature and they intentionally called them “conservation easements” because all landowners know and deal with “easements” on a daily basis.
This bill is up in House Agricultural & Natural Resources Subcommittee at 9am on Tuesday. Please call & email the following committee members & ask that they vote no on HB1890.
Chairman Rusty Grills (615) 741-0718
Rep Tandy Darby (615) 741-7847
Rep Monty Fritts (615) 741-7658
Rep Bud Hulsey (615) 741-2886
Rep Justin Jones (615) 741-2184
Rep Jay Reedy (615) 741-7098
Rep Johnny Shaw (615) 741-4538
Rep Chris Todd (615) 741-7475
rep.rusty.grills@capitol.tn.gov rep.tandy.darby@capitol.tn.gov rep.monty.fritts@capitol.tn.gov rep.bud.hulsey@capitol.tn.gov rep.justin.jones@capitol.tn.gov rep.jay.reedy@capitol.tn.gov
rep.johnny.shaw@capitol.tn.gov rep.chris.todd@capitol.tn.gov
HB1647/SB2069 This bill creates the Tennessee State Forest Fund to, in our estimation, be able to accept federal matching funds from programs such as the Forest Legacy Program (https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/private-land/forest-legacy). This money earmarked for the federal Forest Legacy Program is specifically for conservation easements and land purchases. This program may have dedicated funds that Congress has already allocated, but if the funds from the federal program are coming from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 legislation, it will have potentially devastating consequences for the state.
This bill would facilitate the Biden administration’s 30x30 agenda where they want lock up 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. The Department of Interior claims only 12% of our nation are “permanently protected”. Included in that 12% are national parks, wilderness areas, state parks, national wildlife refuges, national monuments, and private lands with permanent conservation easements.
The Tennessee State Forest Fund, intended or not, will be used by environmental NGOs and the state to purchase conservation easements that will fulfill the Biden administration’s agenda to reach their 30% goal. There are multiple federal funds created by Congress and one of those is the Land and Water Conservation Fund. If you go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/land/staff/LWCF/Documents/FY24%20NFS%20Land%20Acquisition%20Program.pdf on the USDA’s website, you’ll find the list of proposed forest projects they have listed for their 2024 National Forest System Land Acquisition Program and at the very bottom you’ll see Tennessee is one of the states where they have targeted – called the “Treasures of the Central Appalachians.” They have allocated $11,649,000 for those forest lands.
An additional concern is how this bill creates civil penalties for anyone who intentionally removes or destroys a threatened or endangered species. This is something that comes from the federal Endangered Species Act and is one of the most egregious provisions. Someone charged of this violation will be put in the position of defending themselves against the agency’s claims, which may or may not be valid. It can easily be weaponized against the people.
More concerning is the provision to enlist assistance from “law enforcement authorities.” Will these be local (sheriff's department), state, or federal? This should be specified. The county sheriff is the highest law enforcement authority in the county in most states. This provision, if not clarified could diminish the local sheriff’s authority and the equal protection it provides to the people. The state should not be liberally allowing state agencies to pick and choose which law enforcement authority it wants to carry out these provisions. |
