CAPR's blog

The Army Corp of Engineers and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife continue to provide controversy with their proposed Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Projects. These 11 Billion dollar tax-payer funded plans most certainly need closer scrutiny by the tax-paying public. Snohomish County Watch provides a closer look at one of the projects this Billion Dollar Boondoggle encompases. http://snoco.watch/2014/12/is-psnerp-site-an-army-corps-make-work-project/ This portion of the PSNERP proposed to undo the lifelong work of Rone Brewer, a member of the Washington Water Fowl Association to help in creating farmed land for waterfowl management and public access as part of a past ACE/WDFW restoration project. Now that work will be destroyed.

Student of the history of Liberty Lord John Acton famously said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” With this in mind, as Free American Citizens we owe ourselves dutiful attention to the safeguarding of our Liberties. This seems an extraordinary task when we consider the behemoth government has become. It is in consideration of our Freedoms that we reach for what most Americans consider the baseline for the measurement of Liberty, our Federal and State Constitutions. The essence of Political Liberty is self-governance, and this can only be accomplished through interacting with our elected representatives. Americans tend to think we have three branches of government, the legislative, executive, and judicial, however, we have become the Captives of the Administrative.

On behalf of the following groups, a petition to repeal and replace the 2001 Skagit Instream Flow Rule has been submitted. •Washington REALTORs •Building Industry Association of Washington •North Puget Sound Association of REALTORs •Skagit Island County Building Association •Snohomish-Camano Association of REALTORs •MasterBuilders of King and Snohomish Counties •Washington State Farm Bureau •Just Water Alliance Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights supports this petition.

The Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosytem Restoration Project, PSNERP, http://www.pugetsoundnearshore.org/ will have comment on their NEPA until November 24. http://pugetsoundnearshore.org/outreach.html Online comments can be submitted here: http://bit.ly/PSNearshore That said, a project with the intention of destroying farmland that will be ruined for this and future generations could hardly be called a restoration, since it never was what it will be "restored" to. This project can hardly be called wise stewardship of land. What will the citizens of this state have if they do not have adequate farmland?

From Not Without a Fight: http://countieswithnationalforests.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/reader-view-feds-are-the-real-land-grabbers/#more-915 Reader View: Feds are the real land-grabbers Posted on November 17, 2014by ronroizen9 Editor’s note: On Oct. 27th, we published a New York Times op-ed by New Mexico’s U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich — titled, “The Land Grab Out West.” Heinrich, as readers may recall, was critical of the “state ownership of federal public lands” movement that has gained momentum in the American West in recent years, perhaps particularly in the state he represents, Utah.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Wild Earth Guardians have set the circumstances for an alarming increase in Endangered Species Listings in Washington State, with the projected possibility of 81 species by 2016 in Washington State alone. The Conflicts and Waste of valuable resources due to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have been discussed on this previous CAPR blog article: http://proprights.org/wordpress/corporate-environmentalists-break-promises/ The coming Tidal Wave will most likely have a tremendous negative consequence for water rights in Washington State, as most watershed planning is based on creating and providing water rights to rivers in order to protect endangered and potentially endangered species.

Forbes points out government's intrusion into agriculture, property rights, and functional commerce is a problem constantly looking for a solution. This thoughtful article raises questions regarding this over-reach but causes one to question where does the responsibility lie in the enforcing of respect for the rule of law and the constitutional rights Americans enjoy? The individual, courts, or congress? It seems most important advances in the preservation of property rights have begun with individuals and have been decided with the help of fine legal organizations in court. It can be assumed then that the most important defender of property rights would be the individual American Citizen. Is it not true that our constitutional rights were designed for the protection of the individual and to be guarded by the individual?

In Florida, plaintiffs claim riparian property rights. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the City of Sanibel claim that riparian rights are based in state law and are not "fundamental" rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. The Owners’ Counsel of America, National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Cato Institute and Rutherford Institute beg to differ with an Amici Brief. Read the details below: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2014/11/11/amici-brief-asks-supreme-court-confirm-property-rights-are-fundamental-rights-deserving-c#axzz3Is1uSaNg

Preserve Responsible Shoreline Management LLC has filed a petition for review with the Growth Management Hearings Board to challenge the City of Bainbridge Island’s new Shoreline Master Program (SMP) (Ordinance 2014-04) and the Department of Ecology’s approval of it on August 8. PRSM's website provides the petition at this link: http://prsm-bi.org/?page_id=76 The SMP prohibits docks for single family residences and prohibits bulkheads in some designations. The City declared all single family residences nonconforming, limited their expansion, and limited their height to 30 feet, disregarding SMA allowances. Bainbridge Island shoreline property owners are responsible citizens who care about the waters of the Puget Sound and the wonderful environment we live in.

From the Washington Post: District Court Strikes Down Endangered Species Protections for Exceeding the Scope of Federal Power By Jonathan H. Adler November 5 This afternoon a district court in Utah held that the federal prohibition against “taking” Utah prairie dogs — listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act — exceeds the scope of federal power under the Commerce and Necessary and Proper clauses. Here is how Judge Dee Benson summarized his conclusion in People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Although the Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to do many things, it does not authorize Congress to regulate takes of a purely intrastate species that has no substantial effect on interstate commerce.