Skagit County's blog

Recently, CAPR’s Skagit chapter invited Elaine Willman, nationally renowned author and public speaker, to hold a workshop on water and property rights, specifically in the context of conflicts with tribal governments.  Ms Willman, who has written two popular books on that subject, is an expert on federal government and tribal decisions and how they impact land use inside and outside Indian reservations.  She also is vocal about threats to constitutional rights for both tribal members and other American citizens.

The following letter from Jacob and Wendy Tellberg to Department of Ecology Hydrologist and GIS Analyst John Rose provides further proof of the burden that the flawed Skagit Basin In-stream Flow Rule is causing citizens of our county. Like many others, Jake and Wendy continue to suffer serious financial harm in the aftermath of the 2013 Swinomish decision. Their property has been dramatically devalued and they are unable to do anything with it. Their retirement plans are in complete disarray.

Citizens in many places of Washington State are under attack from elected officials and unelected bureaucrats in Olympia.  Often, these individuals, who are supposed to be servants of the people, are instead servants of special interests, especially the environmental NGO's and the tribes who contribute generously to campaign coffers and get a hefty return on investment with preferencial treatment, advantageous legislation and administrative regulations, and favorable court rulings.   This favorable treatment often results in significant financial harm and shattered dreams to the people who live outside the urban areas in and around metropolitan Seattle. 

On Friday, May 30th at 7:00 PM, Professor (Emeritus) Tim Ball, University of Winnipeg, provided  a riveting presentation on the climate and efforts to politicize it, titled: The Climate: Science Based on Evidence.  Professor Ball’s presentation was the third in a series of presentations sponsored by the Skagit CAPR Chapter in 2014. 

The Skagit CAPR Chapter sponsored water forums in Concrete in June and July.  Both were well attended by area residents, who have been most affected by the Department of Ecology’s ridiculous and punishing In-stream Flow Rule.  Attendance at the June 11th event had Concrete’s American Legion Hall filled to capacity.  Even more people showed up on July 21st.

In 2014, our chapter sponsored five TV spots on the Comcast system aimed at raising awareness of the real threat to property rights in Skagit County.  This is a trend that is seen across the entire country.  Unfortunately, the situation in Washington is as bad or worse than any other state and Skagit seems to be ground zero.  In this day and age, too many people, especially bureaucrats and elected officials, do not appreciate the fact that property rights are absolutely necessary to preserve our freedoms and ensure prosperity. 

The Skagit CAPR Chapter has been running a series of TV Spots during primetime Fox News programming on Comcast since February in Skagit County.  You can view them on our supporting webpage at  http://proprights.org/INFO  Click the thumbnails to watch each 30 second video. 

Photo courtesy of Dave Onkels