Western Gov's - MOU - Wildlife Corridors

From: Ramona Morrison [mailto:rhmorrison@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:00 PM
To: rhmorrison@sbcglobal.net
Subject: FW: Western Governor's Association Wildlife Corridor MOU and Climate Change Policy Resolution

Dear western ranchers, farmers and interested parties:

As Vice Chairman of the Nevada Board of Agriculture, I am alerting you to the attached drafts of the Western Governors Association proposal for an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Western Governors, the Department of Interior (DOI)and the Department of Agriculture concerning (USDA) “wildlife corridors” and “crucial habitat”. Corridors are nothing short of a innocuous-sounding, back door attempt at a land grab. Dr. Tony Lesperance, Director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture, was provided a last minute version of the draft MOU and contacted Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to express serious concerns about the implications of the “wildlife corridor” and “crucial habitat” language in this MOU. I fully concur.

Governor Gibbons has indicated that Nevada will not be signing on to either the climate change Policy Resolution introduced by Governor’s Schwarzenegger, CA and Richardson, NM (also attached) or the wildlife corridor MOU at the June 14-15 Western Governors meeting in Park City, Utah. If you read the email string below, you will see that a number of western governors are fully supportive of the wildlife corridor MOU. Unfortunately, as with so many of these environmental protection efforts, they sound great until they are actually implemented and directly impact our property rights. Also vague, undefined terms such as “wildlife corridors” and “crucial habitat” can easily be construed into their most destructive definitions by bureaucrats.

I urge you to make your opinions known to Governor Gibbons and Director Lesperance at tlesperance@agri.state.nv.us regarding their stand for Nevada on these issues as well as to the other western governors before the June 14-15 meeting. Also, forward this to any contacts in other western states who may be unaware of these potentially dangerous policy changes. Right now it seems to be moving forward with very little resistance. The Western Governors Association website is www.westgov.org.

Arizona and Nevada rancher, Danny Martinez reminded me of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, New York v. United States, where in Justice O’Connor opined that state officials cannot consent to the enlargement of the powers of the Congress beyond those enumerated by the Constitution. It’s fair to say both of these potential policy changes by the Western States Governor’s go well beyond the enumerated powers of the Federal government as defined by the U.S. Constitution.

New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
(Page 133) Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. “Just as the separation and independence of the coordinate Branches of the Federal Government serves to prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one Branch, a healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal Government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front.
Where Congress exceeds its authority relative to the States, therefore, the departure from the constitutional plan cannot be ratified by the “consent” of state officials. An analogy to the separation of powers among the Branches of the Federal Government clarifies this point. The Constitution’s division of power among the three branches is violated where one Branch invades the territory of another, whether or not the encroached upon Branch approves the encroachment….
The constitutional authority of Congress cannot be expanded by the “consent” of the governmental unit whose domain is thereby narrowed, whether that unit is the Executive Branch or the States.
State officials thus cannot consent to the enlargement of the powers of Congress beyond those enumerated in the Constitution.”[emphasis added]

Best Regards,
Ramona Morrison
Vice Chairman
Nevada Board of Agriculture