(link to listen at the bottom)
(Rocky Ford, CO) -- "Who is going to control this nation, is it going to be We The People, or is it going to be government, that's what 30 x 30 is about ."
Margaret Byfield from American Stewards of Liberty told a crowd at the Grand Theatre in Rocky Ford that her research has revealed to her that 30 x 30 isn't about conservation.
30 x30 is an international agenda in fact to protect 30 percent of the world's lands and oceans in their natural state. She said it's being sold as just a conservation project but she explained that it has roots that go back to 1992. She said the green agenda is helping this be implemented in America. Byfield explains it advanced further after President Joe Biden signed an executive order on January 27, 2021.
"How Much Nature Should America Keep", she says is a document written by the Center for American Progress, which she says is funded by George Soros. Byfield says the article is a playbook for how 30 x 30 will be marketed to America.
But why?
If we don't do this in the coming decades a million species will go extinct the group promoting the movement touts.
Byfield says it's based on Climate crisis science based on models. The problem with that according to Byfield is that models aren't effective to use, one should use facts instead.
A Senate and House resolution got their attention that this might be moving forward, and while it didn't get a lot of attention, Vice President Kamala Harris, then Senator, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, then a Representative, signed the legislation.
Byfield said, "we knew we had two true believers in this agenda that were now in two of the most important and powerful positions when it comes to land in America in the new government, so we knew we were going to have a fight on our hands."
Byfield says she feels many missed important aspects of the executive order 14008, because it was the 57 page document that did away with much of the oil and gas industry. She feels the attention to 30 x 30 might've been missed. She says there was a small portion of the order that addressed the agenda. She reads that the purpose of this, to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.
The same day a fact sheet was released by the department of the interior on how they would implement the order.
There were other signs that caused Byfield and her researchers to take pause and take notice.
Thirteen days later the acting secretary of the department of the interior rescinded a key order that was earlier put in place. What the earlier order said was that the federal government must get the permission of the local governments before making a land acquisition of private land.
There was also already an act in place which President Donald Trump signed, that Congress fully and permanently funded the land and water conservation fund. Every year it gets 900 million dollars and half of that is to be spent on federal land acquisitions.
Lands that are eye-balled for the taking include private land, Byfield adds. She estimates from her research that it accounts to acquiring three thousand acres a day, 1.1 million acres a year, 11 million acres in ten years.
Why are they trying to add more protected land by 2030?
Byfield explains that asking why the government is wanting to acquire land is an important question to ask.
The Heritage Foundation released a report in response to these numbers. Using facts, not models, from 15 years in history they found just five percent of the land in the United States is actually developed.
Byfield says she feels private land will be a target with the 30 x 30 initiative. She says land owners signing up for conservation programs should be cautious. Protection of endangered species could open the door for fines, fees and regulations on private lands should the landowner take out federally funded loans and take part in other programs.
To test our her fears, Byfield asked her organization's team of attorneys if the provision could be used against landowners. There are currently no cases out there that would limit its scope was the answer she received. It has not yet been litigated. She says that's concerning for farmers and ranchers in conservation programs.
"I don't like having to tell people that, but I also think you guys really need to be aware, and as you look at these programs, be very very discerning and just be thinking about what could be ahead in the future."
To learn more and for updated news on 30 x 30 from Byfield's organization, American Stewards for Liberty. Click here: https://americanstewards.us/
To read more from the CAP report referenced above, click here: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/much-nature-america-keep/
To listen to the talk, click here:
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Rocky Ford FFA student Alyssa Hancock gave her state awarding winning speech on 30 X 30 and presented it to the audience on Thursday night.
~Anne Boswell, Colorado News, YOUR Way