You know, there might be nothing more important than private property. Those of us who have chosen to build our lives far from the cities understand that better than most. I live on a mountain in Custer County, on one of the few plots of land that isn’t owned by the state or federal government. […]
Sharing and Giving: The Moral Weight of Ownership There is a subtle but profound difference between sharing and giving. Modern ears often treat the words as interchangeable, but they represent opposing moral postures toward the world. G. K. Chesterton once described this difference vividly: sharing is a collectivist act, a gesture without full participation of the heart, while […]
I am not a psychiatrist, but I did spend last night in a Holiday Inn Express. More seriously, I spent three months in clinical psychiatry during medical school and attended a handful of lectures in “social psychology.” Whenever the word “social” is prefixed to another field—such as social economics, social justice, social planning, socialism, or […]
Life goes on in the Plantation. We are dealing with an issue that many of you have written to me about and our situation is happening all over Idaho in large and small communities. Our quite peaceful neighborhood is soon to become a construction site and dump for a new “project” of high-density housing that […]
Many wonder who is running the country as Biden slips into the world of senility. Actually, America is being run behind the scenes by groups of technocrats. Without any congressional authorization, these technocrats are taking actions in multiple government sectors, making policy through executive fiat, one of which is on natural resources. Although first announced […]
By now, many may already be aware of the current “crisis” with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) “curtailing” the use of ground water to farmers with “junior rights” in eastern Idaho. IDWR based the curtailment on farmers for either failing to submit a mitigation plan, or submitting an unacceptable water mitigation plan, by […]
In a groundbreaking decision, the United States Supreme Court has handed down a monumental victory for property rights with its ruling in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 25, 2023. The ruling, which has far-reaching implications for property owners in Idaho and across the nation, represents a significant victory for […]
The Lemhi river is 60 miles long, as a tributary flows northwest to the Salmon river, feeding into the Snake river, and ultimately flows into the Columbia river. Below is a map of Lemhi River Basin tributaries that are priority areas for conservation. Multiple ranches are dependent on this water for livestock grazing and agriculture. […]
Control Over Idaho Water – Part 1 Much interest in the Lemhi River and its tributaries has been around for some time. According to the Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB), the “Lemhi River is one of the cornerstones of Idaho’s Salmon Recovery Effort.” In 2004, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) conducted a study, Instream Flow […]
President of CAPR (Spokane Citizens Alliance for Property Rights), Cindy Zapotocky opened their annual Christmas Dessert Party on Dec 10th with the following disclaimer: “CAPR is a pro-constitutional property rights public interest group. Our meetings are open to the public. At meetings, we invite visitors and members to speak about what is on their minds. […]
— Published with Permission of WesternWire.net — The Trump administration moved to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” or WOTUS rule under the Clean Water Act that Western elected officials hailed as fairer for farmers, ranchers and landowners. The announcement came Tuesday as Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler released details the agency […]
(The above video was recorded at a public Meeting in Ronan, Montana, where the People’s approach to the Reserved Water Rights Compact was introduced!) The People of Montana need to get the word out on some exciting news. A completely new practical approach to a People’s Compact has been developed through the concerted efforts of […]