Grasty's “Tireless” Quest Against Endangered Species Listing for Sage-Grouse. Say what?

Grasty-Gate just keeps getting worse. Frankly, I'm sick of hearing and reading his name – but there he is, always in the middle of everything when researching anything regarding Harney County.

I never started out with the intention of 'exposing' Grasty – I'd never heard of him and had no reason to doubt his candor (besides the fact he's a politician who wears several hats in his county and seems to control every facet of the entire region, which is, in itself, worrisome to me,) until it became patently obvious that he was trying to control the narrative of the Malheur Refuge Occupation and deliberately attempting to silence the opinions of his own constituents.  And I wondered why?  Why so much over-reaching control?  Who is this guy?  Is there something to hide in his town, his county? 

Basically, his own behavior – and not that of the BLM, which is no surprise or shock to us here at End the BLM Blog, obviously –  piqued our interest. 

The things we have discovered in the course of our research are disturbing and need to be brought to light so that the people of Harney County can scrutinize their local dictator before he is up for re-election. There are questions that need to be asked of him.

So, let's get right into the heart of why we believe that 'Judge' Grasty is not working in the best interests of the people of Harney County.

It seemed curious to us here at End the BLM Blog, that somebody who looks to be so heavily invested in the conservation and protection of the sage-grouse, and who is on the Burns Sage-Grouse Local Implementation Team would put forth “tireless efforts” to prevent them being listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Those are not our words.  Check out who said it in the image below.

Curiouser and curiouser.

 LINK : http://oregoncounties.org/more-on-the-sage-grouse/

So, we had a little chat with one of out contacts 'in the know' about such matters, and it's all quite simply really. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not go far enough for those who are intent on stealing land. The ESA does not actually allow for the wanton taking of private land.

LINK : Endangered Species Act Text –

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/text.htm

LINK : Q & A Page on Threatened and Endangered Species at the USFS website –

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/wildlife/endangered/endangered.htm

  

Agencies like DFW, BLM, etc, are able to restrict your access or use to private land, or to purchase your private land under ESA regulations, but it does not allow them to take your land, or to rezone you out of business because of an ESA listing of a species.

But you can do ALL that on the county level, though. If you want to take land from private owners, if you want to upzone or rezone land, change land uses etc, you have to do that at the local level – the County level.

The ESA would tie the hands of the likes of ODFW and BLM relentlessly working against the people and their private property in Harney County and far beyond.

Remember that Goal 5 funding for 7 counties 'Judge' Grasty got in 2012?  Goal 5 is intricately tied to zoning and land use.

LINK : Department of Land Conservation & Development : Procedure and Requirements for Complying with Goal 5 –

http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_600/oar_660/660_023.html

 

Oregon's unelected Governor, Kate Brown, appointed after the last radical enviro joker was ousted for his corruption, signed the Adopting the Oregon Sage-Grouse Action Plan and directing state agencies to implement the plan in full by Executive Order.

  

PDF LINK : Executive Order 15-18 : Adopting the Oregon Sage-Grouse Action Plan and directing state agencies to implement the plan in full

http://www.oregon.gov/gov/Documents/executive_orders/eo_15-18.pdf

 

 

LINK : Oregon Governor's Executive Orders Index

http://www.oregon.gov/gov/admin/Pages/executive-orders.aspx

  

Did Grasty put forth “tireless efforts” against the Sage-Grouse ESA listing in order to 'protect' the private land and businesses from the intrusion of the act? Or did he just throw the people of his county under the bus? Somebody should ask him about the motivation behind those “tireless efforts.”

It just goes to show that just because something sounds like it might be a good idea on the surface, it doesn't necessarily make it so. Always dig. Always question. And Grasty's “tireless efforts” against the listing of the Greater Sage-Grouse on the ESA might just be a prime example.

SOURCES :

Oregon State Website –
http://www.oregon.gov

NOAA Website –

http://www.noaa.gov

USFS Website –

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/

 

Oregon Counties Website –

http://www.OregonCounties.org

Oregon Secretary of State Archives Website –
http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us