30x30 Land Grab

Thursday, Governor Pete Ricketts held a town hall meeting at the Clay County Fairgrounds. The meeting was to inform landowners about his opposition to the 30x30 plan being promoted by President Biden. More than 100 local officials and landowners attended the meeting. Landowners expressed concern about how the federal government planned to acquire the land. From what I learned, it seems they may go about it in a sneaky, underhanded way.

The 30 by 30 plan hopes to conserve 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030. According to the US Geological Survey, currently, about 12 percent of the land in the US is in conservation. Within the next ten years, plan sponsors would like to transition nearly 440 million acres into federally protected lands. Part of this idea stems from 1992 when during the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, a goal was established to set back 17 percent of land and waters to a permanent natural state.

In August 2019, the Center for American Progress published a paper suggesting that 30 percent of land and water be returned to its natural state. The paper also said the world is losing a football field of natural land every 30 seconds, and millions of species would become extinct in the future. Presidential order 14008 was given to the Department of Interior to make a plan for 30x30. This plan was almost identical to the paper published by the Center for American Progress. If you do the math, the 30 by 30 plan claims more land than what this paper suggests we will lose.

There are no details in the plan as to how the land will be claimed only that the administration plans to contact local communities and this will be done on a volunteer basis. They have also said they would use every avenue necessary in order to reach that goal. At the beginning of the new presidential term, the Department of Interior issued order 3396, revoking the previous order set by the Trump administration which allowed local government and states to veto land purchased under the land and water conservation fund.

The federal government can create permanent easements through conservation easements. These easements are permanent unless the contract says otherwise. They prevent future development on this land and farming is considered development. They also reduce the value of land, so property tax goes down. On average, the federal government pays property taxes of $2.50 per acre on the land they own.

He warned CRP contracts may contain habitat protections. Signing these contracts commits to the protection of these habitats. Ricketts advised to read the fine print before signing. Do the research and ask questions.

Ninety-five percent of Nebraska is privately owned. Ricketts said Nebraska has the sixth best natural environment in the nation. If the Federal Government was to set aside 30 percent of our land for conservation, property taxes would go up. Landowners would have to cover the deficit created by the lower taxes the federal government would pay for the land they acquired. Not to mention the deficit it would cause to the economy. Nebraska agriculture is more than just crop production. One in four Nebraskans works in agriculture. It provides people with jobs and significantly contributes to the economy.

30x30 equals higher taxes for landowners, fewer jobs, and less money for things like roads and schools.