[Note from Matthew Gaylor:  I personally know some of the farmers in 
this area that the US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to turn into a 
National Wildlife Refuge thus forcing them off their land.  Some of 
the same families have been farming this land for two hundred years. 
If you want to help these farmers and stop this ferderal land grab 
please contact Julie Smithson, Stewards of the Darby, 213 Thorn 
Locust Lane, London, OH  43140-8844,  E-mail:  Jsmit10695@aol.com,
phone# 1-740-857-1239 or  http://www.NODARBYREFUGE.org/ ]

The Asheville Tribune


   FARMERS FIGHT 50,000 ACRE 
   FEDERAL LAND GRAB
    12 year old testifies before Senate; 
    tries to save her family's home
    By Matthew Mittan, The Asheville Tribune

  The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it's 
desire to create a fifty-three thousand acre
  wildlife refuge, much to the chagrin of local residents. Federal 
officials have targeted, for their refuge, some
  of the best farmland in the United States, land that has been farmed 
by some of the same families for two
  hundred years.

Residents opposed to the federal land designation say that the 
proposed refuge would dispossess hundreds
of families and transform a productive agricultural economy into a 
non-productive service economy.
The people of Madison and Unon counties in Ohio are overwhelmingly 
opposed to the proposal. But that
has not slowed the federal agencies from pursuing the land.

Due to that fact, two local grassroots groups, Stewards of the Darby 
(SOD) and Citizens Against Refuge
Proposal (CARP) are at the forefront of the land rights battle. 
Through these groups, local residents drafted
a Declaration entitled "Our Land Is Our Responsibility" which reads 
in part, "We, the residents of the
area publicized as the "Darby Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Study 
Area" want our voices heard!
We, who live and work in this farming community, believe the impact 
to area businesses would
jeopardize their very existence. The Madison County Auditor's Office 
projects the affected region
generates $300 per acre, which turns over 6-7 times (in buying power) 
before leaving the
community. This translates into a potential deficit of $90 million 
dollars to our area businesses.
"[Additionally,] United States Representative Ralph S. Regula 
asserts: 'It is simply irresponsible to
take on new land responsibilities, and give grants to cities, States 
and private institutions, when we
cannot afford to adequately take care of our primary Federal 
responsibilities - the public lands.'

"The State Forest Department manages and protects 7.1 million acres 
of forest land in Ohio, for the
benefit of all Ohio citizens. One hundred eighty one thousand acres 
of State-owned forest land are
available for multiple benefits, including wildlife, recreation, 
timber products, and soil and water
protection. In addition, there are 72 State Parks in Ohio where the 
public can interact with nature
at its leisure. With this great abundance of parks and wildlife 
areas, all supported by our tax dollars,
is there really a need for more public land?

"Actual area land auctions show that a 500-acre farm is worth $1.5 
million dollars. To this initial
cost, add a reasonably priced home at a cost of $85,000, and minimal 
equipment at approximately
$641,000, and the combined start-up cost total $2.226 MILLION 
DOLLARS. After committing to
an investment of such magnitude, why would our astute, 
agriculturally- and family-minded farmers
want to sell?

"In the case of the proposed Darby Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, 
most of the 53,692 acres is
land that has been acquired by our farmers over many generations. 
This "ownership endurance"
enables us to continue our conservation-accredited farming skills, 
thus growing with our
investments. At an average of 4.5 persons per home, this equates to 
the possible residential
displacement of over 7,500 people from the Study Area alone, with a 
loss of approximately 4,000
taxpayers to the community. We have a proven track record of 
providing Americans with a diversity
of products in the global marketplace, with a combination of wheat, 
corn, and soybeans; there
would be a loss of over 3 million bushels of grain from the Study Area!

"With well over 50,000 acres lost to food production, how many 
non-farmers would be willing to
relinquish their combined homes and yards to replace the fertile soil 
that presently feeds so many,
that would be permanently lost by the introduction of a National 
Wildlife Refuge? At some point, we
will no longer have the abundance of high-quality, reasonably priced 
food that we now take for
granted at our supermarkets.

"The growing of food to nourish our citizens is certainly as much a 
consideration as re-establishing
a tall grass prairie. Eating is not going to go out of style, and we 
are not willingly going to yield our
bountiful land to either developers or Federal Agencies who say they 
are 'protecting us' from
development.

"Those of us who have been entrusted with the privilege of caring for 
the land, know well the
proper care and nurturing required to maintain, protect and preserve 
our farmlands, and sustain a
well-established wildlife habitat through conservation management. 
With an eye to the future, and
the experience of almost two hundred years, we know that Our Land Is 
Our Responsibility!"

In response to the public outcry, two bills have een introduced in 
the Ohio Legislature, HCR 44 (Rep Jim
Buchy) and SCR 28 (Sen. Merle Grace Kearns). Both bills seek to block 
the federal effort. "We are trying
to send a message to the federal government that we do not want this 
in our state," said Julie Smithson, a
career truck driver who has been closely involved with the debate.

Advocates for the protection of private property in Ohio hope that 
their struggle for the control of their land
is not lost on the ears of citizens in other areas across the nation. 
"We hope that other States can take up
the issue and join the bandwagon."

This fight has involved more than just the adults in the area. Sheena 
Pennell, a 12 year old student, recently
won an international essay contest, sponsored by Walt Disney and 
McDonalds, for her writings on the
Darby Refuge controversy. Sheena believes that the local residents 
are doing just fine taking care of the
land and that the Fish and Wildlife Department doesn't need to be 
telling farmers how best to manage their
properties. Sheena's mother Marlyne spoke to the Tribune while Sheena 
was at school Tuesday. She
stated that Sheena has always been an independent thinker and that 
her daughter became very interested in
the Darby dispute, researching numerous documents and asking to 
attend several local town hall type
meetings. "She's been a 4-H'er since she was 5 years old, you learn 
to respect the land."

During the course of her inquiries, Sheena learned of numerous facts 
that caused her skepticism of the
FWA initiative. "Several farmers in the area have received awards 
from the Fish and Wildlife Service for
outstanding environmental standards," Mrs. Pennell stated. That 
didn't seem to gel with the position that the
FWA was coming in to "protect the land", Pennell asserted.

The Pennell family home is located on five acres that they have owned 
for nearly a decade. They say they
chose the area to raise their family because of its small town, 
friendly appeal. They enjoy the traditional
farming community life. However, that could soon change due to the 
fact that their land is within the
proposed Wildlife Refuge area.

That situation, and young Sheena's essay, landed the family a seat in 
front of a Senate Committee looking
into the Darby conflict last week. "She was a little nervous at 
first, but I think she feels like she's helping to
make a difference," her mother told the Tribune. "She got to see 
[Senators] hearing her opinions."

A second round of State Senate hearings has been scheduled for mid-March.

On the Federal level, written testimony was presented to the U.S. 
House Resources Committee recently.
The testimony read as follows: "Our area is under threat of being 
declared a National Wildlife Refuge
by the actions of corrupt officials of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife 
Service, acting in collusion with The
Nature Conservancy, which is attempting to impose one of its 
restrictive 'Bioreserve' projects on our
farming community.

"The Columbus Foundation and Affiliated Organizations, a consortium 
of urban foundations
unconcerned about rural economies and the property rights of farmers, 
gave The Nature
Conservancy a grant of $25,000 in 1996 'For Darby Bioreserve Project, 
including hiring
RiverKeeper to promote citizen-based protection of Big and Little 
Darby Creeks.'

"Despite massive opposition to the Project by our local citizens, the USFWS 
continues to act under the influence of The Nature Conservancy and their 
funders, the Columbus Foundation consortium, to cripple our farm community.

"We request that Congress fully investigate this foundation-funded 
attempt to destroy the economy
of our local farm community."

The House Resources Committee is Chaired by Rep. Don Young (R, 
Alaska). No action had been taken
on the Darby Wildlife Refuge designation as of press time.

For more information contact: Stewards of the Darby at 740-857-1239 
or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service at 202-208-5403. The U.S. House Resources Committee can be 
reached by calling
202-225-2761.



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