Farm Bureau Fears Land Grab
|  Video
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| Amanda Tetlak |
| 6/3/2009 |
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| In March, Congress passed legislation that approves federal designation of the Northern Plains National Heritage Area. With that, comes $10 million to be used to promote the area of a half a million acres along the Missouri River from Huff Hills to the Knife River Indian Village. What could possibly be wrong with that? Some of that land is in private hands, and they don`t want to lose it to the government. The North Dakota Farm Bureau says the designation means the Federal Government may be able to interfere with the rights of private property owners. The historic places surrounding the banks of the Missouri River through Central North Dakota attract thousands of tourists every year. But public property isn`t what the Farm Bureau is mostly concerned about, it`s the private farmland in between, and Farm Bureau says those property owners should have had a say in the inclusion of their property in the designation. "A feasibility study was supposed to be done to acquire a National Heritage Area," says Wes Klein, of the ND Farm Bureau. "In this feasibility study one of the four criteria is public input. But actual public property input, that never happened." The Farm Bureau says over time, it fears the federal government will be able to seize the property without allowing owners to freely pass it on to their children. "At what point and time does the national park come in and say you know what, this site is of such importance and national significance, we`re going to take it and we`re going to take it because you`re in a national heritage area and we can do this," says Klein. But the committee that will decide how the money will be used says it`s a misconception that private property within the National Heritage Area, like this farm near Stanton, will be in jeopardy. "There is absolutely no regulatory authority here," says Tracy Potter, of the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation. "There is nothing you can do. You can`t own land or tell people how to lead their lives or what to do with their land." Potter says the money will probably be used for marketing such as billboards or brochures and is a bonus for the state because it will create jobs and property owners rights will be maintained. The Farm Bureau says it will make it its mission to make sure that remains true. Potter says the committee will begin holding public hearings to get input from property owners on upcoming projects in the near future. |
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