February 5, 2012
I want to start with an apology to the Mayor of Bandon, Mary Schamehorn.
I wrote in last week’s Guest Editorial that she was still a member the South Coast Development Council and that was wrong, I apologize. Mea culpa Madame Mayor. I was over zealous and should have attained a second verification for the information. The Mayor was on the council, but for a very brief time and no longer serves for SCDC.
I want to start with an apology to the Mayor of Bandon, Mary Schamehorn.
I wrote in last week’s Guest Editorial that she was still a member the South Coast Development Council and that was wrong, I apologize. Mea culpa Madame Mayor. I was over zealous and should have attained a second verification for the information. The Mayor was on the council, but for a very brief time and no longer serves for SCDC.
The SCDC website did have The Mayor listed as a councilor, and this is due to no fault of her own. There should be an immediate correction to the web page anytime there is a change to their organizational structure. This organization functions on public money and should consider their responsibility to their benefactors.
It also proves that not everything you read is true. Please notify me at [email protected] if there are any inaccuracies in my work. If there are mistakes, I will be the first to admit it and accept the responsibility.
It is important to get it right and that you do not take my word for it. Always check it out for yourself, investigate everything and especially, question authority.
Facts are important anytime you take up a cause and that is why these types of experiences have made me more determined to be a seeker of truth.
When the issue of The Bandon Marsh Expansion came to light, there was a lot of speculation, rumors and innuendo as to the real intentions of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. They seem to have an agenda, but The Service is being vague as to what the final plan will look like.
What do they really want to do with our county?
Well, here are the facts based on the expansion map from the USF&WS, the letter The Service sent to property owners and the data compiled by the County Assessor, Steve Jensen.
• With an offer to purchase, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently sent letters to 67 landowners whose properties border the lower Coquille River estuary between river miles 0.5 and 10.4.
• There are 154 distinct parcels of land included in the Bandon Marsh Expansion area.
• The Real Market Value of that property is $24,524,243
• The total Assessed Value of the property is $9,729,043
• The expansion area covers an estimated 4,567.67 Acres.
• The gross property tax of that acreage is $101,508.
Those six facts should be all anyone needs to tell the story of The Bandon Marsh Expansion. It is important to
make the distinctions between facts and suspicions. However, you should always listen to your gut feeling, because in nature, it is those oblivious to their surroundings who are the first to die.
Here are my suspicions, based on my own best guesstiment.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service and Non-Governmental Organizations are currently coordinating to buy key pieces of parcels in Coos County. The Service wants to control the properties with tidal gates for the
purpose of coercing the adjacent property owners into selling their land.
The USF&WS is going to use our tax dollars to buy these parcels within the Bandon Marsh Expansion area and use them for mitigation property, and lease that property as a tax offset for individuals, industries and corporations that need write-offs for their taxes. Mitigation is another way dirty companies can clean up their image by earning carbon credits.
There is no verification of these claims, but it is a very possible scenario. I’m basing this opinion on the history of the Service and the ideological bent of the NGO’s involved. With everything we know about this agency, and the current political environment it would be impossible to predict the future, but that shouldn’t stop us from being
prepared.
On Saturday, February 11th 2012 at 11:00 a.m. there will be a meeting in The Bandon Barn to discuss The Bandon Marsh Expansion.
Several volunteers have created a map of all the properties in the expansion area and have labeled each parcel with the owner’s name. This map is incomplete and we are hoping that property owners in the area will show up to label their land on the map.
Finishing the map will give us a better idea of the bigger picture.
There is more information about The Bandon Marsh Expansion at www.CoosCountyWatchdog.com.
“Rob Taylor was the original organizer of the TEA Parties in Coos County and is currently an independent activist working to promote the rights of the individual.”
Related Posts:
The Six Degrees of Separation
Three Campaign Issues for 2012
It also proves that not everything you read is true. Please notify me at [email protected] if there are any inaccuracies in my work. If there are mistakes, I will be the first to admit it and accept the responsibility.
It is important to get it right and that you do not take my word for it. Always check it out for yourself, investigate everything and especially, question authority.
Facts are important anytime you take up a cause and that is why these types of experiences have made me more determined to be a seeker of truth.
When the issue of The Bandon Marsh Expansion came to light, there was a lot of speculation, rumors and innuendo as to the real intentions of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. They seem to have an agenda, but The Service is being vague as to what the final plan will look like.
What do they really want to do with our county?
Well, here are the facts based on the expansion map from the USF&WS, the letter The Service sent to property owners and the data compiled by the County Assessor, Steve Jensen.
• With an offer to purchase, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently sent letters to 67 landowners whose properties border the lower Coquille River estuary between river miles 0.5 and 10.4.
• There are 154 distinct parcels of land included in the Bandon Marsh Expansion area.
• The Real Market Value of that property is $24,524,243
• The total Assessed Value of the property is $9,729,043
• The expansion area covers an estimated 4,567.67 Acres.
• The gross property tax of that acreage is $101,508.
Those six facts should be all anyone needs to tell the story of The Bandon Marsh Expansion. It is important to
make the distinctions between facts and suspicions. However, you should always listen to your gut feeling, because in nature, it is those oblivious to their surroundings who are the first to die.
Here are my suspicions, based on my own best guesstiment.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service and Non-Governmental Organizations are currently coordinating to buy key pieces of parcels in Coos County. The Service wants to control the properties with tidal gates for the
purpose of coercing the adjacent property owners into selling their land.
The USF&WS is going to use our tax dollars to buy these parcels within the Bandon Marsh Expansion area and use them for mitigation property, and lease that property as a tax offset for individuals, industries and corporations that need write-offs for their taxes. Mitigation is another way dirty companies can clean up their image by earning carbon credits.
There is no verification of these claims, but it is a very possible scenario. I’m basing this opinion on the history of the Service and the ideological bent of the NGO’s involved. With everything we know about this agency, and the current political environment it would be impossible to predict the future, but that shouldn’t stop us from being
prepared.
On Saturday, February 11th 2012 at 11:00 a.m. there will be a meeting in The Bandon Barn to discuss The Bandon Marsh Expansion.
Several volunteers have created a map of all the properties in the expansion area and have labeled each parcel with the owner’s name. This map is incomplete and we are hoping that property owners in the area will show up to label their land on the map.
Finishing the map will give us a better idea of the bigger picture.
There is more information about The Bandon Marsh Expansion at www.CoosCountyWatchdog.com.
“Rob Taylor was the original organizer of the TEA Parties in Coos County and is currently an independent activist working to promote the rights of the individual.”
Related Posts:
The Six Degrees of Separation
Three Campaign Issues for 2012
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