In order to even use their land, ranchers could be forced to pay for frog studies.
There is a stand-off currently under way in the state of California. No this is not a part of the war on drugs as millions of dollars of drugs enter the country at border crossings in the state. This is also not a struggle to address gang issues that have torn the state apart. This is not even a chance to figure out a solution for the drought that plagues the state yearly. This battle has far more at stake, with families squaring off against a tiny enemy with a big voice.
Ranchers and farmers all over California are in a panic as they fight to save their income from some unlikely predators, some tiny green frogs. These frogs are not attacking the farms technically. They are however the reason the new laws are in place to take part of valuable farm land in the name of saving frog lives. It seems when there is a choice between farmers supporting their families and keeping ponds for these little green creatures the frogs win.
Cattle ranchers may no longer have places to graze to save the frogs.
In a state where laws do not need to make sense to be put into place, this unique approach to saving frogs comes as no big shock. According to a recent report:
“California is known for it’s wacky legislation. After all, it is the state where Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a law specifically intended to regulate cow flatulence…no, really.
As such, it will probably come as no surprise that the state recently set aside nearly 2 million acres (for those who have difficulty conceptualizing what 2 million acres looks like, it’s roughly 3x the size of Rhode Island) in order to protect a frog, the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog to be exact.
And while many will just dismiss this as the latest example of a far-leftist government gone mad, a group of California farmers and ranchers, who could very well be regulated out of business by this latest California law, are fighting back and have sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”
Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs may take out ranching in CA.
In many parts of the state, ranchers and loggers use federal lands for both grazing and logging activities. It has been suggested that grazing may need to stop so the grasses will grow and the frogs have much-needed places to hide from larger animals. Logging in the areas would also come to a screeching halt because that also disturbs the frogs.
This is not a simple measure to keep a few ponds safe for frogs but instead, a massive measure to limit the business use of millions of acres of land that is key to many family businesses in the state. Protecting the frogs could have a ripple effect on communities all over the state.
To save their farms and ability to earn a living, several ranching associations and the California Farm Bureau have joined forces to sue U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is possible that some of the lands that currently falls under the habitat designation could be removed from that listing, but this also comes with a cost.
Farmers and other businesses would need to be able to prove their lands are not useful to the frogs. This would include the need to address:
“…substantial regulatory burdens that impose, among other things, study costs, risk assessments, mitigation fees, operational changes, permit fees, and consulting expenses. In some cases, these burdens put the rancher’s livelihood at risk.. The farm groups are represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a Sacramento nonprofit that fights for conservative and property-rights causes.
The restrictions on land use to protect the frogs may someday extend beyond public lands into private property.
Every ranch has springs and has ponds and, when you look at that map, it basically takes all of the foothills, and makes it habitat. There’s a huge fear there as well.”
As many ranchers fight to stay afloat, those who are focusing on the frogs seem to have a slightly different take on things. They are not seeing the need for the ranchers to be able to maintain their income, but instead, they see the groups as merely making a “…mean-spirited attack against these really vulnerable frogs and the toad.”
The post California Farmers Forced From Lands As Liberal Officials Demand Protection For Frogs appeared first on Conservative Daily Post.
Source -> http://last-cabin.xfer.tk/2017/08/california-farmers-forced-from-lands-as-liberal-officials-demand-protection-for-frogs/
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