Land use in Oneida County

To the Editor:

Have you ever seen the “Hunger Games” movies? They depict the U.S. taken over by exploitative forces that divide the country into 12 “sacrifice zones” or districts. Each district has a specialty, such as agriculture, manufacturing, lumber harvesting, mining, etc.

This dystopian future for America is not as fictional and far-fetched as you may think, if the American Stewards of Liberty, Tom Tiffany, and Mary Felzkoski have their way.

The American Stewards of Liberty are a Texas-based group that is against land and water conservation, and advocates for natural resource exploitation. They promote mineral mining, increased grazing, timber cutting, for-profit commercial and industrial development, and oil and gas drilling on federal lands. They spin their message as being about freedom and personal choice, about confronting the “radical environmental movement,” when their true motives are about extracting natural resources. Their goals are extremely unpopular, since 80% of voters nationwide support land conservation.

Our own Tom Tiffany was one of the keynote speakers at the American Stewards for Liberty’s 30x30 summit in September 2023. Tiffany is also bringing the America Stewards for Liberty’s agenda to Wisconsin, and attempted to stall or halt the federal funding for the purchase of the conservation easements in the Pelican River Forest. They did not succeed...this time. Tiffany has also suggested that local governments work with Margaret Byfield, the executive director of the American Stewards for Liberty, while updating their Comprehensive Land Use Plans, on which the Oneida County Planning and Development Committee is now working.

Preserving our environment is extremely popular with the people of Oneida County. We realize how fortunate we are to live in a place where there is clean air, forestland, clear lakes, rivers, and streams. The proposed Lynne mine was defeated in 2018 by 64% of the voters. The county board knows what the people of Oneida want, they just choose to ignore our wishes, and are considering changing the Comprehensive Land Use Plan from using our public lands for recreation and forestry to using it for development of extractive industries (mining) and other industrial development.

Please don’t let this Texas group have a say about land use in northern Wisconsin. Contact your county board supervisor, by phone or email, and tell him/her that you want clean air, clean water, and forests to be left alone in Oneida County, and open to the public. Your children and grandchildren will thank you.

Kathleen Cooper

Rhinelander