A Usenet persona calling itself Frederick Burroughs wrote:


There are plenty of places in Colorado where people can kayak perfectly
legally, over public lands, and even over private lands with permission. My
ranch is not included in that list. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

But thanks for asking so politely, it's pretty unusual.


I'll assume you pay substantially less property tax on land designated
"wildlife preserve?"

Nope. I pay standard agricultural land taxes, even on the parts I can't use
for crops/livestock, including the parts I'm excluded from six months a year
because of the nesting eagles.

I'd love it if there were an "open space/wildlife preserve" tax bracket, but
there's not. In fact, unless I'm actually producing crops, the land could be
reclassified as "vacant land," in which case the property taxes would be
enormously higher. Our property tax system is antidiluvian and maintains
that vacant land is undesirable and ought to be developed, so that the
government can collect more taxes from it (think eminent domain condemnation
of perfectly good houses to give the land to Wal-Mart, which pays more in
sales taxes). They stimulate development by taxing vacant land at a
relatively high rate. Only because I'm a rancher am I able to qualify for
the agricultural rating.

Bald Eagles are indeed among nature's most
majestic birds. I see them often, almost every time I canoe on the
North Fork of the Shenandoah River. I was surprised how resilient and
accommodating they are to human intrusiveness. I've seen them very
near busy public highways and residential development, not to mention
the intensive recreational use by humans (fishing, boating, swimming)
of the river where they live.

Interestingly, in discussions with some experts, it also seems that they can
be negatively impacted by the LACK of use. Evidently, change in patterns
seems to have a lot to do with it. I've actually seen one of the eagles
sitting on top of a dump truck in my equipment yard, about 20 yards from my
house. He was sitting on the truck, and about 20 bunny rabbits were hiding
under the truck waiting for him to go away.

Still, I've been told quite clearly that "flushing" the eagles is a crime,
and because it's one of only two or three eagle's nests in Boulder County,
the open space people have a program that uses volunteers to monitor the
nests on a regular basis, which means that the area is potentially under
surveillance at all times. This was brought to my attention when the ranger
called to ask about some vehicle tracks observers saw around the tree, which
evidently were from rounding up cattle for sale by my lessee.

And the fact of the matter is that kayakers DO flush these eagles. It
happened last year. Had I known of the federal law, I would have demanded
prosecution.

What ****es me off is that I've been going about my business of managing my
property for much longer than the eagles have been here. They appeared and
started nesting about 10 years ago or so, and evidently my perambulations
didn't "disturb" them enough to keep them from nesting, and I gladly
welcomed them to the property. I love having them here and I love seeing
them fly. However, prior to a couple of weeks ago, they were an asset to the
property that I was glad to have here. Now, they're a liability, and I face
prison for so much as walking around on my own property as I've been doing
for more than 40 years, if some volunteer spy claims that I "disturbed" the
eagles. This is simply not right. Unfortunately, now I'd like nothing better
than for the eagles to go somewhere else so I can use my land again. What a
mixed-up way of encouraging people to provide habitat for endangered and
protected species.

If I'm going to be excluded from my land because federally-protected
wildlife is using it, then I ought to be getting rent payments from the
government for the land I'm not allowed to use.

The first I ever saw Bald Eagles was at
Great Falls National Park (Virginia side) on the Potomac River. They
were just upriver from the falls. This area is also a wildlife
sanctuary, but also an area of intense recreational use. I understand
the reluctance to sunbathe nude while fleets of paddlers float by.

And then there's the problem of me getting arrested for "indecent exposure"
if one of the participants happens to be a child...

Wouldn't want to get a reputation as the crazy, naked guy who shouts
and throws rocks at canoeists.

I don't throw rocks, that's illegal. A lasso perhaps, but only as a last
resort to effect an arrest.

--
Regards,
Scott Weiser

"I love the Internet, I no longer have to depend on
friends, family and co-workers, I can annoy people WORLDWIDE!" TM

© 2005 Scott Weiser