A Usenet persona calling itself RkyMtnHootOwl wrote:

Hi Scott, I see you are still tiltin" at windmills!

That's me, Don Quixote de la Windhover Ranch.

Sounds like you are up
against the ESA on one hand, and the paddlers on the other!

Indeed. The irony is that the Eagle Protection Act is, in this case, a
two-edged sword. On one hand, it constitutes a taking of my property without
compensation by the government, and on the other, it gives me a potent
weapon in the fight against trespass by floating.

Don't get me started on prairie dogs and the Preble's Meadow Jumping
Mouse...

I myself am
more than willing to paddle somewhere else than on that stretch of the
river, but I assume from your continuing comments that there are some that
continue to hassle you and your eagles!

Not knowingly, at least that I know of. We did have plenty of trespassers
this summer, but I'd guess that most of them had no idea what they were
getting into. That's why I'm going to put up the warning signs. I hope that
most responsible people will decide that their pleasure for an afternoon's
float on a fla****er stream isn't worth the risk of harming a majestic and
beautiful national symbol, not to mention getting arrested.

Of course, I'm equally certain that there are some sphincters out there who
don't give a damn about the eagles or anything else, and will go out of
their way to trespass just to try to "win" some obscure point.

I can only apologize for them, the
eagles I mean! It would seem though that the eagles are the best thing that
could have happened to you to abate the paddler problem. The paddlers are
accountable to the ESA rangers. How do you complain about that? Have you
found that the rangers actually stopped the paddling conflict?

Not so far. Remember, the eagles moved in just last year, moving their nest
from another tree not in proximity to the creek. I suspect they did this
because there was construction activity along the railroad tracks that year,
where the city of Lafayette put in a raw water supply pipeline. I suspect
that this activity caused the eagles to move their nest, providently for me
and unfortunately for trespassing boaters, right next to the creek.

That's why I published the article (in the Boulder Daily Camera) and posted
it here. I wanted to notify people that the situation has changed. I'll be
documenting trespasses on the creek and will be reporting to the USFWS as
well as the local Sheriff, who is in a position to respond and detain
violators pending USFWS response. Then again, under Colorado law, I can
detain them myself if I need to, though I usually try to let the Sheriff
handle it.

I've found
that there is lots of other water to paddle, where I don't have to worry
about grumpy old land owners!

Your attitude is refreshingly adult and reasonable, and I really appreciate
your comments. You have reiterated exactly what I've been saying for more
than a decade now. There's lots better (and legal) places to boat.
Unfortunately, there's a contingent of the paddling community whom I
describe as "access zealots" who are bullheadedly determined to maintain the
fiction that they can, and indeed must go wherever they can float their
boat, irrespective of the legality, consequences or impacts, as some sort of
misguided political agenda. These marginal zealots give responsible boaters
a bad name, and create a lot of conflict that could otherwise be avoided. In
the case of Colorado, they've succeeded in stirring up the hornet's nest to
the extent that they may very well have shot their own toes off and cut off
their noses to spite their faces.


Of course you lose use of the land, but I wonder how many head of cattle
that 41 acres represents?

About 10-15, which equates to about $1300 to $2000 a year for cattle, and
$5000 to $14,000 per year for horses, depending on what equestrian amenities
I decide to offer. But that's just the potential income. The value of the
property itself is much, much higher.

Of course, I'd be happy to lease the 41 acres (it's actually more like 30
acres, because part of the minimum exclusion circle for the nest site falls
on the neighbor's property because the nest is near the property line, which
would have taken too many words to explain in the article) to the USFWS for
$5000 to $14,000 per year and let them put up fences to keep livestock out,
and agree not to go into that area without their permission.

In fact, I'm going to propose precisely that to the FWS at some point.

I plan to seek an "incidental take" permit that would permit me to enter the
exclusion area as necessary for livestock management, agricultural
operations and personal pleasure. If such a permit is granted, my complaint
will end there, as I will again have access to my land and am not liable for
arrest for disturbing the eagles. I don't believe that an incidental take
permit is allowed under the statute for those purposes, so I fully expect to
be turned down.

Then I'll ask the feds to pay rent on the property they've excluded me from.
I think $5000 to $14,000 a year is a bargain for such valuable, rare eagle
habitat. After all, there are only two such nests in all of Boulder County,
and, as they say in real estate, "location, location, location!" I don't
expect that to succeed either, unless Pombo's bill passes, of course. I
could be pleasantly surprised, however, in which case my complaint will
end...so long as they pay the rent. This is the preferred solution.

The final step in the process is to sue the government for
unconstitutionally taking my property without just compensation, thereby
setting a precedent for all existing and future eagle nest (and ESA habitat)
hosts while compensating me for the loss I've suffered.

You can still enjoy the view, which I am sure
would be nice just as a conservancy. Could you not donate the land to a
conservancy group, and take a good tax right off, and still have the view?

Been there, done that. The City of Boulder open space department holds a
conservation easement on the property that prevents most development,
particularly in the White Rocks Natural Area, which is 105 acres including
the cliffs, the creek and the adjacent riparian areas.

However, cattle and horse ranching is still allowed, and is in fact
necessary to the health of the ecosystem.

As for "donating" it, why would I want to do that? This property is
potentially worth millions of dollars (I know because I'm being taxed by the
IRS estate tax as if it has already been developed in to several "luxury
estate" home sites...even though it's not, and likely will never be...) and
it's both my home and my legacy.

Having the "view" is hardly sufficient either. Just last weekend, I spent
the entire afternoon sitting on a log near the creek watching and
photographing the herd of whitetails browsing around me, much of the time
within 15 yards. A month ago, my business partner and his wife saw an
endangered Canada Lynx on the lane.

How can I get THAT "view" by giving the property to someone else?

Besides, I AM a "conservancy." I know more about conserving this property
than anybody alive, so I'm the best person to be stewarding the property
into the future.

I know that this is difficult when you are fourth generation, but sometimes
it is better to bend than to break. My family lost ranch land to the US
Military for air bases during each of the last two WW's, and we got very
little from them in return, and didn't get any sort of view either, but
then that was war time, and we all had to make sacrifices! I understand
that we are at war now, so I suppose that may have something to do with
your present ongoing situation!

That sucks big time, but eminent domain, particularly during wartime, is
just one of those things. I don't think that Homeland Security has their
eyes on my property just yet, fortunately. You did, however, get *some*
compensation, as inadequate as you may have felt it was. I've gotten nothing
for being a good steward of the land and for protecting it so that the
eagles *want* to nest here. That's hardly fair, since it's the public that
puts the value on the eagles, not me.


I wondered what happened to you after all the discussions last Spring, I
got busy during the Summer, and I lost track of the previous conversation,
but it sounds like you are ready for the new cabin fever season! Let the
games begin!

I've been way busy too, producing a second DVD project for most of the
summer and now we're into the marketing effort.


We never kept our lunch appt. so that may still be in the works, if you are
up to it! I realize that prospect may still disturb some of my other
friends here on the RBP, but they should rest easy. I would point out that
I have changed my Nom-de-Plume, having spent the Summer mellowing out. I
might even be protected under that ESA regs! RkyMtnHootOwl 0v0

Life is about each moment of breath,
Living, about each breathless moment!

Thanks, KnesisKnosis, aka Tinkerntom, aka TnT

and now a friendlier, "RkyMtnHootOwl" 0v0


2 WW kayaks,
'73 Folbot Super,
pre '60 Klepper AEII
77 Hobie Cat 16

Glad you're feeling better.

--
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