“Behave courageously, and the Lord will be with the good.”

2 Chronicles 19:11

Dear Friend,

Fighting for what you believe takes courage.  It takes heart, stamina, knowledge, and faith.  Speaking up and taking action in a time when government is gaining ground and individual liberty is fading takes commitment.

In so doing, we are taking back our nation one community at a time.

More and more people are stepping forward with the necessary courage and leadership to save their community and, in turn, our nation.  The coordination strategy we teach is not only giving them the knowledge, but the hope that is missing in our country today.

There are two examples we want to share with you that clearly demonstrate this revival of spirit and will.  Both of these communities began the coordination process several years ago and faced considerable resistance from naysayers and federal agencies.  However, by staying the course and working the strategy they have witnessed incredible victories.

They have inspired the gift we are offering you today when you make a contribution of any amount.  It is a bold red bumper sticker with the message:

God ♦ Family ♦ Country

Nothing states it more succinctly as to why we fight for property rights, individual liberties and the founding principles that made America great.  We have witnessed remarkable victories all across the nation by those who behaved courageously.

The first story is one we’ve shared before, but more has occurred that you’ll want to hear.  Steve Curtiss, President of the Glen Lake Irrigation District (GLID), was contacted by a few of our Montana members when it became clear their county would not initiate the coordination process with the federal agencies to protect their community.

Although no other irrigation district in the nation had asserted coordination before, GLID took the bold step requesting that both the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service come to the table.

Their moral fiber and backbone was tested at every turn, but their conviction to see it through has now lasted almost three years.  To say that they have faced considerable resistance would be a gross understatement.  At one point, the Forest Service outright rejected their plan, but they never gave up.

Just this month, GLID held their latest coordination meeting and the Forest Service came prepared with a new weapon – a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a congressionally-funded department within the Library of Congress that provides research and analysis at the whim of members of Congress.  The report advocated that federal agencies did not need to coordinate as GLID insisted.

Fred Grant with American Stewards attended the meeting and made it clear that the agency was willingly violating the law if they refused to coordinate because they knew the CRS position was contrary to the statutes and court decisions.  The agency backed down and began the coordination discussion as to provisions of GLID’s Operating and Maintenance Plan.

This Plan is the most significant operational guide for GLID in performing its annual duty of furnishing irrigation water to its 300 water users. The Forest Service wanted to control GLID’s Plan and demanded that they would have to agree in writing to any change in the Plan.  They also threatened to refuse to allow GLID to use water from Forest Land.

GLID was well prepared.  They pointed out they didn’t need a permit from the federal government because their water came from a written and recorded easement that in no way allowed any control by the Forest Service.  After lengthy discussions and a threat of a lawsuit by GLID, the Forest Service backed down and GLID issued its Operations and Maintenance Plan as written.

All over the country, and particularly the West, federal agencies intimidate individuals and local governments into submitting to federal pressure.  Sometimes obtaining a permit is a matter of law that cannot be disputed, but other times it is the result of an agency overstepping its authority and it’s these actions that must be met head on by forcing the agency to prove its position.  GLID challenged the Forest Service’s position through coordination and required the agency to come to the table and settle the matter.

But, the Forest Service did not do so willingly.  For the past three years, they have raised every conceivable argument as to why they did not have to coordinate.  Each argument has been countered through meetings and stacks of correspondence.  The end result is that in April they sat across the table from GLID as required by federal statute, agreed to the terms of GLID’s Operations and Maintenance Plan, and agreed to further coordination meetings.

It takes courage to advocate such a strong position for your neighbors.  The GLID board could have folded their tent believing that the federal government is just too big and strong for their small irrigation district to take on.  The Forest Service resisted coordination with GLID as hard as any agency has in the country.  But, because GLID forged forward with grit and self-determination, they prevailed.

The other spectacular victory is from Logan County, Kansas.  Over two years ago, the Commissioners learned that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be introducing the endangered black footed ferret onto private property within Logan County that was infested with black tailed prairie dogs, a rodent the county was obligated by the state of Kansas to control.

Logan County immediately passed a resolution opposing the introduction of the ferret and sent notice to the Service of their position.  Fish and Wildlife ignored the County and placed the first group of ferrets on the infested property.  They had three more introductions planned.

Logan County immediately scheduled a coordination meeting with the Service.  During this first meeting, the Fish & Wildlife Service insisted that the County discontinue using the more effective Rozol poisoning for the prairie dogs and instead use the less effective zinc-based bait.  They also insisted that the poisonings be pre-approved by the Service, and that no poisoning occur on the property where the ferrets had been released.

The County refused and made clear that state law required they continue to control the prairie dogs in the most effective manner – Rozol poison.  They also made clear that any future releases of the ferret would be in violation of their local policy.

A second meeting occurred with the Fish & Wildlife Service several months later after the County demonstrated they would continue controlling the prairie dog according to county policy.  The Service came in with a letter from the regional supervisor that threatened any county employee with criminal charges involved in poisoning that resulted in the taking of an endangered ferret.

Still, Logan County refused to back down and instead agreed only to inform the Fish & Wildlife Service of where and when they would be poisoning and if the Service did not control the rodent on the property where the ferret was introduced, the County would be compelled to do so.  The County then prepared their poisoning schedule and mailed letters to all the appropriate authorities informing them in advance of their action.

A third coordination meeting was held, and this time the tone was remarkably different.  The Service informed the County they were negotiating an agreement with the landowner where the ferrets had been introduced that would allow the Service to control the prairie dog in a manner acceptable with the County.  They also offered to control the rodent on the county roads that bordered the ferret introduction site.

The County also learned that the Service was not pursuing any more ferret releases until they had gathered more data on the ferret’s ability to survive in Logan County.  To date, the County continues to poison the rodent as necessary and no additional releases have occurred.

Logan County will need to remain vigilant to ensure USFWS follows through on their commitments, but today they can celebrate a great victory.

If Logan County had not stepped in and required coordination, there would be no rodent control efforts taking place today.  The productive farm and grazing lands would be destroyed by an overpopulation of the prairie dogs, employees would be in fear of federal criminal charges, and Logan County would be in economic decline.

Instead, the County has lost nothing, the landowners have gained a local government that will stand up and fight for them, and the remarkable elected officials led by Chairman Carl Urlich now have command of a strategy that can help them protect their County from virtually any destructive federal issue – all because they behaved courageously.

While the coordination process itself is a simple process, it is not a silver bullet.  You must be willing to invest time preparing your issues and positions, hold firm when the agencies resist, and continue to move forward even when you have no certainty of the outcome.

We have the great privilege of working with hundreds of these kinds of folks on a daily basis.  They are our heroes. They are the people working to restore the greatness in America despite what is happening in Washington, D.C.

It is our honor and pleasure to help them in every way we can.

We invite you to lend your help by making a contribution today.  As a special thank you we’ve prepared the “God, Family, Country” bumper sticker, which we will send to you for any contribution you make, great or small.  If you would like more than one of these, please let us know on the enclosed coupon when you send in your contribution.

As always, we need your continued support to do this important work.

This message needs to be shared with fellow Americans.  Our nation was founded by hard working individuals who feared the Lord and believed in the family.  It will take similar dedicated individuals applying these principles to restore our nation to its fullest.

When people stand up and act courageously through coordination, they have confidence in what they are doing will save their community because it works.  We’ve proven that time and again.

It is our duty to help those who are standing up for all of us.  It is our hope that in the very near future the strategy you are helping us implement will be rooted in every community in America.

God bless,

Margaret Byfield Executive Director		Dan Byfield CEO

 P.S.   The 2 Chronicles 19:11 passage is most fitting for the work we do.  We’ve seen it fulfilled first hand so many times over the past 18 years.  Keep it close to your heart and we know it will serve you well.