Noodling around

A few things hither and yon....
An interesting defense of conservation easements over at New West by John Wright, the head of the Department of Geography at New Mexico State University. The nut of his argument... Land trusts are not Enron. They are staffed by people of good ethics and strong commitment. The work is simply too hard and the financial rewards too modest to attract the Ken Lay’s of the world. Landowners who donate conservation easements are not shady dealers, they are your neighbors – farmers, ranchers, woodlot owners; families with deep roots in the landscapes they love. If problems exist with easement process, let’s calmly look at the facts and fix them. If the existing appraisal standards need tightening, let’s tighten them and stop any abuses. But if Congress and the press are looking for wholesale corruption, look elsewhere
While at New West, I came across The Westerner which is delving into the controversy over a New Mexico rancher named Kit Laney and his fight with the Forest Service over cattle grazing on public lands. The Denver Post has a good backgrounder on the case. It's a land use fight of a different type, but one that's reverberating through the West.