|
Days ahead of a "Stop 30x30 Summit" in Nebraska, the Center for Western Priorities is exposing the anti-public lands extremists behind an organized disinformation campaign against American conservation efforts.
At the center of the “30x30 Disinfo Brigade” is the American Stewards of Liberty, a Texas anti-conservation group with its roots in the "Sagebrush Rebellion" of the 1980s.
“It can be tempting to dismiss the anti-30×30 effort as an extremist sideshow,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director at the Center for Western Priorities and author of the report. “But our research reveals how American Stewards of Liberty acts as a bridge between fringe anti-government groups and mainstream political operatives who are working for big oil companies that try to keep an arms’ length from insurrection supporters and conspiracy theorists like this.”
While American Stewards claims to stand for “private property rights, defending the use of our land, and restoring local control,” CWP's research reveals the organization primarily exists as a financial pass-through for its only employees, Margaret and Daniel Byfield. The report highlights American Stewards’ actual mission to restrict the rights of private property owners, particularly those who wish to protect family farms through the use of voluntary conservation easements.
The organized disinformation network also includes Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, Former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, Utah State Representative Ken Ivory, and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, who is hosting the Nebraska event on Earth Day.
A warning for Nebraskans
Kyle Herrig of the watchdog group Accountable.US, who grew up in Nebraska, also warned the state to not fall for American Stewards' lies.
“Sadly, there is a well-documented history of grifters suckering local governments that can least afford it out of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars in the name of fighting conservation,” Herrig wrote in the Lincoln Journal Star. “Some of these individuals will be on hand for the American Stewards summit. Utah State Rep. Ken Ivory spent years going county to county attempting to secure taxpayer money for his anti-conservation organization. Now he’s coming to Lincoln as a featured speaker thanks to an invite from American Stewards.”
|
As a group, we collectively represent over 40,000 years of experience managing and protecting America’s most precious and important natural and cultural resources.... Now, through the use of the Antiquities Act, you can continue to build an inclusive and resilient conservation legacy that reflects the diversity of our natural heritage and permanently protects our lands and waters.”
