The Nature Conservancy (TNC), considered to be by far the richest environmental group in the United States, has recently had many of its practices brought into question. The Washington Post, Range Magazine, and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise have all published articles raising concerns about the operations conducted by this organization that reportedly has assets worth more than $3 billion.

Considering the fact that TNC has contracted with the California Department of Fish and Game to create a Comprehensive Management Plan for lands along the Sacramento River, is ultimately involved in the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum and its goal of creating a continuous corridor of riparian habitat along the Sacramento River, owns large tracts of land throughout northern California and is undertaking a flow study that will relate to the proposed Sites Reservoir, it is imperative that our communities be aware of some of the allegations being made against this organization.

Journalists Joe Stephens and David Ottaway of the Washington Post recently authored a series of articles entitled "Big Green", criticizing several suspect practices on the part of TNC. It was reported that TNC had, time and again, bought ecologically significant tracts of land, attached restrictions via easements, and then resold the properties to TNC trustees at greatly reduced prices. The easements allowed the buyers to build homes on the protected land; the buyer would then make a donation to TNC equal to the amount of the discount, providing the buyers with significant tax deductions. One article detailed the conflicting reports given by TNC regarding the compensation and loans received by its president, which ultimately turned out to be greatly under reported. Another article described how TNC has participated in logging on lands allegedly acquired for preservation and how they drilled for natural gas under the last native breeding site of an endangered species of bird. These articles can be obtained on the Washington Post website located at www.washingtonpost.com (do an archives search for The Nature Conservancy).

As a result of the negative publicity stirred up by these articles, TNC has suspended certain practices that were brought into question by the Post’s series of articles, and reportedly is hiring outside lawyers and one of the nation’s largest public relations companies to help head off a congressional investigation.

The article appearing in the Spring Edition of Range Magazine entitled, "Nature’s Landlord", by Tim Findley, further questions the goals and practices of TNC. The article begins as follows: "Unless we as a people are willing to accept the continued loss of not only private property and individual rights, but of large portions of our national culture and custom as well, The Nature Conservancy must be brought to heel." The article describes how TNC purchases private land with the intent of thereafter selling to the government, which then takes this property off of the tax roles, which can devastate a local economy. One quote from the article is particularly interesting, attributed to TNC’s William Weeks in 1991: "We do work closely with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service . . ...we buy these properties when they need to be bought, so that at some point we can become willing sellers [to the government]. This helps the government get around the problem of local opposition."

The Center For the Defense of Free Enterprise also has had TNC in its crosshairs, drafting a report entitled: TRU$T U$. This article describes TNC as a conduit for the nationalization of private property. This report discusses the case of Gibbs vs. The Nature Conservancy, where a jury found that undue influence had been exercised over an elderly gentleman, requiring that TNC relinquish any claims to his estate. Also, this article alleges that TNC secretly lobbied to successfully defeat the Norden Dam, a farmland irrigation project in Nebraska, through the use of surrogates and behind the scenes lobbying.

These articles should be of particular interest to the residents of the Sacramento Valley due to the many questions they raise regarding the practices, role, and ultimate agenda of TNC in the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum (SRCAF) and CALFED programs in the Sacramento Valley. #