30 x 30, Second Amendment brings crowd to Supervisors meeting
BROKEN BOW - The Custer County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday, April 13 to a packed room for two items on the agenda with over 70 people standing and sitting in the main board room and more than 20 standing in the landing area on the second floor outside the meeting room.
A presentation on the “30x30 Land Grab” and 2nd Amendment Sanctuary were the last items on the agenda.
Editorial note: In order to make press time on Tuesday, this is only a brief report on this subject. It is obvious this will be something that everyone who owns land will want and need to understand and the Custer County Chief intends to write in detail about it in the coming weeks. This issue will include a handful of quotes from those who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting.
Tim Krause of Mason City was first to speak. Krause stated, “This is not the time to be reactive but proactive. Land owners are under attack by the left wing. I urge the supervisors to look into rewriting the County Zoning guide lines relat
ing to Conservation Easement, propose a resolution against the 30x30 land grab and come up with a customized resolution based on the long tern effects of the county.”
Sally Hircock-Schuett of Chapman said, “I am a landowner in Merrick County with my heart always with my ‘home’ Custer County. I have been assisting several Nebraska County Republican Parties and their Board of Commissioners/Supervisors to understand the economic ramifications and the threat to landowners and private property rights that Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” (86 Fed. Reg. 7,619) signed Jan. 27, 2021 proposes to each and every county across America. The EO is known as ‘30x30 Land Grab.’”
She went on to say, “Keep authority where it belongs in our counties. Farmers and ranchers have been the best stewards of our land for the past 200 plus years. Will the Federal Government do better?”
Hircock-Schuett added, “When cattle leave the land, people leave the land, too. What happens to the taxes that go to our schools if 30 percent of the land is taken away?”
Debbie Sorensen, a fourth generation landowner spoke. “I am here to protect the fifth generation,” she said. “How does the Federal government think they can manage our land better?”
After several others in attendance spoke, the board questioned County Attorney Steven Bowers. Bowers stated, “Some information (presented), I did not know about,” as there was no resolution for the 30x30 on the agenda.
Bowers will draft a resolution; he will get information and structure the resolution to be specific to Custer County.
The second item that drew the crowd was the Second Amendment Sanctuary. Numerous individuals spoke in support. The supervisors voted to approve Resolution 13-2021 which refers to “all rights and liberties of the citizens of Custer County; including the right of the people to worship and peacefully assemble, to keep and bear arms, and freedom of speech.”
It reads, in part, “We hereby declare that we shall stand and defend the rights and liberties of all Custer County Citizens which are guaranteed by the United States and Nebraska Constitutions” and “We affirm our support for the duly elected Sheriff of Custer County, Nebraska in the exercise of his sound discretion and affirm our resolve to support decisions by our Sheriff to defend the Constitutions of the United States and Nebraska.”
The complete resolution can be found on our website, www.custercountychief.com.
Present for the meeting were: Bobby Myers, Dist. #1; Tammy Kleeb, Dist. #2; Barry Fox, Dist. #3; Dwain Bryner, Dist. #4; Don Olson, Dist. #5; Lynn Longmore Dist. #6; Doug Stunkel, Dist. #7.