Legislative

Rock Creek Valley Trail Connections (map link)

Open house - November 17, 2009 4-7 PM

(no presentation, just look at displays and write comments)

Black Diamond Community Center, 31605 Third Ave, Black Diamond.

Please go and write in the following comments:

Please include east/west and NW/SE trail easements for Equestrians

Please include Equestrian arena area in plans

Any questions? contact Joan Burlingame, 206-852-2318 cell phone or joan@jburlingame.com

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May 1, 2009

King Conservation District sets dates and locations for district-wide public comment sessions www.kingcd.org

District seeks input in advance of 2010 special assessment Link

HR 980 Adding thousands of acres from public land with full access to Wilderness, which severely restricts usage. Link

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National Animal Identification System (NAIS) proposed by Department of Agriculture (Federal)

You'll have to register each of your animals listed in the NAIS system.
You'll have to keep a written record ANYTIME you move your animals and, possibly, have to call or register online
You will have to microchip each animal at a cost of $78 each.
Your property on which animals are kept becomes a 'premise'. This very special 'government speak' means that anything labeled with that word has no private property rights attached. A government agent can come onto your property to 'inspect' animals at any time and you have no say in the matter.
If by some means you can circumvent the system, your vet or, conceivably, your feed supplier cannot sell you services or goods without your NAIS number.
There will be fines attached of $1000 per animal for any violation and possibly confiscation of your animals if you don't comply

BCH cannot advocate non-compliance, but you as an individual citizen can voice your concerns; one email or phone call may not do much but a bunch of emails or phone calls will remind them that this is 'government for the people' not '...to the people'.

Submit Written Comments

You can submit your comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal
Although the USDA did not specify a deadline in its notice, a USDA official has stated that the deadline is Monday, June 1.

USDA's Statement

In the Federal Register notice announcing the meetings, USDA specifically asked for input on the topics listed below. These questions will most likely form the basis for the facilitated sessions in the afternoon of each listening session. Do not feel limited by these questions in preparing your oral or written comments!
Cost. What are your concerns about the cost of the NAIS? What steps would you suggest APHIS use to address cost?
Impact on small farmers. What are your concerns about the effect of the NAIS on small farmers? What approaches would you suggest APHIS take to address the potential impact on small farmers?
Privacy and confidentiality. What are your concerns regarding how the NAIS will affect your operation's privacy and/or the confidentiality of your operation? What steps or tactics would you suggest APHIS use to address privacy and confidentiality issues?
Liability. What are your concerns about your operation's liability under the NAIS? What would you suggest APHIS consider to address liability concerns?
Premises registration. Do you have any suggestions on how to make premises registration, or the identification of farm or ranch locations, easier for stakeholders? How should we address your concerns regarding premises registration?
Animal identification. Do you have any suggestions on how to make animal identification practical and useful to stakeholders while simultaneously meeting the needs of animal health officials who must conduct disease tracebacks?
Animal tracing. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the animal tracing component practical, in particular the reporting of animal movements to other premises, while meeting the needs of animal health officials who must conduct disease tracebacks?
The USDA Federal Register notice is posted here.
USDA contact for more information: Dr. Adam Grow, Director, Surveillance and Identification Programs, National Center for Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737; 301-734-3752.