Byron Dorgan Nailed By Grand Forks Herald Over Opposing Badlands Land Designation

Yesterday Senator Byron Dorgan announced that he was opposing a new federal land designation in the Badlands area of North Dakota because he felt it would add an unnecessary extra layer of bureaucracy for land owners out there – including ranchers and oil industry types – that would hinder their ability to use their land.
Today the Grand Forks Herald accuses Dorgan of having a “blind spot” on this land designation claiming that it’s necessary to protect the “pastoral” and “natural” landscape.
In the specific instance of the Badlands I whole-heartedly agree with Senator Dorgan’s position, and applaud his support of property rights. But what’s curious – and what the Herald editorial misses completely – is Dorgan’s utter hypocrisy in opposing this Badlands designation while being one of the principal proponents of the Northern Plains Heritage Area land designation which was foisted on land owners in six North Dakota counties without any notice and without any option to withdraw from the designation.
What the Herald also misses the rather obvious motivation for Dorgan’s inconsistent insistence on property rights. The NPHA has become a terribly inconvenient issue for him politically, inspiring hundreds of angry North Dakotans to show up at a public meeting for the land designation, and Dorgan is trying to get out in front of that anger by muddying his record.
Where it not for the controversy surrounding the NPHA, I don’t think Dorgan would oppose the federal land designation in the Badlands.
On a related note, I got this press release from the North Dakota Landowners Association which will be addressing this issue at their annual meeting. The Landowner’s Association is a group mightily opposed to the NPHA land grab:

Landowners Association Plans Annual Meeting
The Landowners Association of North Dakota (LAND) will be holding their annual meeting this Thursday, December 10, at the Best Western Doublewood Inn in Bismarck. The major topic up for discussion will be the Northern Plains National Heritage Area, which is a federal designation sponsored by US Senator Byron Dorgan.
“We believe that the designation was made in bad faith,” LAND President Curly Haugland said. “Not only did State Sen. Tracy Potter mislead the US Congress about the levels of public support for the designation, but he continues to mislead the public at input hearings. This annual meeting will give us the opportunity to formulate strategies to start this entire process over.”
Brian Kramer, Public Policy Director of the North Dakota Farm Bureau, will give a presentation about the dangers posed by the Heritage Area.
William Perry Pendley of the Mountain States Legal Foundation based in Denver, CO, will give the keynote address.