Bill Whittle: Tie-Dyed Tyranny and Pocket Gophers...

why pocket gophers?

This is the first I've heard of protecting the pocket gopher - the most virulent, ugly, destructive little rodent ever to inhabit the earth.  The complete eradication of this pest would be a blessing to the earth.

But not in my neighboring Washington State:

The species is currently listed as threatened by the state of Washington. In December 2012, a proposal was made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the gopher as threatened. It would apply to the four local subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher and their prairie habitat. Their prairie habitat in which the gophers live has been reduced by 90-95% in the last 150 years.  A translocation project has been undertaken, but a mortality of 90% has been reported.

[...]The gopher is also listed as a pest in the state of Washington because it is known to cause damage to infrastructure. The gophers can destroy waterlines, endanger livestock, destroy crops and weaken levees and dams  source

Got that?  It's listed as a pest, but it's being protected?  Where I come from they call that insanity.

Until this video, I had no idea that Washington was now protecting this horrible little creature. 

I am here to tell you that pocket gophers are indeed a pest. We were overrun with them a few years ago.  Through a carefully administered poison control program, instituted by yours truly, we were able to keep the population somewhat under control.



This is how we deal with pocket gophers in Idaho

Meet the Rodinator, invented by Ed Meyer.

The Rodenator injects a calibrated mixture of propane and oxygen into the ground and ignites the mixture to create a concussive force that collapses the rodent tunnels and gets rid of the animals within.

The production facility is located in the small town of Emmett, Idaho. This rural community, just outside the capital Boise, is rich in history and represents a small “western town” in the Payette River region of Southwestern Idaho.

I wish I had a Rodenator!







More:

House passes bill to limit EPA overreach on ditch water

Supreme Court sides with North Idaho couple against EPA...

the Sacketts can challenge EPA ruling.

However, their chances of winning are not good because the EPA operates as a rogue agency that makes a mockery of private property rights and it should be eliminated post haste.  The federal government has no business coming into sovereign states and meddling. 

From our local TV station: 

In an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court rejected EPA's argument that allowing property owners quick access to courts to contest orders like the one issued to the Sacketts would compromise the agency's ability to deal with water pollution.
"Compliance orders will remain an effective means of securing prompt voluntary compliance in those many cases where there is no substantial basis to question their validity," Scalia said.
In this case, the couple objected to the determination that their small lot contained wetlands that are regulated by the Clean Water Act, and they complained there was no reasonable way to challenge the order without risking fines that can mount quickly. source

Their fines are now over 100 MILLION dollars

Justice Alito:

 "The position taken in this case by the Federal Government—a position that the Court now squarely rejects—would have put the property rights of ordinary Americans entirely at the mercy of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees. The reach of the Clean Water Act is notoriously unclear. Any piece of land that is wet at least part of the year is in danger of being classified by EPA employees as wetlands covered by the Act, and according to the Federal Government, if property owners begin to construct a home on a lot that the agency thinks possesses the requisite wetness, the property owners are at the agency’s mercy." (Alito, J., concurring)

More:
 
Unanimous SCOTUS: Property Owners Entitled To Judicial Review Of EPA "Compliance Order"
  
Supreme Court allows Idaho couple to challenge EPA on wetlands ruling