Tag Archives: Farms

Camouflaged Game Wardens sneaking into private land

Josh soon discovered who the camouflaged prowler was. Game wardens from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources had sneaked onto his land to search for evidence of hunting violations.

This is quite a story from the Institute of Justice. If you ever have questions as to who to donate to, this is the group to support.

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Josh Highlander bought 30 acres of land in Virginia at the end of a quiet residential street lined with single-family homes. He built a home there surrounded by woods. And he posted “no trespassing” signs around the perimeter of the property. Surely that was enough to secure his family’s right to privacy and seclusion on their own land, right? 

Wrong, at least according to game wardens in Virginia and around the country. Ironically, they see the very things that most people think of as sources of privacy—like living on a large piece of property surrounded by nature—as an invitation to snoop on private land without a warrant. The U.S. Supreme Court greenlit these intrusions almost 100 years ago during Prohibition, when it held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect “open fields.” Under this misguided theory, the woods and fields around your home are not sources of seclusion but opportunities for government surveillance.  

Watch the case video!

Josh found this out the hard way. His wife and young son were playing basketball in the yard when the ball rolled toward the woods. As Josh’s wife went to retrieve it, she noticed among the trees a stranger dressed in full camouflage. Alarmed, she rushed inside to alert Josh. By the time he got outside, the intruder was gone, but the violation of his family’s privacy remained. For weeks afterward, his son was afraid the stranger might be lurking in the woods again and wouldn’t go outside alone. 

Josh soon discovered who the camouflaged prowler was. Game wardens from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources had sneaked onto his land to search for evidence of hunting violations. Earlier that day, game wardens had accused Josh’s brother of hunting over bait (an accusation he denies) miles away in a different county. Josh has never been cited for violating hunting regulations, but that day his family ties apparently cast suspicion on him, too. 

What happened to Josh and his family is no aberration. Around the country, game wardens and other law enforcement routinely trespass on private land without a warrant to hunt for evidence. A key goal of IJ’s Project on the Fourth Amendment is to put an end to these warrantless intrusions onto private land. Our suit protecting Josh’s privacy under the Virginia Constitution joins IJ’s growing body of work fighting similar warrantless searches of open fields under the Pennsylvania and Tennessee constitutions.  

As more state courts reject the misguided open fields doctrine, we hope to eventually persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to abandon the doctrine, too. But whether in federal court or state by state, we’ll continue this fight until all Americans regain their right to be secure against warrantless searches of their private land.

Joe Gay is an IJ attorney. 

Choon James: Important Agricultural Land (IAL) Project – Honolulu

             Identifying “Important Agricultural  Lands” IAL Project

Some landowners of ag-zoned parcels in Oahu received the “ NOTICE TO AFFECTED LANDOWNER IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL LANDS (IAL) PROJECT” dated December 29, 2016 from the Honolulu City and County’s Department of Planning and Permitting.

That December 29, 2016 letter was probably the first time that many landowners had heard about “IAL”.

Two meetings were made available to the public. One was held in Kapolei and the other was on January 17, 2017 at the Hale‘iwa Elementary School Cafeteria.

IAL MAP

Why is the city doing this IAL Project?

Scott Ezer, the consultant hired by the city and county, framed the impetus for this IAL Project as follows:

To ensure that the best of Oahu’s high-quality farm land is protected and preserved for long-term agricultural use – great lands, for great Oahu farms. The term “Important Agricultural Lands,” or IAL, is a State land use designation that identifies high-quality farm land to be protected and preserved for long-term agricultural use. In compliance with the State law (Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, Chapter 205), the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) is conducting a mapping project to identify lands on O‘ahu that meet the statutory requirements for consideration as IAL. DPP is seeking input from landowners, farming interests and residents about the type of land to include in O‘ahu’s future inventory of agricultural land. The maps produced as a result of this effort will be submitted to the Honolulu City Council for review and adoption by resolution, before being sent to the State Land Use Commission for final approval. “

Questions:

If the intent was to “promote agriculture and the conservation of productive agricultural lands in the State”, why exclude the 1,555 acres of fertile Aloun Farms (Ho’opili) which contributed 30% of greens to Oahu and has 4 –season plantings.

Hoopili

Why exclude 760 ag-zoned acres in Koa Ridge?

If its intention was to allow tax credit and incentives, why not offer to ALL farmers?

Does IAL appear to favor the large landowners?

What happens to the 50% of the large landowners’ agricultural lands that CANNOT be designated as IAL?

What happens to all the other agricultural lands that are NOT designated as IAL?

Why are some steep agriculture lands designated as IAL while other fertile lands not designated as IAL?

Why were some landowners not initiated by DPP while others were?

Why is DPP now unilaterally placing small ag-zoned landowners into this IAL Project instead of allowing the small land owners to opt into this IAL Project?

Contradictions:

There are contradictory premises in this process. The following opens a little window into some background of this IAL Project:

“According to people familiar with the legislation, this limitation was a last-minute addition that undermines the intent of the act and the need to protect contiguous blocks of land. The Hawai`i Chapter of the Sierra Club noted on its website, “The final bill… contained an 11th-hour amendment – inserted at the behest of large landowners – which prohibits the state from designating more than 50 percent of any landowner’s farmland as ‘important’ unless they request it be designated as such. The Sierra Club believes that the final bill falls far short of what was envisioned by the state constitution and will fail to provide adequate protection for Hawai`i’s important farmlands.”

The Land Use Research Foundation (LURF), which often represents the interests of large landowners before the Legislature, did not respond to inquiries about the 50 percent limitation by press time. However, the measure undoubtedly gives LURF’s constituents who want to develop their ag lands more flexibility. For example, in its 2006 annual report, Alexander & Baldwin notes that of its 59,320 acres of agricultural or pasture lands and 29,270 acres of conservation lands 8,700 acres have “urban potential.” Hawaii Environment Report Feb. 2008.

Written comments can be submitted until March 31, 2017 to:

HHF PLANNERS

Re: IAL Mapping Project

733 Bishop Street, Suite 2590

Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813

mapoahuagland@hhf.com.

 

Tune in to Country Talk Story – Olelo Channel 54 Sundays 4:00 pm during February to listen to the January 17, 2017 IAL meeting.

Choon James can be reached at 808 293 9111 or ChoonJamesHawaii@gmail.com. www. CountryTalkStory.com