While George Soros is known to heavily fund progressive agendas, there is another billionaire whose goal is to fund environmental causes, Hansjörg Wyss. A native of Switzerland who now lives in Wilson, Wyoming, Mr. Wyss made his fortune in medical research and his medical device manufacturer Synthes.
Mr. Wyss created the Wyss Foundation for philanthropy, conserving land as a primary focus, and millions of dollars have been given to non-governmental organizations (NGO) for that purpose. So invested in this goal, last year Mr. Wyss dedicated $1 billion to save the earth through his Wyss Campaign for Nature program. The end objective is to "...help conserve 30% of the planet by 2030"...with "...lands and waters..." protected best through national parks and wildlife refuges. Under the falsehood that Mr. Wyss claims this protection agenda is best if "driven by folks who live in these communities", he is actually referring to all the minion NGOs that are recipients of his money. Wanting to stay in the action, Mr. Wyss himself is on the governing council of the Wilderness Society. What does this have to do with Idaho? The stated Wyss Foundation purpose is giving "donations to grassroots organizations that work to protect open spaces on public and private lands" in the United States, including the Rocky Mountains. Hmm, that makes Idaho a primary target. All of the following NGOs, along with many others not mentioned, received money from the Wyss Foundation for that purpose. It is always fun to find out what is really happening by looking at tax forms. In this case, the Wyss Foundation tax forms reveal interesting information. Most of the foundation tax forms show heavy investments in all years for profit, and list assets over $2 billion dollars from at least 2014. As early as 2001, the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) received a $75,000 donation as seen in the Wyss 2001 tax form. Another benefactor was the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC), known for targeting Idaho land for protection, in the amount of $100,000. The Nature Conservancy of Idaho received $30,000, and the Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) located in Boise received $40,000. While the WWA presents itself as an advocate of snowmobiling, it is really about advancing the dictatorship of where snowmobiling is allowed, and influencing forest service decisions for non-use. WWA is also a partner with ICL and corporations, During the years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, ICL received a total of $1,189,000 in donations while GYC acquired $1,155,600. In 2008, the Bureau of Land Management even received a donation of $999,000. Federal agencies can accept donations? Multiple other NGOs received donations during these and the following years. In 2010, the Wyss foundation lists total assets over $136 million. ICL received $202,800 and the GYC $75,000. A $4 million plus loan was given to Western Rivers Conservancy for land acquisition, having succeeded in past acquisitions along the Salmon river, and having current Idaho targets for acquisition. Remembering The Nature Conservancy (TNC) business is land acquisition through conservation easements, and who are very active in Idaho, an astonishing amount of $14,442,400 was given to The Nature Conservancy of Montana. By 2014 net assets for the Wyss foundation were over $2 billion. ICL benefited in the amount of $190,000, GYC $127,800. Western Rivers Conservancy received an alarming $6,100,000. The Trust for Pubic Land took a loan from the foundation for $906,000, in which the Bureau of Land Management partners for purchasing land for "recreational" access, or retiring resource extraction. TNC received a donation of $44 million! 2015 and 2016 donations from Wyss included Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and Trout Unlimited, each receiving $52, 800. Mr. Wyss must believe in donation recipient equality to some degree, but other NGOs received so much more. In 2015, the Wyss tax form lists the two largest program related investments made by the foundation were in conservation land holdings for over $76 million. TNC received a whopping $9,237,734,000, Trout Unlimited $250,o0o, and the Western Rivers Conservancy $1 million. Looks like there was not enough money left for ICL or GYC this year. According to the Wyss 2016 tax form, ICL was given $177,600. The 2016 tax form on the ICL website, dated 10/1/16 to 9/30/17, lists the Wyss donation as $125,000, with large contributions from other foundations. For the ICL listed 2015 tax year, 10/1/15 to 9/30/16, there is no listing of contributions by Wyss or other foundations. To validate the intertwined relationship, Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Program Director Kim Trotter is listed as one of the a ICL Directors. In 2016, TNC held loans of over $4 million dollars for inholding acquisition. Basically inholdings are private land near wilderness areas that "fragment" federal ownership, so the land is bought to eliminate the fragmentation, making federal land ownership more seamless. A full explanation on wilderness inholdings can be found here. That's right, a way in which to beef up federal land ownership, but this is not to suggest why TNC inholdings are acquired or how they are used. However, land bought by TNC through Wyss donations is then owned by Wyss, or sold to the federal government. In 2017, with assets over $2 billion dollars and heavy investments for profit, with a couple TNC loans amounting to over $3 million dollars for land acquisitions, the Wyss tax form lacks in individual contributions made to NGOs. The 2017 tax form isn't available on the ICL website and tax forms prior to 2014 have to be requested. What are they hiding? For Idahoans who are members of ICL, they might be interested to know ICL is selling Idaho out to to a foundation that wants to do nothing more than fund land takeovers. More appalling is the amount of money being poured into multiple NGOs for the same purpose, provided by a narcissistic man who believes he can own the planet, and our government doing the same. For these NGOs that tout the need to protect land for "future generations", this concept is not original. America's founders understood man's greed and built our Republic on a foundation that was intended to protect our freedom and property rights. It is time for all Idahoans to meet with their county and state representatives and create laws that protect Idaho land from these threats. Don't squander the gift we were given, rather make good use of it.
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It seems wildlife overpass advocates are throwing a temper tantrum over the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) selecting Alternative 3 in the Targhee Pass (TP) Environmental Assessment (EA). Since Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) was exposed for their deep involvement with both ITD and Idaho Fish & Game (IDFG) in pushing for overpasses they have chosen to recuse themselves from the tantrum, instead turning to their counterparts to cry foul. Those counterparts include the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC), Idaho Wildlife Federation (IWF), and Idaho Conservation League (ICL). All of these groups partner with Y2Y. Kathy Rinaldi is the Idaho Conservation Coordinator for GYC, Brian Brooks is the IWF Executive Director which not only partners with Y2Y but also with the National Wildlife Federation, and Rick Johnson is the ICL Executive Director. These groups and individuals are organizing to challenge ITD and the EA decision for the no overpass Alternative 3, but in doing so have used inaccurate information which they are disseminating to the public and media. Here are the facts. Mr. Brooks began his article with the statement, "Idaho Transportation Department’s own data, which was never publicly distributed, directly contradicts their preferred alternative of the expansion of Highway 20...". The report link for the "ADS do not work" comment is inaccurate, the report did not state that. It was a survey of various ADS uses in Canada and other states, on a variety of species, and different geologic areas, while also recognizing the limitations of some survey information affecting the ability to determine if the system was efficient. Mr. Brooks most egregious claim was that ADS costs more than an overpass. Alternative 2, including the road upgrade with overpasses, would cost $25-30.5 million. The selected Alternative 3 with upgrades and no overpasses would cost $15-19.5 million. Certainly an $11 million dollar savings is enough to maintain an ADS system for many years. The Federal Highway Administration even recognizes "...animal detection systems have the potential to permit safer crossing opportunities for large wildlife anywhere along the outfitted roadway..." and the variables that interfere with effectiveness. In his quest to convince you to believe what he wrote is accurate, a pre-written comment supporting his position was also provided in the article to be sent in to ITD. Brian Brooks stated Hwy 20 "...is set for a 4-lane expansion and 1.5 million more cars in the next ten years." The only section of Hwy 20 being evaluated right now is at Targhee Pass (TP) which does not include a 4 lane expansion. He did not identify his source for knowing how many cars would be traveling Hwy 20 in ten years, this opinion is a guess, not a fact. The collar report he references is the 2014 US 20 Road Ecology Report. In that report there was nothing substantiating his claim that "Existing collar data shows that elk spend weeks traveling alongside Highway 20, spooked back into the woods due to traffic and noise." The collar study was on Moose and Elk and only where they crossed Hwy 20, studying different times of the day, and in the spring and fall during their migratory times. There was also nothing reported about their inability to reach food sources or Hwy 20 causing herd isolation. While Mr. Brooks claims Highway 20 "...runs through migration paths of big game herds to and from Yellowstone...", the truth is the Sand Creek herd is not a migratory herd that must cross Hwy 20 for migration to and from Yellowstone, staying primarily on the west side of the highway which does not result in fragmentation. These herds summer in high country around IP and in Harriman State Park and both Sand Creek and Northern Yellowstone herds are far more threatened by Wolves and Grizzlies. Mr. Brooks failed to mention that Elk wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC) at TP fail in numbers to support any overpass. As to his claim that ITD did not use their own data that supported overpasses, that is incorrect. The link in the article to the report is under "the cost-benefit analysis that favors crossings". He is referring to a report by Renee Seidler for the TP project that was completed during an unknown time in 2018, however it is cited in the EA report, appears on the TP project website, and was released the same day as the EA. On page 136 the EA states, "1.0. Reasons for low benefit-cost ratios are the low number of crashes overall and relatively low costs of property damage per crash." and "Another ITD-funded study of wildlife safety solutions (Cramer, 2016) also found benefit-cost ratios lower than 1.0 for wildlife crossings for the Targhee Pass segment (Alternative 2)." In the article Mr. Brooks argues there would be no restrictions in Alternative 2. However, there are several restrictions listed in the EA including restricted access through gates, snowmobile restrictions, barriers with fencing, and exclusions to recreationists. Most important of all, the ability to build overpasses was impossible because no agreements on easements had been obtained from private land owners, and with easements come restrictions on use and development. Multiple other documentation supports restriction of activity and development near wildlife overpasses. These conservation groups are reliable in using the media to advance their message. In the February 4, 2019 edition of the Idaho Falls Post Register, the IWF again gave the same erroneous information, the other groups not identified. However the statement included in this article really reveals the truth behind why overpasses are desperately wanted, “To date, no highway design elements can increase wildlife connectivity except crossing structures...with fences,” the Fish and Game assessment stated." It is about connectivity, not anything to do with WVC numbers, overpasses, or ADS. An unsubstantiated 30 large animal deaths may have occurred but Elk were the focus of the project, not all animals. In the Rexburg Standard Journal, published January 28, 2019, Kathy Rinaldi "...argued about the effectiveness of the animal detection systems...". In truth the low number of WVC do not justify the cost of an overpass. As stated in the EA, page 136, "ITD also did not include the unreported accidents from law enforcement and reported carcass information from the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System. However, the results are not sensitive to the wildlife-related annual crash rate or efficacy of measures. This is due to the overall low magnitude of crashes, low cost per crash, and comparatively high cost of mitigation measures."
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