[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Lara Logan [@laralogan](/creator/twitter/laralogan) on x 1.2M followers Created: 2025-07-23 00:25:27 UTC When the Feds Mismanage Wildlife, Kansas Farmers Pay the Price By All American Agriculture For decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has failed to uphold its responsibility to manage the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas. What was meant to be a haven for migratory birds has instead become a symbol of bureaucratic decay. Invasive species like salt cedar and phragmites have overrun the wetlands, unchecked. Critical infrastructure—gates, levees, and water control structures—has fallen into disrepair. These failures have drained precious water resources and degraded the land the agency is tasked with protecting. Rather than fixing the damage it caused, the federal government is now shifting the burden onto those who have done things right: local farmers and ranchers. Using a 1957 water right and the legal doctrine of “prior appropriation”—“first in time, first in right”—the FWS claims senior authority over irrigation water from Rattlesnake Creek. That water is the lifeblood of central Kansas agriculture. For generations, producers have carefully balanced conservation with productivity, sustaining both the land and the communities that depend on it. Now, they’re being told to step aside so the government can cover up its own neglect. This is not about protecting wildlife. It’s about control. By pressuring the Kansas Department of Agriculture to curtail water access to private farmers, the FWS threatens livelihoods, land values, and the food security of an entire region. The agency has not invested in removing invasive species. It hasn’t repaired the refuge’s failing infrastructure. It simply wants more water—without accountability. Worse still is the growing use of conservation easements, often pushed through federally funded nonprofits or quasi-governmental programs. These agreements, sold as voluntary and environmentally friendly, often include vague terms, shifting obligations, and permanent restrictions. Once signed, they quietly transfer power from local landowners to federal agencies or global NGOs. This is not cooperative stewardship—it’s a slow-motion land grab. The situation at Quivira reveals a dangerous pattern. Federal agencies mismanage the land, then use their regulatory leverage to extract resources from those who steward it best. They claim the moral high ground of “conservation” while consolidating power—one refuge, one easement, one regulation at a time. This is not what conservation was ever meant to be. True conservation honors those who live and work on the land. It doesn’t punish them for federal incompetence. It requires partnership—not coercion—and a deep respect for the liberty that underpins responsible land ownership. The FWS should be forced to fix what it has broken. That means eradicating invasive species, rebuilding its water infrastructure, and engaging directly with the Kansans who have sustained this region for generations. Without reform, the government risks not just the trust of rural Americans, but the very ecosystems it claims to protect. When the state forgets its limits, it’s up to citizens—and the states themselves—to draw the line. XXXXXX engagements  [Post Link](https://x.com/laralogan/status/1947815287505752384)
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Lara Logan @laralogan on x 1.2M followers
Created: 2025-07-23 00:25:27 UTC
When the Feds Mismanage Wildlife, Kansas Farmers Pay the Price
By All American Agriculture
For decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has failed to uphold its responsibility to manage the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas. What was meant to be a haven for migratory birds has instead become a symbol of bureaucratic decay. Invasive species like salt cedar and phragmites have overrun the wetlands, unchecked. Critical infrastructure—gates, levees, and water control structures—has fallen into disrepair. These failures have drained precious water resources and degraded the land the agency is tasked with protecting.
Rather than fixing the damage it caused, the federal government is now shifting the burden onto those who have done things right: local farmers and ranchers.
Using a 1957 water right and the legal doctrine of “prior appropriation”—“first in time, first in right”—the FWS claims senior authority over irrigation water from Rattlesnake Creek. That water is the lifeblood of central Kansas agriculture. For generations, producers have carefully balanced conservation with productivity, sustaining both the land and the communities that depend on it. Now, they’re being told to step aside so the government can cover up its own neglect.
This is not about protecting wildlife. It’s about control.
By pressuring the Kansas Department of Agriculture to curtail water access to private farmers, the FWS threatens livelihoods, land values, and the food security of an entire region. The agency has not invested in removing invasive species. It hasn’t repaired the refuge’s failing infrastructure. It simply wants more water—without accountability.
Worse still is the growing use of conservation easements, often pushed through federally funded nonprofits or quasi-governmental programs. These agreements, sold as voluntary and environmentally friendly, often include vague terms, shifting obligations, and permanent restrictions. Once signed, they quietly transfer power from local landowners to federal agencies or global NGOs. This is not cooperative stewardship—it’s a slow-motion land grab.
The situation at Quivira reveals a dangerous pattern. Federal agencies mismanage the land, then use their regulatory leverage to extract resources from those who steward it best. They claim the moral high ground of “conservation” while consolidating power—one refuge, one easement, one regulation at a time.
This is not what conservation was ever meant to be. True conservation honors those who live and work on the land. It doesn’t punish them for federal incompetence. It requires partnership—not coercion—and a deep respect for the liberty that underpins responsible land ownership.
The FWS should be forced to fix what it has broken. That means eradicating invasive species, rebuilding its water infrastructure, and engaging directly with the Kansans who have sustained this region for generations. Without reform, the government risks not just the trust of rural Americans, but the very ecosystems it claims to protect.
When the state forgets its limits, it’s up to citizens—and the states themselves—to draw the line.
XXXXXX engagements
