2002 Conference "best ever!"

Leaders from approximately 50 grassroots organizations from more than 30 states, Canada, and South America, assembled in Nashville, Tennessee July 19-20, 2002 for the third annual Freedom 21 Conference, which many described as the "best ever."

Building on the theme "Smart Growth: global influence on local policy," Dr. Michael Coffman and Henry Lamb demonstrated how the principles underlying "Smart Growth" were initiated in the international community at world conferences such as the U.N. Conference on Human Habitats (HABITAT I), in 1976, progressed through the 1992 Rio conference on Environment and Development, which produced Agenda 21; the President's Council on Sustainable Development, and into local public policy reflected in "Growing Smart: Legislative Guidebook."

Dr. Coffman also presented a draft report of the "Freedom 21 Alternative to Agenda 21," a project adopted at the Freedom 21 Conference last year, which he will take to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa next month. The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), an original sponsor of the Freedom 21 Campaign, will take a delegation to the Johannesburg Summit, expressly for the purpose of demonstrating the growing movement in America to advance the principles of freedom as a better direction for the future of the world than the collectivist principles of Agenda 21.

Plans to formulate a national, coordinated response to the "Smart Growth" initiative were begun at a meeting in Alamogordo, New Mexico in May, and presented to the conference in Nashville. Five broad objectives were identified in Alamogordo, and five task forces were formed to develop plans to achieve each objective. The conference discussed and revised the plans before adoption.

One of the plan elements deals with developing a mechanism for improved coordination of organizational and media support. The first visible project adopted by the conference is support of the "Sawgrass Rebellion."

Leaders from about a dozen Florida organizations explained the impact of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan on as many as 20,000 South Florida residents. David Friedrichs, of the Dade County Farm Bureau, and Don Lester, representing the 15,000 Coalition in Collier County, volunteered to serve as co-chairs of a steering committee to coordinate the local implementation of the Freedom 21 national campaign in support of the Sawgrass Rebellion.

The Paragon Foundation, in Alamogordo, New Mexico is the lead organization coordinating the national campaign.

Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Center, explained "Sustainable Development" in terms that reveal how local government authority is transferred from elected officials to "stakeholder councils," and individual rights are extinguished.

Tom McDonnell, of Sovereignty International, and former director of natural resources for the American Sheep Industry Association, demonstrated how water policy is being used to reinforce land use policy designed to eliminate owner/user rights.

Norm Davis and John Riley, from Take Back Kentucy, explained how their organization, working with dozens of other state organizations, have been successful in defeating Smart Growth legislation in Kentucky, as well as eliminating the vehicle emissions-testing program in Louisville, and several other measures that seek to impose "Smart Growth" principles.

Following a Tennessee Barbeque banquet Friday evening, a special session allowed 20 organizations to describe what they are doing to counter "Smart Growth" initiatives in their communities. Michael Shaw explained how Freedom 21 Santa Cruz is developing an effective response to Local Agenda 21, one of the first local programs adopted in the U.S.

Alan Quist presented a powerful presentation on the impact of the federal education curriculum, and the work his Minnesota Maple River Education Coalition is doing to counter the federal take-over of education.

Larry Pratt from Gun Owners of America explained how Second Amendment advocates and property rights activists can benefit from working more closely together. Jeannie Soderman, who lives in South America much of the year, displayed a map demonstrating how the Wildlands Project "corridors" reach from the southwest United States into South America.

Kathy Benedetto, from the National Wilderness Institute, and Matt Bennett, founder of wildlandsprojectrevealed.org, explained that "Smart Growth" is the flip-side of the Wildlands Project. Smart Growth seeks to transform urban centers into high-density "sustainable communities," to receive the people who are being driven off their lands in areas targeted for core wilderness areas and connecting corridors. Klamath Basin farmers, the Darby Refuge area, and now the Everglades, are prime examples of how the Wildlands Project, implemented through a variety of federal programs, is displacing land owners and forcing them into "sustainable communities."

Howard Hutchinson, director of the Arizona/New Mexico Coalition of Counties, described a plan element that seeks to eliminate the flow of government money to environmental organizations which work to destroy the principles of freedom. John Nelson presented a frightening analysis of the impact of international financial control that can manipulate markets, currency values, and ultimately, the wealth of individuals.

The national action plan adopted by the conference is now being revised to reflect the ideas and suggestions produced by the meeting, and will be published for use by the participating organizations.

Grant Gerber, of the Wilderness Impact Research Foundation, and the Paragon Foundation, are coordinating a massive caravan that will originate in different parts of the country, moving toward Florida, holding rallies and fund-raisers along the way, to arrive in Naples on October 17, as a staging area for a massive parade to Dade County on October 19.

Stay tuned. As plans are finalized, they will be published on the Sawgrass Rebellion web site.