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GTG
Was lost but now am found
Joined: 30 Dec 2002
Posts: 2387
Location: Peoria, Arizona, originally from Rocket City, USA
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 Posted: 2/15/2005, 11:21 am Post subject: State sues land developer in 'moonscaping' of desert |
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I say we tie this guy up for the rabid cougar of Spur Cross to eat,
From today's Arizona Republic -
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0215johnson15.html
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State sues land developer in 'moonscaping' of desert
Mary Jo Pitzl
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
State officials on Monday filed a 10-count lawsuit against a housing developer, alleging "unprecedented" damage to land, archaeological ruins, waterways and wildlife in southern Arizona.
Five state agencies joined in the suit against George Johnson, owner of Scottsdale-based Johnson International. Attorney General Terry Goddard said the suit is an attempt to redress an "unprecedented despoliation of Arizona's heritage."
Those losses include:
• Destruction of parts of seven Hohokam archaeological sites that date back more than 1,200 years.
• Blading of about 270 acres of state trust land without permission.
• The death of 21 desert bighorn sheep from diseases caused by Johnson's goat herd.
• Destruction of more than 40,000 native plants on state trust lands.
• Land clearing that resulted in the unlawful deposit of potential pollutants into Los Robles Wash and other tributaries of the Santa Cruz River.
All but one of the charges involve activities at La Osa Ranch, a tract of desert in southern Pinal County that Johnson wanted to turn into a 67,000-home development about the size of Tempe.
Johnson has since scrapped those plans and sold the land to developer Conley Wolfswinkel and the Wolfswinkel Group.
The 10th charge stems, officials say, from water-quality violations in fall 2001 at another Johnson development called South Fork, on a tributary of the Little Colorado River in Apache County.
Goddard, at an afternoon news conference, said five state agencies joined in the suit to make a powerful statement that they take the violations seriously.
"We are not talking about a few feet here and there. We are talking about moonscaping 270 acres over a period of many weeks, knocking down saguaros, filling in creeks and washes used by wildlife and destroying priceless archaeological sites," Goddard said.
"The last thing I or the Attorney General's Office wants to do is to allow a blatant violation such as this to be written off as a cost of doing business."
Johnson's attorney, Lee Stein, lamented that the state felt the need to go to court, given that Johnson and the state had been talking for a year about how to fix the problems caused by the land clearing. He said the work was accidental, although he could not immediately answer why Johnson had bulldozers rolling on land that he said was a working ranch.
Johnson has said his actions are a part of farming activities, which provides exemptions from certain state rules, including water-discharge guidelines.
But Goddard said state officials don't buy that explanation.
"It was a deliberate action in violation of a wide number of state laws," he said.
The lawsuit was welcome news to environmentalists, who objected to what they saw as Johnson's cavalier approach to land development.
"That makes my Monday!" said Jenny Neely, Southwestern representative for Defenders of Wildlife.
"It's a long time coming. Some of the scars he inflicted on the lands down there are hard to bear."
The civil suit does not seek a specific amount of compensation but asks the court to triple the damages for trespassing on state lands, seeks $70,000 to recoup the cost of treating the infected bighorn sheep, asks for a minimum of $15,750 for the 21 sheep that died due to blindness caused by the infection and asks for penalties of up to $25,000 a day for each violation of water-quality statutes.
The suit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8963.
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GTG
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 5548
Location: SCW by way of CA
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 11:23 am Post subject: Re: State sues land developer in 'moonscaping' of desert |
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| GTG wrote: |
I say we tie this guy up for the rabid cougar of Spur Cross to eat,
GTG |
You got something against rabid cougars? 
_________________
John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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Hikngrl
Canyoneering is my 'Happy Place'
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 5578
Location: Peoria, AZ
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like he is trying to give the cougar a snack if ya ask me I'd say GTG has a good idea!
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~~~Diane~~~
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matt gilbert
Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 698
Location: Mesa
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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That guy's not good enough to get eaten by cougars.
I say we make him run naked and barefoot through a cholla field, then let him spend a few days in august in the middle of his "moonscape" just to see how long it takes for dehydration to finish him off. Then we feed the cougar all his contractors, who should have known better than to work for that scum.
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Cogito ergo ambulo cum sacculo
-Matt Gilbert |
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Hikngrl
Canyoneering is my 'Happy Place'
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 5578
Location: Peoria, AZ
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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Oh the plot thickens! Ok Matt you are in charge ot torture around here from now on!
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~~~Diane~~~
I want to shine! |
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 5548
Location: SCW by way of CA
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Hikngrl wrote: |
| Sounds like he is trying to give the cougar a snack if ya ask me I'd say GTG has a good idea! |
Think the guy'd give the poor cougar heartburn!
_________________
John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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Hikngrl
Canyoneering is my 'Happy Place'
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 5578
Location: Peoria, AZ
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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_________________
~~~Diane~~~
I want to shine! |
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Nighthiker
Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1714
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| Posted: 2/15/2005, 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Been complaining for quite some time, longoverdue and their are many others. |
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