February-December 2021

by Norman Kincaide Ph.D.

Operation Blindside

Operation Blindside was developed in January 2021 by Kathy Wilmot, Beaver City, NE and Norman Kincaide, Rocky Ford, CO, initiated February 26, 2021, by mailing National Heritage Area (NHA) Information Packets and copies of SCAMMED? Canyons & Plains National Heritage Area Initiative for Southeastern Colorado to Boards of County Commissioners in the Kansas Nebraska NHA targeted region. The purpose was to expose Kansas Nebraska Heritage Area Partnership (KNHAP) to public scrutiny and notify the counties of this NHA initiative.

Indicia of Success: Forced KNHAP to explain their activities to County Commissioners. Altered KNHAP behavior from lock step procedure towards a feasibility study into damage control on their Facebook page and exposure of the NHA scheme in print and other media.

Operation Broadside

Operation Broadside was developed in March 2021 by Kathy Wilmot, Angel Cushing, Allen, Lyon County, KS, Beth O’Dell Salmans, Mary Powell, Shurrie Denah Jensen, Lisa Arnoldy, Trent Loos, and many others. The first presentation was in Mankato, Jewell County, Kansas, March 27, 2021, followed by presentations in nine meetings from April 7-15, 2021. Trent Loos emceed two of these, namely, in Red Cloud and Hebron, Nebraska.

Acknowledgement of venues: Red Cloud Community Center, Red Cloud, NE; Stastny Community Center, Hebron, NE; Frontier Stage, Hill City, KS; Midtown Ramada Inn, for the Eagle Forum, Grand Island, NE; Vesper Community Center, Lincoln, KS; The Hitching Post, Abilene, KS; St. Peters & Paul Catholic Church, Clay Center, KS; Fair Grounds Commercial Building, WaKeeney, KS; Bullseye Event Center, Norton, KS.

Indicia of Success: All venues were well attended as a result of excellent advertising through print flyers, newspaper ads and social media postings more than 2500 people attending, with more than 500 at the meeting in WaKeeney, Trego County, Kansas on April 14, 2021. Radio, television and live streaming on social media reached far more. As a result 2 of the growing opposition to this designation, KNHAP suspended operations on their Facebook page as of April 24, 2021, stating they had a prescheduled break for the summer and would return in the fall. As of October 20, 2021, there have been only two posts.

Executive director of KNHAP, Kim Wilson, stated their board members were worn out and KNHAP lacked capacity to address growing opposition head-on. As a result of this growing opposition to the Kansas Nebraska NHA, four KNHAP board members resigned and one retired by April 26, 2021.

Boards of County Commissioners and private organizations were encouraged to pass resolutions opposing the NHA initiative. Governor Pete Ricketts declared his opposition to this designation in a published letter.

Operation Echo

Operation Echo was developed toward the end of April 2021, implemented on May 12, 2021 and concluded on May 19, 2021, six public meetings with more than 500 attending. Acknowledgements for this include Larry LeDuc of Cloud County, Debra & Richard Hubert, of Cloud County, KS, Clark Nelson for the Holdrege venue. Venues: Cloud County Fairgrounds 4H Commercial Building, Concordia, KS; Marshal County Fairgrounds 4H Commercial Building, Blue Rapids, KS; Senior Center, Talmage, Dickinson County, KS; Tumbleweed, Salina, KS; Saint Aloysuis Parish Hall, Osborne, KS; AG Building Fairgrounds, Holdrege, NE.

Operation American Patrol

Operation American Patrol was undertaken by Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City, NE, Angel Cushing of Allen, KS, and Beth O’Dell Salmans of Marysville, KS, initiated in June 2021 to follow up with Boards of County Commissioners that had yet to pass resolutions opposing the 49 County Kansas Nebraska NHA and continued well into September 2021.

Operation Notify

Operation Notify was developed in July 2021 and initiated on July 23, 2021. Angel Cushing of Allen, Lyon County, Kansas sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the National Park Service Midwest Region in April 2021 with a document cut-off date of April 28, 2021. Angel Cushing received the FOIA document dump, totaling more than 400 pages in Pdf. form on July 14, 2021. This Pdf was delivered via email on July 23, 2021 to all County Clerks of the 49 Kansas Nebraska Counties targeted for the NHA, to be disseminated to the respective Boards of County Commissioners.

Operation Thresher

Through Operation Thresher, Freedom of Information Act documents were posted to the Western Region Property Rights Coalition Facebook page between July 27 and August 2, 2021, for perusal by the general public.

Operation Upper Echelon

Operation Upper Echelon was initiated on Thursday, September 2, 2021, when five NHA Information Packets were sent to five different addresses on the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (UNL) campus: Board of Regents; Chancellor Green; Dean of Architecture; Dean of Engineering; and Internal Audit and Advisory Services to notify UNL of possible irregularities in the use of university time, resources and student assignments for the benefit of a nonprofit. These packets were delivered via USPS on or before September 8, 2021.

Operation Bookend

Operation Bookend was initiated on November 23, 2021, when National Heritage Area Information Packets were mailed to 49 Boards of County Commissioners in the Kansas Nebraska National Heritage Area targeted region. The information in these packets is the same captured in this PDF.

Operation Testify

Provided written and oral testimony by Angel Cushing, Allen, Lyon County, Kansas, before the Kansas House of Representatives committee on 30X30 and private property rights, December 2021.

Summary

In the Spring of 2018 four people, Ashley Olson, Executive Director, The Willa Cather Foundation, Joe Black, Executive Director, Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, Kim Wilson, Professor, UNL, Landscape Architecture Program, and Mark Engler, Superintendent, Homestead National Monument, formed a steering committee to pursue NHA designation covering 49 counties where they don’t live, work, own property, pay taxes, or represent any significant constituency. This steering committee was going to use cultural and historic “assets” and all property in the targeted region for the benefit of a nonprofit in partnership with National Park Service.

KNHAP couldn’t handle the adversity of opposition. If they couldn’t handle this, how was this partnership to manage a 49 county, 2 state NHA with attendant management plan developed and approved by the NPS and the Department of Interior? Furthermore, the funding is so little when spread over 49 counties, who was to receive immediate tangible benefit from this designation?

KNHAP insists on pursuing this designation, in the face of 45 resolutions opposing. Kansas Nebraska Heritage Area Partnership covet the use of something that doesn’t belong to them, 49 sovereign counties in the Heartland of the United States.