Widow's Might by Sandra Brannan

Author:Sandra Brannan [Brannan, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781608323739
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Published: 2012-03-15T04:00:00+00:00

STREETER HAD BEEN CORRECT.

Based on the comments they made at the mic, some of the supporters of Nature’s Way were definitely like religious fanatics. A few were near tears as they pleaded with politicians not to pass the legislation. Proponents of limiting the term of conservation easements and opponents arguing the need for perpetual advocacy to protect nature and preserve life volleyed buzzwords as if lives depended on their wordsmith skills. Sustainability, diversity, global, non-confrontational solutions, pragmatism, advocacy, survivability, transparency. All were words with political undertones that suggested an inordinate amount of fairness offered by one side, yet blatantly ignored by the other, veiled in a sugary sweet civility that made rational people’s teeth ache.

Streeter hadn’t been this uncomfortable since the time his grandmother dragged him to a holy revival in the southern backwoods against the advice of his uncle, a dedicated Baptist preacher who accused the snake charmers of being demonic. Being just eight years old, Streeter didn’t quite grasp the content of the argument, only that both sides were passionate about their religious beliefs and willing to battle like warriors to defend and protect.

Ranchers and private-property advocates railed about their distrust in the government, accusing conservation entities such as Nature’s Way of being an unregulated, unfettered arm of the federal government, acting on behalf of the Forest Service to acquire more public lands. An equal number of conservation specialists, supporters, and environmental organizations benefiting from the concept of conservation easements argued the need for such intervention, the voice for diminishing wildlife populations and endangered species.

Streeter, who had sat in a chair against a far wall so he could study the crowd, noticed Rowland Cowen and Jenna Tate, heads bent in conversation as they stood along the back wall of the crowded room. Tate had laughed at several apparently witty statements Cowen made, her manicured fingernails resting on his arm. She was doing her job exceedingly well.

Because so many in the room wore uniforms, Streeter studied the subtle differences between the Game, Fish, and Parks employees and the National Forest Service employees who all remained expressionless and quiet as the public continued their rants for both sides. He estimated the civilian attendees outnumbered the federal employees three to one in the ballroom now jammed to the fire marshal’s two-hundred-occupancy limit.

Streeter’s eyes flicked back to Jack Linwood and noted the agent sit up a little taller in his chair. Streeter followed Linwood’s laser-lock stare to where the CEO of Nature’s Way was just rising to his feet. Cameras started flashing as Anthony Burgess made his way to the microphone in the center aisle with long, purposeful, and confident strides. A shooter for KNBN repositioned himself for better television footage for their nationally syndicated nightly news. The popular CEO’s decision to speak out against South Dakota Senator James Billings’s controversial legislation to disallow perpetual easements had attracted several news crews from around the country. The crowd of reporters seemed to have made the subcommittee more uptight than they already were about the controversial legislation.

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