I consider myself a patriot and a loyal citizen of these United States, so it was very surprising for me when a story caught my eye last week.

The headline read: Our National Parks Belong to the United Nations. You could only imagine the shock as I dug farther into finding the truth of this story, how this could have happened. The more I read the worse it became, and the reality of this horrible certainty has disturbed me since learning about it. 

It gets worse. Come to find out, the UN owns not only our national parks but our beloved historical buildings as well.

In 1972, the U.S. government signed the United Nations’ World Heritage Treaty, a treaty that created World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves. Under this treaty, selected national parks and monuments are protected for their cultural, historical or natural significance, under U.N. mandate. Sounds pretty harmless but since 1972, 68 percent of all U.S. national parks, monuments and preserves have been designated as World Heritage Sites. Twenty important symbols of national pride, along with 51 million acres of our wilderness, are World Heritage Sites or Biosphere Reserves and are now falling under the control of the U.N. This includes the Statue of Liberty, Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello, the Washington Monument, the Brooklyn Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite, Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, the Florida Everglades and the Grand Canyon, to name just a few.

On Feb. 25, 1999, Don Young (R-Alaska) reintroduced the American Land Sovereignty Protection Act in the House of Representatives, which would require congressional oversight of the United Nations land designations within the borders of the United States. This meant that American citizens’ input and congressional approval were required. This Act did pass the House of Representatives on May 20, 1999. However, it didn’t pass in the Senate. During the next session of Congress, Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., introduced S. 2575, also titled the American Land Sovereighnty Protection Act, on June 4, 2002. The bill was referred to committee and never came out.

During the Clinton administration, land was bought up around the parks as a buffer zone. Yellow Stone National Park was one of those parks. Businesses had to close as the access roads were not maintained. By designating these parks to the UN, it gives the international community an open invitation to interfere in U.S. domestic policy decisions.

So as we finish eating our turkey dinners and shop for presents this Christmas season, we should remember that under the United Nations Biodiversity Treaty, our precious resources owned by American citizens for over 200 years have been turned over to the UN’s bureaucrats. Yes, you and I will continue to pay taxes for the maintenance and upkeep of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Yellow Stone National Park, but we no longer own it.

Contact Steimle at valeriesteimle@yahoo.com, www.stregthenyourhome.com or read her blog at www.valeriesteimle.blogspot.com.