Letter: Land more valuable than pipeline

While dismayed, I was not surprised, to learn that our governor would be willing to sell out to a Texas big oil company if the price were right. I have low expectations of wisdom emanating from the governor's office.

As reported in the Feb. 27 article 'Branstad says he'd allow pipeline on his own land,” Gov. Terry Branstad would be willing to grant a voluntary easement to Dakota Access based in Dallas to bury an oil pipeline on his land 'if a reasonable offer of compensation were made.” But what about those farmers and landowners who don't want to sell out to big oil at any price? What of those landowners with a strong land ethic who feel a moral responsibility to be good stewards of the land, both for themselves and those who will follow?

The rich farmland of Iowa is its greatest natural resource. The waterways along the route of the pipeline are affected by diminished water quality. Unlike the governor, not all Iowans are willing to sell out to big oil. Does the governor feel that everyone should be willing to have an oil pipeline buried on their land for the right price? Is there a price tag on everything in this life, including a sense or stewardship to the natural world and one's own personal integrity?

When the folks on the Iowa Utilities Board grant Dakota Access the power of eminent domain to bury a pipeline on the land of those unwilling to sell out, I hope the governor will shed a tear or two.

Floyd Sandford

Cedar Rapids