Environmental Group leading the charge to drive a Maryland family farm out of business through misguided litigation spends weekend with the stars at Deer Valley raising money
Willards, Md. (December 2, 2011) – While the Waterkeeper Alliance entertains celebrities at a posh ski resort, the Maryland Farm Bureau will donate proceeds from a fundraising auction during its annual meeting in Ocean City to benefit the Maryland Family Farmers Legal Defense Fund. The fund was created to assist Alan and Kristin Hudson, a beleaguered Maryland farm family who are the target of a misguided Waterkeeper Alliance lawsuit. The Maryland Farm Bureau fundraiser on December 5th comes as the deep-pocketed Waterkeeper Alliance spends the weekend of December 2-5 fundraising with celebrities at the lavish Deer Valley ski resort in Utah.
"We expect over 400 family farmers to attend our dinner and auction on Monday, December 5. I am proud of the local farm families that are coming together to help the Hudsons by donating and bidding on items at our annual meeting,” said Patricia Langenfelder, president of the Maryland Farm Bureau.
The Hudsons, based in Berlin, Md., have become entangled in a prolonged litigation battle with the Waterkeeper Alliance which has them facing bankruptcy. The Waterkeepers have persisted with an environmental lawsuit against Hudsons for alleged Clean Water Act violations despite the fact that the issue was resolved to the Maryland Department of the Environment’s satisfaction.
Last month, Maryland Governor O’Malley announced his support of the Hudsons in this legal battle that has implications for the entire agriculture community. In a letter to Phoebe Haddon, dean of the University of Maryland School of Law, Governor O’Malley raised concerns over whether the Waterkeeper Alliance could substantiate their claims and suggested that they were benefitting from “the economic weapon of unlimited litigation resources”.
The Hudsons are facing overwhelming legal bills while the Waterkeeper Alliance is being aided by the University of Maryland environmental law clinic. The law school is taxpayer funded and a number of the lawyers identified as legal representatives of the Waterkeepers in court filings are employees of the law school receiving full salary and benefits from the State of Maryland. Further, the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance raised more than $3.5 million in 2009 according to tax records available online.
“The disparity in funding in this battle is one of the reasons we launched SaveFarmFamilies.org,” said Lee Richardson, president of the Wicomico County (Md.) Farm Bureau and a SaveFarmFamilies.org member. “While the Waterkeepers’ are out skiing with celebrities raising millions of dollars, we are putting local dinners together to defend the Hudsons. The Waterkeepers’ are threatening our way of life through this lawsuit, but we aren’t going to let that happen,” he added.
The star-studded “Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest” benefitting the Waterkeeper Alliance promises attendees a one of a kind event with first class service, featuring a “lavish fundraiser” complete with a private concert. The event’s annual Title Sponsorship fee is $445,000 and Corporate Sponsorships go for $135,000 according to the event’s website
www.dvskifest.com.
“I think the Deer Valley ski event speaks volumes about who the Waterkeepers are and the significant resources at their disposal,” said Andrew Mclean of SaveFarmFamilies.org. “They are trying to use that power and money to intimidate family farms like the Hudsons, but I think they severely underestimated the strength and unity of farmers around the country who want to make this a fair fight.”
In addition, SaveFarmFamilies.org announced today a fourth benefit dinner will be held on January 21st at the Showell Fire Hall in Worcester County, Md. hosted by the Wicomico County Young Farmers. Tickets for the next Hudson benefit dinner are now on sale for $25 per person. All proceeds from the all-you-can-eat chicken and dumpling dinner will benefit the Hudson’s legal defense fund. For ticket information, please contact the Wicomico County Young Farmers at
wicfb@hotmail.com.
View a link to the Waterkeeper’s Deer Valley event from December 2-5:
www.dvskifest.com