NYSE Ends Natural Resources Trade Plan

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday pulled a controversial proposal to create a category of stocks called natural asset companies, after critics including agriculture groups sounded alarms it would have allowed foreign investors to seize control of agriculture land in the U.S.

The proposal would have allowed private interests to use capital to buy or manage farmland, national and state parks, and other areas rich in minerals, and to stop activities such as farming, grazing and energy extraction if they were deemed as unsustainable.

The decision to withdraw the proposal came just one day before a public comment period ended at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The NYSE had proposed to create an asset class based on sustainable businesses that hold rights to ecosystem services including carbon sequestration. The asset class of companies would have been allowed to then evaluate the health of lands and place a dollar value on such benefits as clean air and water or even wildlife habitat.

"The New York Stock Exchange's decision to withdraw their proposal is a win for ranchers, farmers, and rural America, and is proof that the voice of America is still heard loudly above overreaching, unelected rule makers," said Shad Sullivan, R-CALF USA's region five director and property rights chair.

"The foundation of our republic rests upon the shoulders of property rights and this win demonstrates that the American people are still willing to fight for liberty."

In a comment letter submitted Thursday, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard said the rule "makes a mockery" of private property rights and "promises to deprive landowners" of the right to the "beneficial use" of their private property.

"A better and surer way to bring America's economy to its knees other than by restricting her use of her own natural resources has yet to be devised," Bullard said.

The proposal drew the ire of state attorneys general, federal lawmakers and others.

On Jan. 9, state attorneys general in 25 states called for the proposal to be withdrawn in a comment letter to the SEC.

The AGs said they believed the rule was intended to serve as the "funding mechanism" for a Bureau of Land Management proposed rule to grant conservation leases for public lands.

"Such leases would be 'for the purpose of ensuring ecosystem resilience through protecting, managing, or restoring natural environments, cultural or historic resources and ecological communities, including species and their habitats,'" the AGs said.

"This means that once BLM issues a conservation lease, productive economic uses such as grazing, logging, or mining will no longer be allowed unless they are 'consistent' with the lease's environmental purposes."

The comment letter was signed by AGs from Wyoming, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Utah, Kansas, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana.

On Thursday, Republican Wyoming Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis said in a statement the withdrawal of the rule was a "victory" for the state of Wyoming.

"The New York Stock Exchange's overreaching proposal would have surrendered America's public lands to the highest bidder," Barrasso said in a statement.

"Given the understandable backlash from those who live and work on our public lands, the Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew this rule before it could take effect. Axing this rule allows for the continuation of responsible land and resource management activities including mining, grazing, energy production and timber logging across Wyoming."

On Nov. 2, 2023, U.S. Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and James E. Risch, R-Idaho, asked the SEC commission to provide more information about the proposed rule.

"We are concerned that corporate involvement in the stewardship and control of our federal lands would create unintended consequences," the letter said.

"The proposed rule could lead to a preservationist-only approach to federal land management instead of an 'all-of-the-above' working lands approach as intended by the creation of our federal land programs. We are also alarmed by the SEC's allowance under the proposed rule of foreign investment in these uniquely U.S. assets."

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DTNeeley

(c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.