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6 CapitalPress.com Editorials are written by or approved by members of the Capital Press Editorial Board. January 15, 2016 All other commentary pieces are the opinions of the authors but not necessarily this newspaper. Opinion Editorial Board Publisher Editor Managing Editor Mike O’Brien Joe Beach Carl Sampson opinions@capitalpress.com Online: www.capitalpress.com/opinion O ur V iew Speaking out for rural Oregon By GREG WALDEN For the Capital Press I Rik Dalvit/For the Capital Press It’s time for change in rural West L ast week Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., took the floor of the House and tried to explain to his colleagues the frustrations his constituents in Harney County, and farmers, ranchers and loggers throughout his sprawling Eastern Oregon district, feel regarding the federal government’s management of public lands. It was a powerful speech that has given voice to rural Americans across the West who feel oppressed “by the government that they elect and the government they certainly don’t elect.” For 17 years Walden has represented Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District. It includes Harney County, where since Jan. 2 a group of armed protesters has occupied the headquarters compound of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The protesters allegedly came to town to support two local ranchers recently resentenced to five years in prison in connection with fires that burned Bureau of Land Management land. When protesters couldn’t convince the ranchers to hold up and resist their incarceration, a splinter group took over the compound as a larger protest against federal control of western lands. That occupation, peaceful so far, has managed to get the attention of the mainstream media and East Coast establishment. Unfortunately, too much of the attention has focused on the religious and “anti-government” beliefs of the protesters, and their guns. Walden’s speech attempted to focus the attention of Congress back to the real issues — the problems created by a “government that has gone too far for too long.” For Walden, Harney County is representative of many in the West. It has a land mass greater than any of the eight smallest states. But unlike those states, 72 percent of Harney County is owned and operated by the federal government. The occupied refuge, only 4 percent of the 4.7 million acres of federal holdings in the county, is larger than all the federal properties in New Jersey combined. Federal agencies hold 50 percent of the land in the West. The real issue isn’t that they own the land, but that they too often administer it poorly, and without regard to the local community. Decisions take too long because the bureaucracy is paralyzed by analysis required in futile attempts to prevent environmental lawsuits. Agency leadership too often ignores the clear intent of legislation in favor of political policy, and gives greater consideration to the opinions of distant interests than to local property owners and lease holders who depend on the best stewardship of these lands to maintain their livelihoods. The bureaucracy has become too big, too unresponsive. “You see, how do you have faith in a government that doesn’t ever listen to you?” Walden asked. “That is what is breaking faith between the American people and their government, and that is what has to change.” Indeed. It was a fine speech, but Walden and other responsible leaders, in and out of government, must use this opportunity to affect that change. Otherwise, the audience the sideshow in Harney County has attracted will be wasted. Saving spotted frogs will mean healthy rivers for fish, birds, people By NOAH GREENWALD For the Capital Press F or eons, the Oregon spotted frog bred and thrived in the wetlands that blanketed Oregon’s riv- er valleys, including the De- schutes River where some of the last populations of this once abundant, but now ex- tremely rare, amphibian sur- vive. In the last hundred years, we’ve lost the vast majority of our wetlands to urban and ag- ricultural sprawl and the dam- ming and channelization of rivers. And as go the wetlands, so goes the Oregon spotted frog, along with thousands of other wildlife species, from salmon to waterfowl. That’s why last year the frogs were protected as “threatened” under the fed- eral Endangered Species Act. And that’s why the Center for Guest comment Noah Greenwald Biological Diversity, where I work, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Recla- mation to spur much-needed changes in the operation of the Crane Prairie and Wick- iup dams on the Deschutes River. The frog survives in the shallow fringes of the reser- voirs behind both dams and in the river itself below the dams, where in both cases it is directly threatened by dam management. The reality is that these frogs have virtual- ly no chance of survival if the Bureau fails to change how it operates these two dams. The Bureau has turned the Deschutes River on its head, creating unnaturally high flows in late summer and low flows in winter — exactly the opposite of how a natural riv- er should flow. These changes in flows often occur very rap- idly, giving the frog and other wildlife little time to adjust. The frogs and their young are alternately left high and dry or flooded by high waters. The need for change is great. The Oregon spotted frog is now known from fewer than 100 sites, making the De- schutes critical to its survival. But the truth is, we can save these frogs and the live- lihoods of farmers, and every- one who relies on the river to make their living. Truly, we can. Needed changes in dam management do not mean the end of irrigation, nor will they result in the shut-off of wa- ter for a single farm. Instead, it will require careful man- agement to ensure the frog is protected in the short-term, movement towards more nat- ural flows in the long-term, and where needed, better wa- ter conservation. These changes will not just benefit the frog, but also salmon, steelhead and all of us who depend on the health of the river. Compromising the long- term health of our environ- ment for short-term economic interests, never pays in the long-run, particularly where wasteful water practices are involved. In reality, saving frogs and the health of our rivers will help to preserve the health of the landscape farmers and the rest of us depend on. Failing to do so fails frogs, farmers and future generations. Noah Greenwald is the Portland-based endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Readers’ views Protest needs to take up new banner The cattle ranchers have it all wrong in their protest- ing against the Bureau of Land Management and For- est Service. It is against the law to occupy public build- ings, block traffic and cause other disruptions claiming governmental excessive au- thority. Instead, I think they Letters policy Write to us: Capital Press welcomes letters to the editor on issues of interest to farmers, ranchers and the agribusiness community. Letters policy: Please limit letters to 300 words and include your home address and a daytime telephone number with your sub- mission. Longer pieces, 500-750 words, may be considered as should protest under the banner, “Black Cows Mat- ter” — as in Angus. That would give them the au- thority to occupy build- ings, block traffic and even engage in destruction of public and private proper- ty. They could disobey law enforcement and cause all kinds of havoc. They might even get an endorsement for their actions from Presi- dent Obama. Kelly C. Niemi Kelso, Wash. guest commentary pieces for use on the opinion pages. Guest commentary submissions should also include a photograph of the author. Send letters via email to opinions@capitalpress.com. Emailed letters are preferred and require less time to process, which could result in quicker publication. Letters also may be sent to P.O. Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308; or by fax to 503-370-4383. n recent weeks, the people of Harney County have become no stranger to na- tional headlines. On Jan. 3, a group of armed protesters overtook a federal facility in the Malheur National Wild- life Refuge. And on Jan. 5, Dwight and Steve Hammond, father and son ranchers from Harney County who were convicted of arson for setting a backfire that burned 139 acres of federal land, reported to prison to serve the remain- der of a mandatory five-year sentence. While these stories played out across every major media outlet, it’s important to un- derstand what is driving this anger and what steps we can take to improve the situation. The thread that ties the Hammond family’s case to- gether with the calls of those who took over the Refuge is decades of frustration, arro- gance and betrayal that has contributed to the mistrust of the federal government. Too many people often don’t understand the culture and the lifestyle of the great American West — and how much the ranchers and farm- ers who live in this vast, beau- tiful, harsh landscape care about the environment, their children’s futures, and about America and the Constitution. Nor do they realize how hard they work to produce the food we eat. We’re seeing now the extent they will go to in order to defend all that. While I understand their passion, I cannot condone the actions of the armed pro- testers, led largely by people who are not from our state. They’ve made their point loud and clear, and local commu- nity leaders, including many ranchers, have asked them to leave. They should do so. The day after the Ham- monds went to prison, I went to the U.S. House floor in- tending to give a five-minute speech on what was unfolding in Harney County. But when decades of my own pent-up frustration with the federal government’s treatment of rural Oregonians came to the surface, I spoke before my colleagues for nearly half an hour. (You can watch my full speech at www.walden. house.gov/speech). In my years representing the people of Oregon’s 2nd District, I have worked with local ranchers and the citizens of Eastern Oregon to resolve disputes, to find solutions and to create a more cooperative spirit and partnership with the federal agencies. After all, more than half the 2nd Dis- trict is under federal manage- ment, or lack thereof. The Steens Mountain Co- operative Management and Protection Act is a prime ex- ample of those cumulative ef- forts. But after it was signed into law in 2000, little by lit- tle, the agencies decided to reinterpret it and follow it at their own convenience, or ig- nore the law altogether. At the suggestion of local ranchers, the law created the first cow- free wilderness in the United States, but the tradeoff was a legal requirement for the fed- eral government to provide the fencing. And yet bureau- crats within the Bureau of Land Management wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t follow the law. They told ranchers they had to build the fence. When I pointed out their er- ror, they basically told me to stuff it. When I provided them with the documenta- tion from more than a decade before that proved the intent of Congress, they doubled down. And finally, when I got Congress to pass a restate- ment of the original intent, they said they’d review it. I don’t get angry very of- ten, but this arrogance really got to me. And while there are very good federal work- ers in our communities who do follow the law, and do Guest comment Greg Walden work cooperatively to find solutions, it only takes a few of the others to cause us to lose faith. A similar experience is taking place across the West through the so-called travel management plans. Original- ly intended to minimize dam- age from off road vehicles, it quickly became a powerful tool to close roads and shut people out of their forests. What happened in the Wallowa-Whitman Nation- al Forest is a classic case in point. After years of commu- nity meetings, public work- shops and incredible efforts to update the government’s faulty maps, a forest supervi- sor decided she knew better. Her choice of a management plan was such an affront that more than 900 people packed a meeting in LaGrande in protest. I, too, was incensed and called upon the Forest Service to withdraw the plan, and they did. But the damage was done. How can people be expected to have faith in a public process when they see outcomes like these? Meanwhile, other threats loom on these same people. From the onerous “waters of the United States” rules, to threats of more national mon- uments, the federal govern- ment is aggressively trying to get cattle off the range and people off their public lands. Right now, it’s strong- ly rumored that the Obama administration will declare more national monuments, including one in Malheur County, next to Harney County. It could be up to 2.5 million acres — bigger than Yellowstone National Park. Ranchers and commu- nity leaders are being told to either agree to a big wilder- ness area or plan on getting a monument shoved down your throat. Is it any won- der we feel our way of life is threatened by our own government? If the president wants to help reduce the ten- sion, and try to restore a bit of trust, he would publicly back off this proposal. The Hammonds made a mistake and went to prison for five years for lighting a backfire that burned 139 acres of federal land. We all know fire is a tool on the range to deal with invasive species and to stop other fires. In 2012, more than a million acres burned in Harney Coun- ty alone. All too often, I’ve met with ranchers who were burned out by backfires they say should never have been set by the agencies. And while I have the greatest respect for the power of a fire, and the courage and talent of firefight- ers, they make mistakes, too. The Hammonds were tried and convicted under a law written after the Oklahoma City bombing. The presiding judge in the case made clear that its penalties when ap- plied to a fire on the high des- ert of Eastern Oregon didn’t make sense. But a court found he lacked the authority to invoke a lesser sentence. We need to revisit the 1996 law that landed the Hammonds with a punish- ment disproportionate to the severity of the crime. I’m working with my colleagues to do just that. We need to have the pres- ident understand that more monuments may bring cheers from certain companies and communities, but in reality they leave behind more mis- trust and mismanagement. And those not familiar with the high desert of the West need to understand what we face before they quickly condemn the frustration and anger that is so evident. Greg Walden represents Oregon’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representa- tives.