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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2018)
2 Wednesday, May 16, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Election results available after polls close at NuggetNews.com Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writerʼs name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: Each time I drive by Sisters Airport, I shake my head when I look at the development in the flight path. I worked for the USAF for 25 years, and during that time I witnessed the closure of two bases because of encroachment by develop- ment. In each case the municipal authorities allowed the construction of subdivisions in the flight path, right up to the perimeter of the base. As people moved in, complaints began to mount about safety and noise. Eventually the bases were forced to close. The same thing could happen to Sisters Airport. As more people move in to the development across from the runway and air traffic increases with the growth in popula- tion and number of visitors, inevitably com- plaints about safety and noise will be increas- ingly voiced. This will, in turn, increase the likelihood that the airport will eventually have to be closed. In short, allowing development in the flight path was not a good idea. Gary Leiser s s s To the Editor: A couple of weeks ago, Katy Yoder wrote a thoughtful article on my sweet little mustang filly named “Grace” and her complicated health challenges. As a result of that piece, we have experienced so much love and support and I cannot thank the people of this special community (and their friends beyond) enough. In a world where we find ourselves See LETTERS on page 30 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Cloudy Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Partly Cloudy PM Showers Partly Cloudy 69/45 71/42 70/46 70/46 71/46 73/47 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett Accounting: Erin Bordonaro Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. N Permits to replace freedom of the hills By Art Pope Correspondent Are you a hiker, back- packer or climber — or a person who just loves get- ting outside? Well, if you haven’t heard, your ability to access five of Oregon’s premier wilderness areas is about to change. The Willamette and Deschutes National Forests, concerned about impacts associated with overuse, have proposed a quota-based permit sys- tem for the Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington, Diamond Peak, and Waldo Lake wilderness areas. No doubt about it; this is a historic change. Soon it will take much more than just a free weekend or great weather forecast for you to be able to load up and go hik- ing or backpacking in these areas. The Forest Service has determined that overuse is causing resource damage and that restricting access is the only way to address the problem. At just over 200 pages, the Environmental Assessment for the Cascades Wilderness Strategies Project is a massive document full of data and copious references to impressive research stud- ies. Five alternative actions are proposed but, except for the no-action alternative, they all end up in the same place: a quota-based permit system. As far as I have been able to determine, if any of the proposed alternatives (other than no-action) are adopted, it will create the biggest, most restrictive and comprehen- sive limited-entry wilderness permit program in the coun- try. Make no mistake, if you visit any of the five wilder- ness areas addressed in this plan you will be impacted. Alternative 2, the preferred alternative, requires permits for all overnight camping in all five wilderness areas and permits for day hikes at most trailheads. Implementing a limited- entry permit system over five wilderness areas is a very big deal, and the need for such a program should be indisput- ably documented. It is not. Though the underlying prem- ise is that use levels must be reduced because overuse is causing damage to the resource there is insufficient documentation of extensive resource damage to justify implementation of such an extensive and restrictive per- mit system. The agency’s push for a limited-entry permit sys- tem, one impacting such a vast area with so little back- ground data on user impacts, might make one ask if gen- erating revenue was a major focus of this plan — a con- cern not without merit. The permit system on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon generates tens of thousands of dollars in application fees every year. Yes, that’s right, application fees. Would-be boaters must pay to apply even when most never get to float the river. Could this happen in Oregon? Absolutely! Unfortunately, we just don’t know; the current Forest Service NEPA document does not address fees or bud- gets. As it was explained to me, consideration of issues related to the permit system — things like fees, budgets, personnel and such — are outside the scope of the NEPA review; the public will have the opportunity to comment on those issues at a later date. Being asked to comment on this proposal without knowing how much it will cost and how it will work is rather like being asked to buy a house without going inside. I was told that the agency expects permit fees to not only support the permit sys- tem but trail crews, wilder- ness rangers and desk time for office staff. Based on tra- ditional norms, permit fees will also support a percentage of payroll costs for every- one that touches wilderness; from the District Ranger to the Forest Supervisor. How much will all this cost? Right now, we just don’t know. My guess: it won’t be cheap. In some instances, there is no alternative to a permit system. However, the ques- tion Forest Service leader- ship has failed to address is: are we truly at a point where there is no alternative to a quota-based permit system? It is not clear to me that we are. You have until May 21 to comment on the Central C a s c a d e s Wi l d e r n e s s Strategies Project. Contact Beth Peer, bpeer@fs.fed.us or 541-383-5554; or Matt Peterson mbpeterson@fs.fed. us, 541-225-6421 if you have questions. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
