Opinion
A4
Thursday, February 10, 2022
OUR VIEW
Worries
about the
river act
O
regon’s U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley, cleverly included the word
“Democracy” in their bill, introduced a
year ago and pending in Congress, that would
nearly triple the mileage of waterways in the state
under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers system.
That august word, so beloved in America, tends to
burnish whatever it’s applied to.
But although the senators used the democratic
tactic of soliciting suggestions from the public about
which streams to include in their River Democracy
Act, that’s not the most appropriate method when it
comes to potentially imposing federal protection, and
the associated potential restrictions, on an estimated
3 million acres (based on the proposed mile-wide
corridor along the included streams).
Critics point out that some streams scarcely
qualify as such since they might not carry water
year-round.
The 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is intended
to protect rivers that have “outstanding natural, cul-
tural and recreational values in a free-fl owing condi-
tion” — “fl owing” obviously requires water.
And although another key word in the 1968
Act — “outstanding” — is decidedly subjective,
the senators should use more informed criteria in
crafting their bill than the preferences of a minus-
cule percentage of the state’s population. Wyden and
Merkley said they received nominations from about
2,500 Oregonians.
Protecting streams is a worthwhile goal, to be
sure. And designating streams under the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act does not restrict activities on
adjacent public land (private land isn’t aff ected)
nearly as stringently as another federal law, the
Wilderness Act.
Yet the bill would prohibit new mining permits
on public land in the corridors along designated
streams (existing permits would be grandfathered in,
according to Wyden’s spokesperson, Hank Stern).
The bill also could thwart eff orts to thin over-
crowded forests. That’s a problem rife in the Blue
Mountains and one that increases the risk of cata-
strophic wildfi res that would sully any values, out-
standing or otherwise, that a stream has.
Wyden points out that the River Democracy
Act would not prohibit logging in stream corridors
to reduce the risk of wildfi res. He also notes that
reducing fi re risk, with a focus on using prescribed
fi re to curb fuel loads, is among his chief goals for
public lands. The bill also would require agencies
that manage designated corridors — primarily the
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management —
to assess wildfi re risks in each corridor.
That all sounds promising. But it’s hardly far-
fetched to fret that a Wild and Scenic River desig-
nation would embolden environmental groups to
legally challenge reasonable thinning projects under
the guise that such work would harm the corridor’s
“outstanding” values.
And prescribed fi re, though a valuable tool whose
use should be expanded on public land, in many
places must be preceded by tree-cutting, lest the
“managed” fi re do more harm than good.
Ultimately, the River Democracy Act is a bit pre-
mature. Rather than giving federal protection to
4,700 miles of streams in one fell swoop, and then
fi guring out later not only how to manage them but
whether they actually met the standards of the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act, Wyden and Merkley should
call for a more thorough study of the nominated seg-
ments and present a refi ned list in future legislation.
Legislature returns with ‘wacky’ reputation
DICK
HUGHES
OTHER VIEWS
he Oregon Legislature came
back to Salem last week and
quickly fulfi lled its increas-
ingly wacky reputation.
On the opening day of the 2022
session, the state House was testy,
the Senate more collegial.
The contentious issue of farm-
worker overtime, which I discussed
in last week’s column, illustrates
how the political mood diff ers in the
Senate and House. Sponsored by
urban Democrats, House Bill 4002
resides in the House Business and
Labor Committee, chaired by state
Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene.
But let’s start in the Senate, where
lawmakers got down to business
right away while folks in the House
were milling around.
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, said
that if overtime is to be mandated for
agricultural employees, it must be
done right. He gave a remonstrance
— a brief fl oor speech — in which
he thanked Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, for meeting
with agricultural producers from
Hansell’s Senate district to discuss
the issue. Hansell pledged to work
collaboratively toward “victory” and
quoted Courtney:
“It really resonated with me and
the (producers) that you said, ‘When
it comes to legislation, you can have a
win or you can have a victory. A win
is when one party crams something
down and it’s not bipartisan when we
end up with a vote. A victory is when
we work on good policy to bring
(people) together and we have a bill
that will be supported on both sides of
the aisle and also in both chambers.’”
Advocates are using the courts,
the Legislature and the Oregon
Bureau of Labor and Industries to
push for agricultural overtime. In
T
the House, rural Republicans pushed
back in their remonstrances.
Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The
Dalles, said the latest work group
on the topic fell apart because the
advocates were not motivated to fi nd
a legislative solution. Rep. Shelly
Boshart Davis, R-Albany, read an
editorial from the Capital Press
and echoed a colleague’s call for an
honest, intellectual conversation.
Here are more tidbits from the
fi rst week’s wonders and wackiness:
The State Capitol fi nally was
open to the public for a legislative
session. Sort of.
For the fi rst time, metal detectors
greeted anyone entering the Capitol,
although Bonham reportedly came
through a diff erent door and acciden-
tally evaded them.
Masks are required in the Capitol
due to the public health protocols,
which led to disagreements between
anti-mask protesters and Oregon
State Police. On Wednesday, offi cials
disputed media reports that individ-
uals who claimed religious exemp-
tions were allowed in without masks.
An email to the “Capitol Commu-
nity” from Legislative Administra-
tion and the state police said: “There
is no religious exemption to the
masking requirement, and no one
claiming solely such an exemption
was permitted to enter the Capitol.”
A small number of people, how-
ever, requested accommodation under
the Americans with Disabilities Act.
House Republicans questioned
the mask mandate, especially that
they had to wear one even while
speaking. The Oregon Capital
Chronicle reported that Rep. E.
Werner Reschke, R-Klamath Falls,
“stood off the House fl oor without a
mask and popped his head in to vote.
But he avoided the kind of show-
down that ended a December spe-
cial session, when Courtney had a
Senate Republican escorted from
the chamber by (Senate staff ) for not
wearing a mask.”
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
STAFF
SUBSCRIBEAND SAVE
NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50
You can save up to 55% off the single-copy
price with home delivery.
Call 800-781-3214 to subscribe.
Subscription rates:
Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75
13 weeks.................................................$37.00
26 weeks.................................................$71.00
52 weeks ..............................................$135.00
That senator, Dallas Heard, of
Roseburg, was not in the Senate on
opening day.
The public could watch the
opening session from the House gal-
lery. In the Senate, due to COVID-19
concerns, Courtney reversed course
and closed the chamber to the public.
For the same reason, legislative
committees are operating remotely
via video conference and phone. The
legislative IT system remained intact,
but the Capitol Wi-Fi network used by
the public crashed early in the week.
Rep. Dan Rayfi eld, D-Corvallis,
was elected House speaker with only
one vote to spare. Democrats and
Republicans alike then gave him
three standing ovations, including
one after his poignant speech that
detailed his rough growing up.
COVID-19 concerns hung over
the Capitol throughout the week.
Courtney canceled the Senate’s
second fl oor session, scheduled for
Thursday, Feb. 3. Two senators came
anyway — Kathleen Taylor, D-Port-
land, and Fred Girod, R-Lyons
— since the Oregon Constitution
required Courtney to go through the
motions of starting and adjourning
the fl oor session.
Gov. Kate Brown delivered her
fi nal State of the State speech live on
YouTube instead of the traditional
appearance before a House chamber
packed with representatives, sena-
tors, judges, past governors, other
luminaries, the public and journal-
ists. She also did not hold a press
conference afterward, either online
or in person, to take questions.
Brown took the high road in her
half-hour speech, never referring to
her critics. But they tuned in, fi lling
the accompanying YouTube chat
with often-snarky comments about
her mask mandates and other per-
ceived missteps.
———
Dick Hughes has been covering
the Oregon political scene since
1976.
Anindependent newspaper foundedin1896
www.lagrandeobserver.com
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
(except postal holidays) by EO Media Group,
911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
(USPS 299-260)
The Observer retains ownership and copyright
protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising
copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may
not be reproduced without explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT © 2022
Phone:
541-963-3161
Regional publisher. ...................... Karrine Brogoitti
Home delivery advisor ......... Amanda Turkington
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Advertising representative ..................... Kelli Craft
News clerk ........................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter............................................Davis Carbaugh
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Multimedia journalist.........................Alex Wittwer
Page design .......................................... Martha Allen
Toll free (Oregon):
1-800-781-3214
Email:
news@lagrandeobserver.com
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
The Observer,
911 Jefferson Ave.,
La Grande, OR 97850
A division of