Opinion
A4
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
OUR VIEW
Questions linger
over the River
Democracy Act
t means a lot when a river gets the fed-
eral designation of “wild and scenic.” Stir-
ring views will be protected. Water quality
gets armor around it. People can savor that the
waterway will be preserved. Wildlife gets a better
chance to thrive.
The River Democracy Act would add
4,700 more miles of wild and scenic water-
ways to Oregon. Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, have led the
legislation.
The act has inescapable appeal. But there are
also questions about what it will mean for prop-
erty owners in the area designated and around it.
The concise answer: The federal agencies that
administer wild and scenic rivers have stated in
the past that the government may take action to
protect river values. But there is also clear lan-
guage in the River Democracy Act that should
allay many fears.
Now we’ll go through a detailed answer. Feel
free to skip to the bottom if you don’t want to
wade through details.
How does the federal government regulate
wild and scenic waterways? We found some good
answers in two places on the rivers.gov website
— a document prepared by federal managers of
wild and scenic rivers and a search tool.
The document says the wild and scenic act
“neither gives nor implies government control of
private lands within the river corridor” and that
“management restrictions would apply only to
federal lands. … The federal government has no
power to regulate or zone private lands under the
Act; however, administering agencies may high-
light the need for amendment to local zoning.”
So what happens when the federal government
believes the uses of private land are incompatible
with a wild and scenic river?
“Should some proposed or actual use clearly
threaten the values the river was designated to
protect, the river managing agency would work
with a landowner to explore ways to avert the
threat through local zoning, state provisions, land
exchanges, or purchases on a willing-seller/will-
ing-buyer basis. Condemnation would be a last
resort, would only be feasible if funding were
available, and is prohibited on some wild and
scenic rivers by their enabling legislation,” the
search tool says.
Since condemnation was mentioned, here is
a relevant section of the River Democracy Act:
“(The federal government) may not acquire any
private land or interest in private land within the
detailed boundaries of a covered segment without
the consent of the owner.”
The River Democracy Act also explicitly states
that nothing in the act aff ects private property
rights, which may help some landowners relax.
Wyden’s offi ce helped clarify what that means.
“The language is intended to ensure that the
designation of any new segments doesn’t aff ect
private property rights whether the landowner
lives within the boundaries of the segment or out-
side of it,” Hank Stern, Wyden’s spokesperson,
told us.
Wyden and Merkley have written the River
Democracy Act to add more protection to Oregon
waterways and to protect private property rights.
But yes, of course, the federal government
would take action if it believes river values are
threatened.
I
OTHER VIEWS
Stand up against B2H on Aug. 29
People of La Grande: Monday, Aug. 29, may be your
fi nal opportunity to stand up in opposition to Idaho Pow-
er’s B2H transmission line, which is proposed to cross
fi ve Oregon counties and pass near La Grande.
Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council is meeting
in La Grande to review contested case issues that are
still pending state approval for construction of the line.
The Stop B2H Coalition is asking you to show up for
the beginning of the meeting as a statement to the siting
council that we don’t want this huge construction project
next to our community.
We are ssembling at the Gilbert Event Center on the
campus of Eastern Oregon University at 3:30 p.m. on
Monday, Aug. 29. Parking is free in the lower parking lot
(identifi ed as the “Gilbert Lot” on the EOU map). Wear a
yellow shirt if you have one.
Please come out and demonstrate your opposition to
this destructive and unnecessary transmission line. If
Southern Idaho really needs the power, they should build
their own generating capacity rather than ship power
from 300 miles away at the expense of Northeastern
Oregon.
For more details about this meeting (scheduled Aug.
29-31), and about the B2H, visit www.stopb2h.org.
Jon White
La Grande
Government: ‘Do as I say, not as I do’
Let’s talk about the article The Observer front-paged
on Tuesday, Aug. 9 (“Offi cials support map reversal”)
regarding the ill-conceived Oregon Department of For-
estry’s map, a map that identifi ed and threatened land-
owners with signifi cant fi nancial fi nes unless they
straightened up and started cleaning up their surround-
ings to prevent the spread of wildfi res.
The irony of this action on behalf of the state of
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
STATE SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
STAFF
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To those people who have issues with our small-town
rodeo, I will make this simple: Stay home. I would sug-
gest to head to the other side of the state to Portland,
which I hear has lots of downtown activities that are
always politically correct.
The attempt at “country folk/rodeo” lingo is
condescending.
Thank you, Jody and John. We enjoy the show and
appreciate your love of the sport of rodeo, our country
and those who serve it, our Lord and Savior and our
rural lifestyles.
Most of us are not participating in the slow murder of
America. God Bless the USA.
Lori Butterfi eld
Joseph
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EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of The Observer editorial board.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions
of the authors and not necessarily that of The Observer.
Oregon illuminates the actuality that landowners, local
governments, businesses and concerned citizens have
been, through several decades, requesting, lobbying,
collaborating and even begging state and federal gov-
ernments to perform cleanup activities and thinning
eff orts on the lands they have been entrusted to steward.
Requests for management have been met with not only
resistance but legal action as well.
It is inconceivable that state and local govern-
ments take a “do as I say, not as I do” action and pro-
pose that private land be subject to legal and or fi nancial
punishment.
Lastly, the woke subheading for the article that
informed us that the state’s action was to “prepare
Oregon for worsening, climate change-fueled wildfi res”
is as ridiculous and shortsighted as the premise that
nothing needs to happen on public land and that years of
state and federal mismanagement can take a back seat
for the blame of the increasing wildfi re devastation.
Colleen MacLeod
Summerville
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