10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015
Local
FAFA banquet
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Several members
of the group Citizens for
Balanced Use (CBU) also
came to lend their support
to the cause foremost in
the minds of attendees:
keeping roads open to the
public on lands managed
by the Forest Service.
Grant is considered the
nation’s top expert in co-
ordination versus coopera-
tion legal issues regarding
federal entities such as the
Environmental Protection
Agency, United States For-
est Service and Bureau of
Land Management.
Grant was former Idaho
governor Cecil Andrus’
legal counsel “before he
went on to Washington
and became a liberal,” he
joked. He was also counsel
to his successor, John
Evans.
When former Oregon
Senator Bob Packwood
implemented coordina-
tion as an option for local
government entities in
1976, the law went widely
unknown and wasn’t used
until Grant did so in the
1990s.
Since then, he said, every
legal battle he’s fought to
prevent road closures and
the like—using coordina-
tion—has been victorious.
One state, Arizona, has a
law in place that requires
the coordination process,
considering it a right of
that state’s citizens.
Leading up to Grant’s
keynote speech, the emcee
for the evening, member
John George, introduced
Rep. White first.
White said the first time
he was down in Baker City
was in 2007. “If it wasn’t
for you guys, your forests
would be closed,” he said.
“We lost 40-50% of our
forests up in the Gallatin in
2008.”
He also pointed to lost
Montana water rights,
which had recently been
ceded back to the Federal
government. “Elections
matter,” he said firmly.
“You put the right people
in office to stand on the
Constitution and the prin-
ciples and the rule of law
and the rights of the people
to have a representative
government—elections
matter.”
White talked about how
CBU has come on board
with Utah State Rep. Ken
Ivory and the American
Lands Council toward the
transfer of public lands
back to more local control.
“I know it’s a contro-
versial issue,” he said. He
talked about the concerns
that Oregon State may do a
worse job managing lands
than the Forest Service. “In
eastern Oregon you worry
that your voices don’t
count out here, but in fact,
they do. The environmen-
talists have a lot of money,
but they don’t have the
people. Every phone call
you make to your repre-
sentatives represents 500
voices. Every letter you
write represents 1,000 and
they know that … Get en-
gaged in your government,
because if you don’t, we’re
going to lose this country.”
He said of the Obama
administration, “They want
our land and they want our
water, and they’re going
to do everything they can
to get it. We have to stand
strong against that.”
Transfer of public lands
is gaining traction, he said.
White said the Forest
Service is wasting billions
of dollars managing public
lands, making an estimated Grant, who took the
16 cents for every dollar it
podium under a thunder-
spends. He quoted Sena-
ous round of applause.
tor Mike Lee who said last
He began, “That’s a better
week, “The federal govern- introduction I’ve gotten in
ment’s monopoly on land
some places. Especially
in the West is profoundly
Washington D.C.!”
unfair and grossly inef-
He continued, “I know
ficient. Not only does it
what will work. We have
deprive the state and local
never lost a coordination
governments of much-
fight. Never in 20 years.
needed tax revenue that
We don’t have a forest
could help provide better
that’s not open where a
goods and services but it
county has used coordi-
embroils local land use
nation against the travel
issues in endless bureau-
management plans.”
cratic red tape, stifling
He pointed to a recent ex-
economic development and ample in California where
undermining
all five
“County governments
sensible en-
national
hold the 10th
vironmental
forests
Amendment in their
protection.”
were un-
hands. County
The
der issued
governments and
Federal
travel
Land Action
manage-
sheriffs together make
Group, a
ment
an absolutely
legislative
plans and
impenetrable wall.”
team to
—Fred Kelly Grant roads
work toward
had been
transfer
closed.
of public lands, was also
Motorized vehicles were
enacted last month.
banned within 30 days.
White also praised the
Four counties hired
recently passed House
Grant to fight the forest
Bill preventing the listing
closures. Grant recounted
of the sage-grouse and
how he then called Tom
demanding local consent
Tidwell, the current Chief
for travel management
of the United States Forest
restrictions, which was
Service (USFS) and said
championed by Congress-
he’d like to solve the issue
man Greg Walden and now without the expense of a
goes to the U.S. Senate for
lawsuit.
the next vote. This bill will
He recalled Tidwell
halt the implementation
asking him after a meeting
of any travel management
what coordination was and
plan without the approval
where he found it. “In your
of the Baker County Com-
rules,” he said. “It’s in your
missioners.
rules and your rules are
“This is huge,” White
based on the statutes. Con-
concluded.
gress orders you to do it,
Ben Erickson of CBU
and your predecessors have
talked about the 10 years
ordered that it be done.”
of that group’s existence,
Tidwell asked for Grant’s
and how, as a 15-year-old
papers on the matter,
boy, the BLM threatened
which he sent to him.
to arrest him and his
He then wrote a brief
friends for dirt biking on
and presented it to Tidwell,
open public lands east of
who set up a meeting with
his hometown. The town
the Regional Forester in
stood up and backed the
California who “spent 45
BLM down until after that
minutes telling me how
generation left for college
great cooperating agencies
and began lives elsewhere. were,” he said.
When they returned, no
Grant said he told him,
one had picked up the
“Look, let’s get to the bot-
fight, and those lands had
tom line. I know and you
been closed.
know that your director
White and Erickson then told you you have to coor-
called FAFA president Tork dinate. And that’s all we’re
Ballard to the front of the
going to accept.”
room in order to pres-
The USFS reopened
ent him with a check for
their travel management
$2,500 for FAFA.
plans, coordinating with
George took the mic and
every county in California
encouraged the audience
that wanted to coordinate.
to stay informed about
Today, those counties have
the The Blue Mountain
75% of the roads open that
Forest Plan Revision. He
had once been guaranteed
said he requested the draft
to close, and they’re work-
document for Subpart A in
ing on opening the rest.
September 2014, and has
He expressed dismay that
yet to receive it.
“not a single other county
Sheriff Glenn Palmer
in California followed their
encouraged Baker County
lead. I don’t know what the
to mirror Grant County’s
hell it takes to get people
ordinance, 2013-01, which to read the law.”
gives the sheriff’s office
Grant continued with his
more leeway to stand alone list of war stories.
from the County Commis-
“We got the only pro-
sioners in certain instances. grazing bill passed in
“Why are we negotiating
the past 15 years,” Grant
and haggling over our right added to his list of success-
to public lands?” he asked. es. He cited coordination
Palmer announced that
in that effort in Owyhee
all three Grant County
Initiative in Idaho.
Commissioners had just
“The BLM pretty much
voted to opposed two
follows the law now in
planned Forest Service
Owyhee County,” he said.
projects in that county that
“We’ve won 23 out of 23
would have closed roads.
battles. The Forest Service
“Grant County is one of
though, doesn’t follow the
the highest unemployed
law. They disobey the law
counties in Oregon,” he
every day and so fortunate-
said. “And it’ll come to
ly we didn’t have to deal
your county, too, if you
with them.”
keep letting them take it
“We stopped the de-
away.”
struction of dams on the
He emphasized strongly
Klamath River through
the need for counties to not coordination,” he said.
be beholden to federal dol-
He talked about how his
lars, or fear loss of those
group beat the Trans-Texas
dollars if roads aren’t
Corridor, the first phase in
closed. “It’s blackmail,”
the NAFTA superhighway.
he said.
He later pointed to a fight
George then introduced
against the Environmental
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
At left, Meb Dailey auctions off a heavy deep fryer held up by Tork Ballard and
Kody Justus for the back of the room to see.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
The banquet room at the Sunridge was packed with guests. 130 tickets were
sold.
Brian Addison / The Baker County Press
Fred Kelly Grant, the Idaho attorney responsible for asserting the legal process
of local coordination with the federal land management agencies, poses for a
photo with his longtime friend Lt. Colonel (retired) Dale Potter from Enterprise.
Protection Agency (EPA)
in Wisconsin.
After a pause he said,
“You see the difference
is this. County govern-
ments have a very special
place in American history.
People didn’t trust state
government. People didn’t
trust the federal govern-
ment. And people wanted
government local at home
where they could see the
people they were talk-
ing to, where they saw a
county commissioner in
the supermarket line or at
church and they couldn’t
escape. Go to Congress
and try to find one of your
representatives when he
doesn’t want to be found.
And when you do—so
what?”
“Fifteen cities elected
the President of the United
States. If everyone outside
those cities had voted
Republican, Barack Obama
wouldn’t have been elected
… In the last four elections
those 15 elected the Presi-
dent. Do you think they
care about the forest being
open?” he asked.
“County governments
hold the 10th Amendment
in their hands,” he empha-
sized. “County govern-
ments and sheriffs together
make an absolutely impen-
etrable wall.”
He cautioned Baker
County. “I’ll tell you what
the agencies will do and
they will do it with Baker
County. They will do it
with every county that tries
this. They’ll say, ‘Well,
we don’t have to coor-
dinate with you because
this is outside the scope
of coordination.’” He
cited examples of why this
statement was rarely true.
“None of them will coordi-
nate with you if the County
doesn’t insist on it.”
In Owyhee County, as
another example, power
lines were taken back off
private land and put back
onto BLM lands as part of
a coordination effort, but at
the Malheur County line,
the power lines start right
back on private land. He
expressed frustration with
having visited the Malheur
County Court, the equiva-
lent of Baker County’s
Commissioners, 12 times
about coordinating, to have
it fall on deaf ears. “Private
property will be taken in
Malheur County because
they won’t do what the law
says they can do,” he said.
He stressed that other
counties in Oregon will
now watch Baker County
as an example, as are coun-
ties in California to see if
Baker County wins as they
did. “And you will,” he
said.
Grant pointed out that in
cases where counties won’t
coordinate, smaller entities
like school boards and ir-
rigation districts within the
counties are able to invoke
coordination.
“Well, I’m getting old,”
he said. “It’s time others
take on this fight. For a
long time I was afraid that
wasn’t going to happen.”
He wanted guests to
know that the “victories
that happened over 20
years were not by accident.
They were hard won.”
Grant said he was given
a pacemaker last month
and told he needed to slow
down. He said he is—by
taking on the EPA.
Grant concluded by re-
minding the crowd that “a
miracle occurred in Phila-
delphia, an absolute, God-
given miracle. How you
could get together a group
of men without any women
there for common sense—
a group of men who could
come up with the Constitu-
tion of the United States
is beyond belief unless
you believe that God had
a hand in it—as they did.
This is the only Republic
in the history of the world
that was ever created by
men who believed that
God had put them there for
that purpose, to create a
Republic … If somebody
had told them that by 2015,
there would be an agency
of the national govern-
ment that would be telling
people they couldn’t go
into the forest, they’d have
packed their bags and gone
home.”
After the educational part
of the evening came to a
close, a live auction led
by auctioneer Meb Dailey
commenced. About 90
local individuals and busi-
nesses donated door prizes
and live auction items.
FAFA raised $9,700 due
to the dinner and auction,
and has a membership of
around 2,500 at present.