FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
Only in
Baker City
When we post news on our Facebook
feed, so often we read in response to the
slow speed horse pursuits, the drug ar-
rests, the assaults, “Only in Baker City,”
or “What’s happening to this town?”
Wednesday we were able to browse
through a police scrapbook that Chief
Lohner offered up to us this week—a
scrapbook fi lled with articles from the
1950s primarily.
Upon reading it, it’s safe to say that
Baker City’s newsworthy action is very
similar to what it has always been. We
saw old articles of City Council members
resigning en masse. There was a shoot-
ing, a house fi re, a few scuffl es and lively
arrests. If we re-dated the articles and
changed the names, we could pass them
off here and now in the present.
How quickly people and generations
forget. How little the patterns of daily life
change.
That scrapbook brought forth another
thought: What a waste it is to live life
worrying what others might think of our
choices. Most likely they’ll notice for
about a minute anyway.
In the words of Gandalf, “All we have to
decide is what to do with the time that is
given to us.”
And time, it passes too quickly anyway.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
— Letters to the Editor —
Voting for Nichols
To the Editor:
I believe Bruce Nichols is well suited
for the tasks of County Commissioner.
His government and private business
experience, coupled with fi scally conser-
vative management, will serve the County
well. Bruce views the Commissioner posi-
tion as part of a team, a team striving to
reach a common goal requiring thought-
ful, researched discussion, evaluation of
consequences and a long-term plan. .
Bruce Nichols is fi fth generation Baker
Co. resident and a life-long Republican,
who graduated from Baker High. After an
honorable discharge from the Air Force,
Bruce obtained a Bachelor degree in busi-
ness and economics from Eastern Or-
egon State College, now Eastern Oregon
University. In addition to the business
and economics courses, Bruce in included
a variety of agri-business classes which
nearly led to a degree in agri-business.
Bruce will be an asset to Baker County
government because he is a Certifi ed Pub-
lic Account with over 35 years of experi-
ence in auditing, budgeting and managing.
Bruce is a strong supporter of the
Constitution, the second amendment, a
member of the National Rifl e Association
and Powder River Sportsman Club.
Bruce feels his years of experience
working with government agencies and
land owners have given him insight that
agriculture, mining, timber and tourism
are the backbone of Eastern Oregon’s
fragile economy. Baker County needs to
expand its opportunities with start-up,
small business and mid-sized manufactur-
ing business. He will encourage County
and City offi cials to eliminate unnecessary
fees and restrictions on business, to help
keep and establish a stronger small busi-
ness economy and partner more effective-
ly with agriculture and timber industries.
He will strongly support continued
partnering with regional high school and
community college l education programs
that are necessary to build a foundation of
employable individuals. The education of
our work force is critical to Baker County
businesses, industries and the well-being
of the hard-working citizens of our county.
I encourage a vote for Bruce Nichols, a
proven business man, to run the business
of our county.
Bob McKim
Baker City
Open Letter from Forest
Supervisors
To the Editor and Friends of the Blue
Mountains:
We are writing to share an update on
the revision of the Blue Mountains Forest
Plans, which will guide the management
of approximately 5 million acres of the
Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman
National Forests. To begin, we want
to acknowledge those who have been
involved in this Forest Plan Revision pro-
cess: We have been encouraged by how
much you value your public lands, and we
thank you for helping to shape how we
manage these National Forests on behalf
of the American people.
Over the past year, as part of a public
re-engagement effort, we have visited
with over 700 individuals in 24 public
listening sessions held in communities
across eastern Oregon, eastern Washing-
ton, and western Idaho. Although we
have heard differences of opinion about
how to best manage these spectacular
landscapes and ecosystems of the Blue
Mountains, most agree that these National
Forests should continue to be managed for
the many uses and benefi ts they provide,
both now and into the future.
We found the input shared during the
public re-engagement process to be very
helpful, and we are using this input in a
variety of ways. For example, the public
listening sessions have brought additional
context to the 2014 formal comments
and have given us a better understanding
of how different Alternatives may affect
our diverse publics. In response, we are
currently crafting two new Alternatives,
which we will analyze in detail in the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS):
The fi rst Alternative will emphasize res-
toration and has been informed by formal
public comments, re-engagement input,
and revised recommendations by Forest
Service resource specialists.
The second Alternative will build upon
the fi rst. This Alternative would consider-
ably increase the pace of forest restora-
tion during the plan period (15 years) by
moving a larger portion of the forested
landscape toward the Desired Conditions
– i.e., thinning densely forested stands,
reducing fi re severity, and decreasing the
risks posed by insects and diseases.
We will provide public updates with
new information as we develop these
additional Alternatives and continue with
the analysis of other Alternatives within
the EIS. While we seek to be responsive
to all of our diverse publics, any Alterna-
tive we consider must be analyzed for
compliance with federal laws, regulations,
and policies governing National Forest
management. Also keep in mind that
the Forest Plan Revision is still a work
in progress, and the deciding offi cer (the
Regional Forester) has not made any fi nal
decisions.
What are the next steps? The fi nal
products of this Forest Plan Revision
process will include three separate For-
est Plans – one for each of the Malheur,
Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National
Forests. Before these Forest Plans can
be fi nalized, we will consult with federal
agencies on the Endangered Species Act
and continue our government-to-govern-
ment consultation with appropriate Ameri-
can Indian Tribes. We will also continue
to address questions and concerns from all
of you who continue to be interested in the
Blue Mountains Forest Plans. When the
fi nal EIS, three revised Forest Plans, and
three draft Records of Decision are ready,
these documents will be available for pub-
lic review for 60 days during the objection
period. Individuals and entities that sub-
mitted substantive formal comments (36
CFR 219.62) during the opportunities for
public comment may fi le an objection (36
CFR 219.5) if they do not feel their issues
were satisfactorily addressed. Once the
objection process is fi nished, the Regional
Forester will sign each Forest’s Record of
Decision.
In closing, we would like to express our
appreciation for your involvement in the
stewardship of your National Forests. We
are committed to using the information
you have provided to shape the revised
Forest Plans. Over the coming months,
we will strive to keep the lines of com-
munication open through the sharing of
information via email, mail, phone, and
the web. Please refer to www.fs.usda.gov/
goto/BlueMountainsPlanRevision for the
most up-to-date information, and if you
have any questions, please email bluemtn-
planrevision@fs.fed.us.
Steve Beverlin
Forest Supervisor,
Malheur National Forest
Genevieve Master
Forest Supervisor,
Umatilla National Forest
Thomas Montoya
Forest Supervisor,
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Editor’s Note: Word count restrictions
were waived in this case, in order to bring
the public the full text of this letter.
— Guest Opinion —
Pari material
and federal
agency
coordination
By Bill Harvey
Special to The Baker County Press
Professor Sutherland’s defi nitive
work “Statutory Construction”
states: “Statutes are considered
‘pari materia’ to pertain to the same
subject-matter when they relate to
the same person or thing, or the
same class of persons or things, or
have the same purpose and objec-
tive. They may be independent or
amendatory in form, they may be
complete enactments dealing with
a single, limited subject matter
or sections of Code or revision;
or they may be a combination of
these.” Sutherland, “Statutory
Construction” Section 5202.
The Federal Land Policy Man-
agement Act (FLPMA) and the
National Forest Management Act
(NFMA) are statutes in ‘pari ma-
teria’ because they both set forth
management processes, procedures
and directives from Congress by
which the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment and the Forest Service must
manage the public or federal lands,
mostly rangelands for the BLM
and Forests for the Forest Service.
They represent enactments by the
same Congress and they have the
same “purpose and objective”, ie.,
effective, effi cient productive man-
agement of the federal lands.
Professor Sutherland and scores
of supporting cases point out that
when the legislature has defi ned
a term, and then subsequently
uses the term in another statute, it
means the term to have the same
Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker
County Press reserves the right not to pub-
lish letters containing factual falsehoods or
incoherent narrative. Letters promoting or
detracting from specifi c for-profi t business-
es will not be published. Word limit is 375
words per letter. Letters are limited to one
every other week per author. Letters should
be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCounty-
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Advertising and Opinion Page Dis-
claimer: Opinions submitted as Guest
Submitted Photo
Bill Harvey of Haines is chair of the
Baker County Board of
Commissioners.
defi nition, unless it states specifi -
cally otherwise.
The United States Supreme
Court has enunciated this principle
on scores of occasions. Lead-
ing cases are cited as supporting
authorities for the statement made
by Professor Sutherland. Congress
undertook revision of the Forest
Management Statutes at the same
time it took up development of the
Federal Land Policy Management
Act. FLPMA was passed with the
“coordination” defi nition, NFMA’s
provisions as to “coordination”
were passed as part of the Sustain-
able Forest Act. There is nothing
in the Sustainable Forest Act to
indicate that Congress intended a
different meaning for “coordinate”
and/or “coordination” than what it
provided in FLPMA.
Both statutes deal with manage-
ment of federal lands and natural
resources, and neither shows any
indication that Congress intended
to apply one” coordination pro-
cess” for the BLM and a different
one for the Forest Service. The
Statutes are in ‘pari materia’ and
must be read consistently.
In Short: Forest Service and
BLM are under the same Rules.
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