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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2017)
VIEWPOINTS Saturday, September 30, 2017 East Oregonian Page 5A Fireworks and fury in the Columbia River Gorge T he fire in early fall that watercourse will haunt memories barreled down the Columbia for a long time to come. No, global River Gorge along Oregon’s warming didn’t commit the arson border with Washington — in Oregon, just as it didn’t single- reportedly sparked by a 15-year- handedly swamp Houston, push San old’s irresponsible use of fireworks Francisco into a record 106-degree — was notable for its heart- high, or blanket much of the West wrenching pointlessness as well as Coast under smoky haze. But it the resulting scenes of apocalyptic did — and continues to — feed the Griffin terror in one of the Northwest’s most conditions in which such events are Hagle beloved natural settings. Flames likely to occur. Comment nearly engulfed Multnomah Falls, The writer David Roberts offers a the tallest waterfall in Oregon, and useful thought experiment. Suppose forced hundreds of people from their homes the planet’s gravity was slightly increased. as Portland, 30 miles downwind, woke to a People would trip and fall more. Could any rain of ash from parched skies. particular accident be attributed to gravity? From afar, I joined astonished friends and Of course not. But it would be, in words the family in mourning this cherished stretch of Pentagon has used to describe the imprecise my native home. “Next time you’re thinking risks of climate change, a “threat multiplier.” about shooting off some fireworks — don’t,” For three years in a row, millennials is how my Portland-based friend Ryan surveyed by the World Economic Forum Oliver captioned a shared photo of flames have called climate change the most serious racing up a timbered ridge. issue affecting today’s world. Defense The Oregonian sampled the wider Secretary Jim Mattis considers it a “driver outpouring of grief on social media. “This of instability.” On the growing “eco-right,” is so incredibly unreal. My heart is on the groups like RepublicEn urge conservatives ground,” wrote BJ Thomas of Bend, Oregon. to tackle climate change; some even see “I am sickened by what is happening in what President Donald Trump as a potential I believe is the most beautiful 20 miles of dark-horse climate champion, à la Nixon landscape in the Pacific Northwest,” wrote going to China. Earlier this year, a group of Rich Cower. respected Republican statesmen laid out an There have been — and currently are — earnest proposal for a carbon tax. bigger fires across the West, but the damage In fact, despite a loud chorus of know- sustained along the nation’s fourth-largest nothings, a cross-section of concerned, Collaboration is still the best approach for helping wolves reasonable citizens has clearly concluded that America’s disengagement from crafting solutions is like fooling around with fireworks in a tinderbox of global dimensions. This is where Oregon’s sorrow and wrath are both prophetic and instructive. They hint at the losses our children will bear if we fail to arrest an administration now careening toward ecological disaster. It’s the exact response each of us, no matter our politics, ought to muster every time our leaders shirk their duty to confront this existential threat with the utmost resolve. To be sure, the divisions between ordinary people can make self-destruction seem more probable in the short term than meaningful action. But as legions of rescuers have shown us again and again, there’s no time for dogma when staring down certain death. The response to climate change is a similar all-hands effort. It demands grit and imagination beyond what any singular individual, method, scheme or ideology can contain. There’s room for citizens and scientists, industrialists and activists, globalists and nationalists — and yes, even a certain bombastic head of state. Imagine, A gray wolf looking for a home constantly moved. Accepting lethal can’t do better than the state of removal of wolves as a last resort is Washington. That statement might a sad but integral part of coexistence. surprise people, as Washington has Government action is essential in the made headlines for killing wolves, infrequent instances where livestock most recently on Sept. 1 as well as depredations have become chronic. earlier in the summer, when two The alternative approach is seen in Montana, Idaho and especially wolves from the Smackout pack were Wyoming, where more than 20 killed following livestock attacks. Mitch To some, the names of the Wedge, Friedman percent of the population — literally hundreds of wolves — is killed Huckleberry, Profanity and now Comment annually. You don’t hear about these Smackout and Sherman wolf packs deaths because they’re so common. are a requiem, symbols of pain and a controversial policy. But when you dig deeper, In Washington, wolf kills are rare enough that wolf recovery in Washington is a success story some activists name each dead animal. Yet Washington’s worth repeating. success story seldom Our state’s first pack was makes the headlines. Some documented in 2008, and have piggy-backed on the 20 packs have since been whole wolf controversy officially confirmed — and to raise other issues, such that’s a lowball number. as whether livestock even Given at least 120 wolves belongs on public land. and a growth rate greater But if good wolf policy than 25 percent annually, had to wait until Congress the range of wolves in the resolved the debate over state is spreading west public-lands grazing, few and south from its original packs would be safe. And concentration in the while publicizing the deaths northeast counties. Because of wolves is good for wolves are prolific breeders headlines and fundraising, and able to adapt to a range the resulting polarization of habitats, they do fine, leaves wolves even more vulnerable to rural so long as they’re not poisoned, trapped or anger, poaching and legislative repercussions. profusely shot. The key to a future for wolves Here in Washington, key conservation is retaining public support by minimizing groups, ranchers, hunters and other interests conflict. That means finding ways for wolves have enough integrity to stand together and and ranchers to coexist. oversee the implementation of policies they Washington has forged a model for helped craft. That’s something special in building coexistence based on bringing today’s divided West. stakeholders together through respect, The return of the wolf is just one of dialogue and a search for common ground. many budding wildlife success stories in the This year, nearly 100 Washington ranchers American West today. But without buy-in and farmers signed agreements to employ from the people who live with and around deterrence measures, from range riding to guard dogs, to prevent or reduce conflicts with wolves, that success remains tenuous. Reasonable compromise on all sides will wolves. While some conservation groups always be necessary. Around the world, cling to the idea that firing off press releases working together and building understanding and lawsuits will win the day for wolves, the across stakeholder groups, indeed across progress in Washington demonstrates that cultures, has been shown to create more cooperation and compromise offer a better enduring conservation solutions than when path to the long-term future of wolves. This transformation through collaboration people go off to their corners to fight through does more than protect wolves; it shows words, lawsuits and personal threats. respect for rural communities. It demonstrates It takes respect, listening and a willingness that cooperation rather than culture war can to collaborate and compromise, but many lead to practical solutions in some of the folks in our state are working with their reddest counties in the West. neighbors to create a future of healthy wolf Not that collaboration and deterrence packs that can coexist with vibrant rural methods always succeed. Since 2012, communities. For all the sound and fury Washington has had five conflicts bad enough everywhere else, Washington is where wolf that wolves have had to be killed. Yes, I, a recovery is being done right. It’s a wildlife wolf-loving lifelong conservationist, think that conservation model that others ought to wolves sometimes have to be killed. follow. Thanks to a well-facilitated Wolf Advisory ■ Group composed of a wide range of stake- Mitch Friedman is a contributor to holding interests, we have a clear policy on Writers on the Range, the opinion service of that in our state. Importantly, the certainty High Country News. He is the founder and this agreement provides gives those living executive director of Conservation Northwest, and working in wolf country incentive to a Washington-based wildlife and wildlands participate without fear of the goalposts being conservation organization. Washington has forged a model for building coexistence based on respect, dialogue and a search for common ground. for a moment, that the energy we saw in the president’s response to North Korea was used to rally a worldwide partnership to tackle the climate crisis — that would be, truly, a deal for the ages. (I’m afraid we already have enough “fire and fury” raining down on the West right now.) As this response would amount to the largest army ever marshaled, it would also be the closest thing to a just war ever fought: a chance to manage a transition from the fuels that launched modern civilization to those that will sustain it as equitably and peaceably as possible. Forfeiting this chance to act, on the other hand, is unforgivable. It would strip the world of untold beauty and value. The best way to memorialize the losses in Oregon and beyond, and the still greater losses to come, is to channel our outrage until the call for climate action is heard and acted upon at the highest levels of power. ■ Griffin Hagle is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News. A writer and energy professional, he grew up in southwestern Oregon and now writes from Utqiagvik, Alaska. Oregon’s sorrow and wrath are both prophetic and instructive. Trump blocks sale of Oregon semiconductor firm resident Trump recently the industry. In July, President decided to block the sale Trump took an even broader of Lattice, a Portland- approach in issuing an Executive semiconductor manufacturer, Order mandating the study of to an American investment firm manufacturing and the defense backed by Chinese government industrial base, including the funds. Lattice produces Field supporting supply chains. Press interpretations suggest Programmable Gate Arrays that the President’s decision or semiconductors that can be Kent programmed after they have left Hughes on Lattice was focused on the importance of semiconductors the plant. Comment to national security and as a President Trump saw U.S. response to China, which has national security interests at stake. already announced a budget of $150 Earlier President Obama had blocked billion to accelerate the growth of their Ralls, a Chinese company, from buying a semiconductor industry. wind farm near the U.S. Leading members of Naval Weapons Training Congress have suggested Facility in Boardman, strengthening CFIUS. which was conducting Sen. John Cornyn experiments with drones (R-Texas) has proposed and electronic warfare expanding the powers planes. of CFIUS to review Both decisions joint ventures, specific reflect the growing countries of concern, and concern about Chinese acquisitions that, while investment and, in the short of full control, still Lattice case, a focus on bring access to critical semiconductors that are technology. critical for economic Sen. Chuck Schumer as well as national (D-New York) has security. One question proposed barring all acquisitions by for Eastern Oregonians is whether or not the Committee on Foreign Investment Chinese companies as leverage in dealing in the United States will also a focus on with North Korea. agriculture and food security. Recent Chinese purchases include the The recent decisions are based on agricultural sector. In 2013 a Chinese firm recommendations of the committee bought Smithfield Foods for $7.1 billion. that scrutinizes foreign acquisitions of More recently, a Chinese company American companies. President Ford purchased Swiss-based Syrgenta, a major created CFIUS in the 1970s in response to producer of seeds and fertilizer, for $43 a flood of oil money (then referred to as billion. Syrgenta has extensive operations petrodollars) entering the United States. in the United States. In part, President Ford and others feared The purchase was cleared by CFIUS that the inflow of foreign investment and by the Federal Trade Commission would raise the price of land beyond on anti-trust grounds. Both the sale of what the next generation of farmers could Smithfield Foods and Syrgenta raised afford. some congressional eyebrows. Reforms made in the post-9/11 era In response to recent Chinese broadened the committee’s focus on purchases, Senators Grassley (R-Iowa) national security to include elements and Stabenow (D-Michigan) have of economic security including critical introduced legislation that would add infrastructure, key technologies, and other the Secretary of Agriculture to the aspects of economic security. In addition, membership of CFIUS. The senators it now has statutory basis — meaning it argue that food security is also part of will take an act of Congress to limit or national security. eliminate the committee. The action of presidents Trump and The CFIUS process has evolved to Obama in blocking foreign acquisitions include some informal consultations after is a reminder that Oregon is not immune it is notified of a potential acquisition. to policies focused on key industries and A formal preliminary review may be an expanding view of what constitutes followed by somewhat lengthier national national security. The more recent focus security reviews and can lead to a on the field of agriculture suggests that recommendation to the President to ban Pendleton and Umatilla County, major the purchase by a foreign firm. forces in wheat and other crops, need to The concern about the state of the U.S. pay attention as well. semiconductor industry has been growing ■ for several years as more of the industry Kent Hughes is a public policy has moved to Asia. In early 2017, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in presidential advisory committee released Washington, D.C. He is a 1958 graduate a report raising a warning flag about of Pendleton High School. P Obama had blocked Ralls, a Chinese company, from buying a wind farm near Boardman.
