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.