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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2017)
NATION Saturday, December 23, 2017 East Oregonian Page 11A Joy to the weed! Marijuana legalization comes bearing holiday gifts By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press AP Photo/Don Ryan, file In this 2015 file photo, wildfire consumes sagebrush as firefighters let it march down to the Columbia River on the edge of Roosevelt, Wash. U.S. launches ambitious plan to battle rangeland wildfires BOISE, Idaho — Federal officials have launched a two-pronged plan to stop a vicious cycle of rangeland wildfires in a wide swath of sagebrush country in the West that supports cattle ranching, recreation and is home to an imperiled bird. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Friday said it will create an Environmental Impact Statement concerning fuel breaks and another on fuels reduction and restoration for Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, California, Utah, and Wash- ington. The agency said the docu- ments when finished will help speed the process for future landscape-scale projects in the Great Basin by providing a blanket approval for similar areas that will likely just need minor additional environ- mental reviews to proceed. Giant rangeland wildfires in recent decades have destroyed vast areas of sagebrush steppe that support some 350 species of wildlife, including imper- iled sage grouse. Experts say the wildfires have mainly been driven by cheatgrass, an invasive species that relies on fire to spread to new areas while killing the native plants, including sagebrush. Once cheatgrass takes over, 0 the land is of little value. “It’s not sustainable,” said Jonathan Beck, a project manager with the BLM working on the documents. “If we don’t take proactive measures to stop the fire cycle, we’re going to lose the sage- brush that we have out there right now.” Details of the BLM plans have yet to be worked out. In general, the agency said projects in the plans “would reduce the threat of habitat loss from fires and restore habitat to maintain the rangeland’s productivity and support the western lifestyle.” The agency is taking public comments through Feb. 20 as it sorts through uncertainties. For example, the agency notes that fuel breaks could become a barrier for small animals that would have no place to hide. Matt Germino, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said fuel breaks are a paradox because it’s intentionally fragmenting the landscape to avoid the even worse fragmentation that occurs with wildfires. “Fires, especially large fires, are so unambiguously damaging to wildlife habitat in general — that is the moti- vating factor for getting these fuel breaks out,” he said. “At this point, it’s really difficult to predict which animal species will benefit and which ones won’t. Sometimes you have to just act in light of the uncer- tainty.” He said land managers adapting as they go with new information learned will be important for success. “We’re not winning,” said John Freemuth, a Boise State University environmental policy professor and public lands expert. Millions of sage grouse, a chicken-sized bird that relies on sagebrush, once roamed the West, but development, livestock grazing and wildfires have reduced the bird’s popu- lation to fewer than 500,000. Most of the bird’s habitat — sagebrush steppe — is on land administered by the BLM. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act in 2014. But there’s concern that if wildfires destroy enough of the steppe that remains, it could again be considered for listing. “Some of those who want to gut the Endangered Species Act, they’re not always going to be in power,” said Freemuth. “So it’s in the long- term interest of everybody to make progress.” AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty In this Dec. 13, photo, a marijuana bud is seen in Portland, Maine. “I figure I’ve got all this pot. I might as well just give it away for Christmas.” — James MacWilliams, Marijuana grower in Portland, Maine good month,” slightly ahead of November and January, said Roy Bingham, chief executive officer of BDS Analytics, a firm that compiles data about the pot industry. December sales accounted for 9.38 percent of sales revenue in Colorado last year, which is one percentage point above average, according to statistics provided by the firm. California’s retail laws begin next month, while Massachusetts’ retail laws are scheduled for July and Maine’s are still being developed. Legalization means pot lovers can legally do something they’ve always done, which is give away marijuana to people they love, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “People consume cannabis on the holidays and they always have,” Smith said. “Now they are doing so through a regulated system.” The drug remains illegal on the federal level, which means activities such as driving it across state lines or sending it through the mail are off limits. Authorities will deal with incidents involving mari- juana in interstate commerce “on a case by case basis,” said Matthew O’Shaugh- nessy, a Boston-based spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, said marijuana was likely to be a part of Christmas in California this year whether it was legal or not. “Cannabis has been pretty ubiquitous here for several generations,” he said. “Honestly, I think everyone’s just a little more open about it.” % UP TO 72 MONTHS ON SELECT NEW 2017 & 2018 TOYOTA MODELS On Approved Credit NEW 2018 NEW 2018 NEW 2018 COROLLA $ PORTLAND, Maine — Peter Bernard’s Yuletide plans include dressing up in a tuxedo emblazoned with marijuana leaves, donning a green Santa hat and doling out cookie bars made with mari- juana to his friends from a big pillowcase. “That’s me exercising my right to give marijuana this Christmas,” said Bernard, a Taunton, Massachusetts, pot lover who heads the Massachusetts Growers Advo- cacy Council when not doubling as “Pot Santa” at events for weed enthusiasts. Not everyone’s plans are quite so flamboyant, but for many pot lovers, this Christmas is much more about reefer than wreaths. Gift-giving has long been a part of marijuana culture, and the drug’s newly legal status is a source of Yuletide celebration in four states. For others, trouble with the law has killed the holiday buzz. A couple was arrested in Nebraska, on Tuesday with about 60 pounds of marijuana in their pickup truck they told police they planned to give as Christmas gifts. The couple, 70-year-old Barbara Jiron and 80-year-old Patrick Jiron, told author- ities they were traveling from California to Vermont and were unaware it was illegal to transport marijuana in Nebraska. Court records didn’t list attorneys for them. Marijuana is still illegal in most states, but voters in California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts voted to legalize recreational marijuana last year, and some residents of those states will legally stuff stockings with spliffs for the first time this Christmas. Because retail sales are operating in only one of those states — Nevada — Bernard and others excited about legalized pot said homegrown marijuana is one particularly popular gift. “I figure, I’ve got all this pot, I might as well just give it away for Christmas,” said James MacWilliams, of Portland, Maine, who started growing weed when it became legal and is giving away fancy jars of his stash this year. “I told my friends, you’re all getting a little bit of pot for Christmas.” Others plan to give marijuana-infused baked goods or even decorations made of pot plants. Statistics about legal sales of mari- juana suggest a modest bump around the holidays. 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