Saturday, February 20, 2021
VIEWPOINTS
East Oregonian
A5
The Blue Mountains are important to us
JEFF
BLACKWOOD
UNDERSTANDING OUR
CHANGING CLIMATE
hese lands where we live help define
us as individuals and communities.
With warming temperatures there are
changes happening, however, to these lands
we love.
The Blue Mountain Adaption Partner-
ship (BMAP) was developed to identify
climate change issues relevant to resource
management in the Blue Mountain region.
It is a partnership between the U.S. Forest
Service, Oregon State University, and the
University of Washington. In 2017, the orig-
inal findings were published by the USDA
Forest Service in a report entitled “Climate
Change Vulnerability and Adaptation in
the Blue Mountains Region.” The 330-page
report focused on hydrology, fish, upland
vegetation and special habitats, chosen as
areas of primary concern to our communi-
ties.
The vulnerability assessment concluded
that “effects of climate change on hydrology
would be especially significant.” Climate
scientist predict that although overall
T
precipitation may not change significantly
in the mountains, more rain will mix with
snow, especially in the mid-elevations.
Spring snowmelt and runoff is already
happening earlier, resulting in low summer
flows occurring sooner in the summer.
Coupled with longer, drier summers, this
will affect downstream water use, fish, and
other aquatic environments. Infrastructure,
such as roads, trails, culverts and commu-
nities, will be impacted by more intense
runoff from severe storms and rain-on-snow
events.
Over the next few decades species, such
as Chinook salmon, red band trout, steel-
head, bull trout and other aquatic life may be
drastically reduced in abundance and distri-
bution. This will depend on local conditions
of reduced streamflow and warmer water
and air temperatures.
Increasing air temperatures, drier soils,
and longer summers are projected to cause
changes in vegetation, favoring those
species that are more drought tolerant,
such as ponderosa pine. A warmer climate
will increase natural disturbances, such as
insects, disease, and wildfire. The assess-
ment predicts that with current trends, the
annual acreage burned in the Blue Moun-
tain region could be as high as six times
the current average by 2050. Grasses and
shrubs, so important for wildlife and live-
stock, are maturing earlier in the summer.
While providing some protection from
late summer drought, this seasonal change
means reduced nutrition for those dependent
on fall forage for winter health. Drought-tol-
erant invasive grasses will continue to
increase in abundance in forests and range-
lands.
Finally, the assessment examined
“special areas,” mainly wetlands and
groundwater dependent ecosystems,
predicting additional stresses as tempera-
tures rise. Although these special areas
make up a small portion of the landscape,
they are rich in biodiversity and are key
components of healthy watersheds.
Along with assessing vulnerabilities,
the BMAP process recommended a host
of adaptive practices. While they will not
necessarily reverse current climate trends,
these practices would be helpful in buffer-
ing and potentially reducing some adverse
effects of climate change. These primarily
focus on managing for healthy watershed
and riparian conditions. Many of the recom-
mended practices are being applied today by
the various public agencies, tribes, and land-
owners. Thinning small trees, reducing fuel
loads, prescribed burning, and streamside
protections are activities being implemented
today. It will take persistence, commitment,
and funding to invest in sustaining more
resilient landscapes in The Blues.
These mountains and canyonlands are so
valuable to so many of us, as well as being
cornerstones for our regional cultures. Many
of us had our first experience in the outdoors
in these mountains, creating lifelong memo-
ries. These places and experiences embody
our history, culture, and who we are.
Nature is not static. Over the past several
decades, however, we have accelerated the
pace of change. This will impact us all,
whether our interests are in First Foods,
recreation, making a living, or the many
more experiences yet to come. By under-
standing the changes, threats, and opportu-
nities with a changing climate, and applying
the best science in practices and policies, we
will be more successful in sustaining what
we value in these nationally treasured lands.
Copies of the report are available for free
by contacting USDA Forest Service, Pacific
Northwest Research Station, 1220 S.W.
Third Ave., Suite 1400, Portland, OR 97208-
3890, or by contacting local Forest Service
offices.
———
Jeff Blackwood retired from a career with
the U.S. Forest Service. He is a member of the
Eastern Oregon Climate Change Coalition.
Constitutional debates only make the process better
KEVIN
FRAZIER
OTHER VIEWS
O
ne of the best parts of law school
is reading opinions, dissents
and concurrences penned by the
Supreme Court. They concisely and, often-
times, creatively express some of the biggest
questions facing our democracy. One that’s
come up repeatedly in my Administrative
Law class: Did the Constitution create an
effective, efficient and energetic govern-
ment or did it set out a formula for ensuring
accountability, adherence to bright-line rules
and clear jobs for each branch of govern-
ment?
You may be inclined to say the Constitu-
tion meant to do both. And you may be right.
But the questions that reach the Supreme
Court often don’t allow for that kind of
answer.
For example, in Free Enterprise Fund
v. Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board, the Supreme Court did not have
the luxury of finding the middle ground:
Either the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board within the Securities and
Exchange Commission was unconstitution-
ally removed from presidential oversight or
it wasn’t.
Though that question may sound drier
than the Alvord Desert, its answer boiled
down to whether the justices thought
the Constitution should be read to allow
Congress to create agencies tailored to
address modern issues, or if its bright lines
were never meant to be crossed, regardless
of how the times had changed since 1789.
Supreme Court Justice Steven Breyer
came out on the side of an action-oriented
Constitution. He’s known for his creative
metaphors, imaginative hypotheticals and,
above all, his functionalism. In Breyer’s
dissent, joined by three of his colleagues, he
quoted Chief Justice Marshall in McCulloch
v. Maryland (1819) and argued: “Immutable
rules would deprive the Government of
the needed flexibility to respond to future
exigencies which, if foreseen at all, must
have been seen dimly.”
According to Justice Breyer, he and Chief
Justice Marshall correctly realized that the
Framers aimed to create a Constitution that
would “endure for ages to come,” which
requires granting Congress the ability to
respond to the “various crises of human
affairs.”
On the other side, writing for the major-
ity, Chief Justice Roberts channeled a
formalist interpretation and made the case
for a Constitution designed to frustrate
speedy responses, if necessary to maintain
bright lines between the branches. Citing
Supreme Court precedent, Roberts asserted:
“The fact that a given law or procedure is
efficient, convenient, and useful in facilitat-
ing functions of government, standing alone,
will not save it if it is contrary to the Consti-
tution, for convenience and efficiency are
not the primary objectives — or the hall-
marks — of democratic government.”
The fun (and frustrating) part about law
school is that these justices are all persua-
sive, articulate and steeped in Supreme
Court precedent. They rarely make bad
arguments and they force even the most
fierce functionalists to see some merit in a
more formalist interpretation and vice versa.
With a majority of the Supreme Court
adopting a formalist interpretation, though,
those who share Breyer’s view of democracy
have a tough battle ahead. Count me among
those that think our government ought to be
guided by outcomes.
The wonderful part about our democracy
is that the people are the sovereigns. Both
functionalists and formalists alike agree
that all power exercised by the president,
Congress, and the Supreme Court is derived
from the people. That means that We the
People — you and me — have the obligation
and opportunity to make sure that our power
is being used toward whatever objectives we
view as the hallmarks of our democracy.
Outcomes-oriented governance is not
easily accomplished. If some people advo-
cate more persuasively or more persistently,
their outcome might win the day. Which is
why we ought to do all we can to bring more
voices into the delegation of our collective
power to our delegees.
Oregon has long championed finding
ways to bring the people into the process of
power sharing. From the initiative to auto-
matic voter registration, the state has found
ways to give people the chance to divvy out
their share of power. Those innovations have
paved the way for a lot of participation, but
there’s still some people who find it easier
than others to distribute their power.
We can achieve an outcomes-oriented
democracy, if we can bring everyone into the
fold. That’s why we need to lower barriers
to folks simply looking to fulfill their role as
sovereigns.
———
Kevin Frazier was raised in Washington
County. He is pursuing a law degree at the
University of California, Berkeley School of
Law.
Learning to write isn’t easy
The Big Lie and Native civilizations
letters and sounds and are placed together
to create words is important. Words are
formed into sentences that communicate a
writers’ thoughts and information.
If a child or student is unable to express
information orally, they will not be able to
complete their writing task because on the
developmental scale they have not learned
enough oral language to apply it in writing.
Once children are able to talk openly
about a subject or object, they are ready
to begin their writing journey. If a child
or student is struggling with writing, step
back and allow them to process using their
oral language skills. They still might not
be ready to do their own writing and addi-
tional scaffolding may be needed for them
to be successful, but processing orally
first will help students get their thoughts
in order, which is critical. Having them
dictate the information is also a great scaf-
fold, especially if you guide them with the
proper phrasing.
Writing is also something that often
isn’t once and done, which is sometimes
difficult for children to learn and under-
stand. When first learning to edit their own
work they might not be able to identify
how it needs to be changed. When we read
our own writing back our brains often do
an autocorrect, so the child may struggle
to recognize their mistakes. Assisting and
having children read both theirs and the
edited sentences will help them build the
ability to recognize changes they might
need to make when they are editing their
own work.
Most children love to make little folded
books. The idea is to take paper and fold it
to create pages, allowing the child to place
the components of a book on each page,
such as a cover, title, beginning, middle and
end. Having them create these books can
be a first step toward learning the writing
process, just as they did centuries ago with
hieroglyphics.
Writing is a process, and not an easy
one, but with support and guidance we can
all learn to communicate through writing.
———
Dr. Scott Smith is a Umatilla County
educator with 40-plus years of experience.
He taught at McNary Heights Elementary
School and then for Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity in their teacher education program at
Blue Mountain Community College. He
serves on the Decoding Dyslexia-OR board
as their parent/teacher liaison.
men,” are the opening lines of “Oregon, My
Oregon.” We are all immigrants, her teacher
insists. And America is the greatest coun-
try in the world because Columbus and the
others who came after him “had the cour-
age and vision to seek out this empty and
savage New World, to plant their flags so
civilized men could tame it, men like our
country’s forefathers and the great explorers
who made the Oregon Territory safe for the
pioneers.”
It’s the story many of us grew up with,
reinforced by countless Hollywood movies
and TV shows and, sadly, by our own
communities. Recently, East Oregonian
columnist Brigit Farley remembered being
bused to the Whitman Mission to hear
how “‘violent Indians brutally murdered
well-meaning whites who were only trying
to treat a measles epidemic.” That exhibit has
been updated to reflect a more humane and
inclusive view, she said — “a clash between
two civilizations” — and I’m grateful that
Oregon and Pendleton schools include
Native history in their curriculum now.
But it strikes me that our country’s first
Big Lie was the refusal to recognize indig-
enous cultures as civilizations, indige-
nous peoples as equal humans. The Big
Lie is an expression we’ve become famil-
iar with through the former president’s
second impeachment trial. “If you tell a lie
big enough and keep repeating it,” as Nazi
Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels
knew, “people will eventually come to
believe it.”
Indigenous peoples can attest to the
ongoing effects of a Big Lie. So can Blacks,
Latinx and Hispanic peoples, Asians,
Muslims, women — the list goes on.
Goebbels also said, “The truth is the
mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by exten-
sion, the truth is the greatest enemy of the
State.”
I’m grateful that Katherine Schlick Noe
leads readers to discover truth. And as her
novel ends, Kathla (the name means grand-
mother) offers Kitty “something to hold” to
help her remember that her roots are inside
her, too, and will go with her wherever she
goes. Kathla’s gift is a generous and loving
gesture, one that reminds me of my own
experiences in Native communities.
And that’s a familiar comfort.
———
Bette Husted is a writer and a student of
T’ai Chi and the natural world. She lives in
Pendleton.
SCOTT
SMITH
THE EDUCATION CORNER
W
riting is a lifelong skill. Chil-
dren are able to start developing
skills used in writing as early as
kindergarten and even preschool. Develop-
ing the skill of writing starts with language
development and learning to share infor-
mation orally with others.
It can begin with show and tell where
children share a special thing and simply
say, “This is my truck.” Or the parent
asking the child to tell them about their day.
Writing is at the highest level of process-
ing our brains are able to perform. It is also
not a natural skill that comes with body
development. It has to be learned accord-
ing to our geographic region we live in.
Eating, walking, talking, and observing are
all natural things that most all of us grow
equipped to do, but writing is a whole set of
complex skills that must be developed.
To be able to write there must be a
strong foundation built of other skills, such
as language development, analyzing, and
understanding the elements of reading. If
a child struggles with one of these three
they are apt to struggle when it comes to
writing.
Language development is the ability
to talk and share information. Prior to the
use of any form of written texts, heritage
was passed down through stories, songs
or chants, and taught by elders of the
group. They often used pictures to jog their
memories which would be considered the
first form of written texts.
Being able to understand information
and apply it to one’s own life is also key in
being able to express orally to others. This
is a skill that needs nurturing prior to being
able to put ideas into writing. Talking and
discussing information with children helps
them develop those skills. Asking ques-
tions, such as “What do you think? Where
do you think that water goes?” or “How
would you fix that?” will build their abil-
ity to understand and apply information,
which will then be more likely to transfer
to their writing.
The third is understanding what read-
ing is within our language communication
— understanding that symbols represent
BETTE
HUSTED
FROM HERE TO ANY WHERE
S
ometimes reading a book can feel like
having a reunion with old friends.
Maybe that’s why I settled into Kath-
erine Schlick Noe’s middle grades novel
“Something to Hold” even as graphic
videos of the Jan. 6 insurrection shown at
the impeachment trial of Former President
Trump were replaying in my mind and the
COVID-19 pandemic continued to bring
grief to so many. I was seeking the comfort
of the familiar.
A friend from my teaching days on the
Yakama Indian Reservation had recom-
mended Noe’s book. “I could relate to the
story in a very personal way,” she wrote. I
could, too — the description of the Warm
Springs Reservation, where the story is set,
took me back to my visits to friends there,
and so much of the story reminded me of
my time at White Swan High School, and
then Polson Middle School, of my Native
students at BMCC and family members on
the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
There was even a familiar connection to
the writer. Though I don’t know her, I had
met her mother, Mary Dodds Schlick, at
Fishtrap. Mary’s memoir “Coming to Stay:
A Columbia River Journey,” describes the
family’s life on the Colville, Yakama and
Warm Springs reservations, where Bud
Schlick worked as a forest manager for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and where Mary
became a master basket maker. Her book
“Columbia River Basketry: Gift of the
Ancestors,” is treasured for its deep under-
standing and appreciation of Native artists
and their work. And Katherine, who also
taught high school English in a small town in
the Yakima Valley before she became direc-
tor of the Literacy for Special Needs grad-
uate program at Seattle University, wrote
much of her story in workshops at Fishtrap.
But sometimes the familiar can be
anything but comforting. In Katherine
Schlick Noe’s story, non-Native Kitty runs
into trouble when she recognizes the irony of
her sixth grade classmates — all but two are
Native — being required to sing the Oregon
state song for a Columbus Day assembly.
“Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the
Golden West, Conquered and held by free