A4 Opinion wallowa.com March 30, 2016 Wallowa County Chieftain ‘Ag gag’ laws are a mistake E astern Oregon is well endowed with farmers, ranchers and family foresters who Voice of the Chieftain their neighbors know to be among the most conscientious stewards of the land. You don’t take on a life of long hours and uncertain rewards raising crops, animals and trees — or stay in these endeavors — if you hate the natural world and all that lives there. What is true on the local scale — that farmers and foresters are natural conservationists worthy of steadfast support — is not universally true on the larger industrial scale. There are irresponsible operators in every economic pursuit and this is also true of agriculture. Some large feedlots are cruel to animals. Some ranchers overgraze public lands. Some farmers over-apply chemicals or over- medicate animals destined for grocery stores. Wonderful people but a little tone deaf when it comes to public relations, agricultural producers in some states are incensed by the efforts of a few activists to bring attention to instances of malpractice and misbehavior in the industry. This has led to efforts by ag groups and supportive legislators in places like Idaho to initiate “ag gag” laws, described in our sister publication Capital 3UHVVDVSURKLELWLQJKLGGHQFDPHUD¿OPLQJDQG obtaining employment under false pretenses. A story in the Capital Press last Friday reported on just how big a blunder these laws have been in WHUPVRIFRQ¿GHQFHLQIDUPHUV$VWXG\RI86 FRQVXPHUVE\WKH8QLYHUVLW\RI%ULWLVK&ROXPELD shows that such heavy-handed efforts to keep agricultural practices under wraps has the opposite of the desired effect. Instead of shielding squeamish consumers from agriculture’s facts of life, ag gag laws evidently leave the public assuming there is something to hide. The trust rating for farmers drops 20 percent across the political spectrum among members of the public when ag gag laws are put into play, the university researchers found. “There are reputational consequences. People are likely to be left with a bad taste in their mouths when they’re made aware of them (ag gag laws),” a study author said. No industry would be happy to be targeted by “secret agents” posing as visitors or employees, but agriculture occupies a central position in people’s lives, providing sustenance for purchasers and their children. Heightened scrutiny is to be expected. Oregon state lawmakers clearly should resist the siren call of ag gag laws. Agricultural producers in our states, who enjoy public support and positive reputations, can do far better by continuing to reach out to consumers with truthful information, while working to further enhance animal husbandry and environmentally friendly practices. The vast majority of farmers are heroes with nothing to hide. They should act accordingly. EDITORIAL USPS No. 665-100 P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828 OI¿Fe 29 1: )irst 6t., Enterprise, Ore. PKone 27 • )Dx 2392 :DOOoZD &oXnt\¶s 1eZspDper 6inFe 88 Enterprise, Oregon M EMBER O REGON N EWSPAPER P UBLISHERS A SSOCIATION P UBLISHER E DITOR R EPORTER R EPORTER N EWSROOM ASSISTANT A D S ALES CONSULTANT G RAPHIC D ESIGNER O FFICE MANAGER Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com Scot Heisel, editor@wallowa.com Stephen Tool, stool@wallowa.com Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com editor@wallowa.com Jennifer Powell, jpowell@wallowa.com Robby Day, rday@wallowa.com Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY : EO Media Group 3HULRGLFDO3RVWDJH3DLGDW(QWHUSULVHDQGDGGLWLRQDOPDLOLQJRI¿FHV Subscription rates (includes online access) Wallowa County Out-of-County 1 Year $40.00 $57.00 6XEsFriptions PXst Ee pDiG prior to GeOiYer\ See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet www.wallowa.com facebook.com/Wallowa | twitter.com/wcchieftain POSTMASTER — Send address changes to Wallowa County Chieftain P.O. Box 338 Enterprise, OR 97828 Contents copyright © 2015. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Volume 134 In search of a few good hearts In this acrimonious election season, fresh off the Malheur standoff and in the middle of the long March I always think RIDVVOXVKPRQWKLWLVJRRGWR¿QGDQG remember a few good hearts. It’s my prejudice, but I’ve always thought that JRRGKHDUWVDUHHDVLHUWR¿QG²PD\EH even more abundant — in small towns where we know and talk to our neighbors no matter what church they go to or po- litical party they subscribe to. The good hearts in this Wallowa Country have kept me here for 44 years. I know, I know. Neighbors hear your barking dogs, see your dirty laundry and know your warts, and sometimes they let you know with a smirk or a lecture. People use drugs, abuse alcohol, kids and spouses, are guilty of adultery, anger and poking noses where not wanted. And most kids can’t wait to get away from gossip and out to see the world. Maybe it’s like that graph that some- one just posted on Facebook: if the world was 100 people, 15 of them would be living on less than $2 a day, and one of them would own more than half all of the money; a handful would be starving or near starving and a bigger handful would be obese; 85 could read, 75 have cell- MAIN STREET Rich Wandschneider phones and 15 would be homeless ... etc. In Wallowa County we can put names on the graph. And we can for sure put names on the good hearts. Right now I am taken with the love and craftsmanship that Eric Carlson and Kirk Skovlin — and their whole construction crew — are putting into the Wallowa Nez Perce Longhouse. And I am impressed by the lower val- ley community that has embraced the Homeland Project, that each year readies the grounds, puts up the parachute in the dance arbor and welcomes Indians back to their traditional lands for a powwow and friendship feast. Feasters usually number 600 or 700. That’s a lot of good will. Too many names to mention, but it took two very big hearts — teacher Terry Crenshaw and Tribal member Taz Conner — to start this thing. Both have passed, but the work goes on. There are school teachers who go the extra lesson, pastors who do more than preach, search and rescuers who practice without pay and risk their own bodies saving others, neighbors who look after, and a bevy of skiers who get more kicks out of watching kids learn at Fergi than they do skiing themselves, And there are the Soroptimists! On Tuesday a few of them came to the Jo- sephy Center to talk about themselves. They weren’t bragging. Well, they were. But not on themselves as individuals, but on the organization that gathers them to- gether and lets them serve. Serve they do. And have, for over 50 years. Old timers will remember Wilma Haller and Marjorie Martin and Alice Lessman and many others. There is a new crew now — or many new members in an evolving crew. Over the years they have gathered and sorted clothes, sold them for dimes and quarters and distributed VFKRODUVKLSV²¿UVWDQGQRZ in the thousands of dollars each year. Families who need work pants and school pants pick out 7,000 pairs each year. 6ee +E$R76, PDge $ Forest plan will consider alternatives 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 0DOKHXU 8PDWLOOD DQG :DOORZD:KLW- man National Forests. To begin, we want to acknowledge those who have been in- volved 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 listen- ing sessions held in communities across Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington 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 DQG EHQH¿WV WKH\ SURYLGH ERWK QRZ DQG into the future. We found the input shared during the public re-engagement process to be very — i.e., thinning densely forested stands, UHGXFLQJ ¿UH VHYHULW\ DQG GHFUHDVLQJ WKH risks posed by insects and diseases. We will provide public updates with Steven K. Beverlin, Genevieve new information as we develop these ad- Masters, Thomas Montoya ditional alternatives and continue with the analysis of other alternatives within the helpful, and we are using this input in a EIS. While we seek to be responsive to all variety of ways. For example, the public of our diverse publics, any alternative we listening sessions have brought addition- consider must be analyzed for compliance al context to the 2014 formal comments with federal laws, regulations and policies and have given us a better understanding governing national forest management. of how different alternatives may affect Also keep in mind that the forest plan re- our diverse publics. In response, we are vision is still a work in progress, and the currently crafting two new alternatives, GHFLGLQJ RI¿FHU WKH 5HJLRQDO )RUHVWHU which we will analyze in detail in the en- KDVQRWPDGHDQ\¿QDOGHFLVLRQV :KDWDUHWKHQH[WVWHSV"7KH¿QDOSURG- vironmental impact statement (EIS): 7KH ¿UVW DOWHUQDWLYH ZLOO HPSKDVL]H ucts of this forest plan revision process restoration and has been informed by will include three separate forest plans — formal public comments, re-engagement RQHIRUHDFKRIWKH0DOKHXU8PDWLOODDQG input and revised recommendations by Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. Be- Forest Service resource specialists. IRUHWKHVHIRUHVWSODQVFDQEH¿QDOL]HGZH The second alternative will build upon will consult with federal agencies on the WKH ¿UVW 7KLV DOWHUQDWLYH ZRXOG FRQVLG- Endangered Species Act and continue our erably increase the pace of forest resto- government-to-government consultation ration during the plan period (15 years) with appropriate American Indian tribes. by moving a larger portion of the forested landscape toward the desired conditions 6ee P/$1, PDge $ GUEST COLUMN Destroying forests to save forests? I received an unsolicited letter from Oregon Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood Riv- er) dated Feb. 15 that lists the very things we should question about the current Con- gress. The letter is too long to list in its entirety in this forum, so I am quoting one issue at a time. This week, forestry: “For the third year in a row, the House KDVSDVVHGELSDUWLVDQOHJLVODWLRQWR¿[EUR- ken federal forest policy to reduce the risk RI FDWDVWURSKLF ZLOG¿UH SXW SHRSOH EDFN to work in the woods and improve forest KHDOWK