Wednesday, January 26, 2022
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Rivers
act needs
more input
P
olitical hyperbole aside, U.S.
Rep. Cliff Bentz’s concerns raised
during a floor speech of the U.S.
House of Representatives regarding a
bill to protect more than 4,500 miles of
rivers and streams in Oregon as part of
the federal Wild and Scenic Act are valid
and deserve more than a passing glance
by voters.
On. Jan. 11, Bentz lambasted the
River Democracy Act, a bill sponsored
by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Sen.
Ron Wyden, and labeled it as a sure way
to create more, rather than fewer prob-
lems for forests in the eastern part of the
state.
Bentz implied the act would leave
forest dangerously exposed to become,
essentially, tinderboxes.
At first glance, the legislation — now
stalled in the congressional committee
— appears to be a common-sense way to
protect the forests and watersheds we all
enjoy. Supporters of the River Democ-
racy Act contend it would add protec-
tions to waterways, lessen wildfire risk,
enhance drinking water and expand rec-
reation to help rural economies.
The act also promises that only federal
lands would be protected while private
property and water rights would be safe-
guarded. A key piece of the legislation is
a move to widen the area along protected
waterways from one-quarter mile to half
a mile.
There are a few problems with the
legislation, though, not the least of which
is what appears to be a lack of input
from rural lawmakers at the county level.
While supporters of the bill proudly pro-
claim voter participation through “nom-
inations” from 2,500 Oregonians, the
plan triggered resistance from several
Eastern Oregon counties.
Commissioners in Union, Wal-
lowa, Grant and Malheur counties have
called the legislation into question with
a variety of concerns, including lack of
detailed maps and federal overreach.
One of the act’s most serious prob-
lems, though, isn’t visible up front. Leg-
islation safeguarding public spaces is
crucial and deserves support. Yet, there
are already numerous state and fed-
eral laws on the books — including the
1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act — that
provide a firm foundation for conser-
vation. Too often legislation is created
without a careful study of unintended
consequences.
The bill may appear to be a winner for
urban voters who wish to utilize East-
ern Oregon as a handy natural resource-
rich theme park for tourists, but for those
who live and work in this area, its possi-
ble unintended consequences are a real
worry.
However, the bill needs more input
from local county lawmakers.
EDITORIALS: Unsigned
editorials are the opinion of
the Wallowa County Chieftain
editorial board. Other columns,
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page express the opinions of the
authors and not necessarily that
of the Wallowa County Chieftain.
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LETTERS to the EDITOR
Kudos to Chieftain
staff for response
Thank you to the Chieftain for
responding to my complaint.
In October I wrote a letter that called
out the paper on covering boys sports
more thoroughly than it covered girls.
The editors responded and have had
good, balanced coverage for both girls
and boys sports teams since my letter was
published.
Kudos to your team for making sure
all of our athletes get the coverage they
deserve.
Benjamin Curry
Joseph
Election fraudulent only
because Bentz’s candidate
lost
Oregon’s District 2 Rep. Clifford
Bentz, who represents a grand slice of
Oregon, is telling us, according to EO
Media Group, that the 2020 was fraudu-
lent. He cites information written in the
Federalist that a group of people who had
the money to do so, donated funds to the
Center for Tech and Civic Life.
First, The Center for Tech and Civic
Life is an organization of and for elec-
tion workers across the country. If offers
courses for how to conduct safe and
secure elections. Anyone can go into their
website and check out the courses they
offer for election workers, including the
content of the courses. I suggest everyone
do so before accepting Mr. Bentz’s word
that the Center for Tech and Civic Life
acted to influence people to vote a certain
way or for election workers to swing the
election one way or another.
Next, I found an article from another
organization that calls itself 2022 Influ-
ence Watch that has much information
about what the Center for Tech and Civic
Life has done. If the information is cor-
rect, it is specific as to where funding went
to electoral offices around the country. I
did not see any proof in their article that
proves that the CTCL is in any way parti-
san. My problem with this article is that it
starts out by naming the Center for Tech
and Civic Life as a “left-wing” group.
CONTACT your REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
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Washington, DC 20500
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U.S. SENATORS
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Washington, DC 20510
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Bobby Levy, District 58
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Salem, OR 97301
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SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Member Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
USPS No. 665-100
Cliff Bentz
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
VOLUME 134
There are several reasons I disagree
with Mr. Bentz. One, the Federalist is,
and always has been, a mouthpiece for
the Republican Party. Two, I find it illog-
ical to infer that the Center for Tech and
Civic Life turned the election in favor
of President Biden. The center provided
information to election workers about
doing their job fairly and effectively.
One would expect that the influence of
the CTCL would cause the election to be
conducted fairly and effectively. It is not
logical to say that President Trump lost
just because of the training given. Any-
one can check the content of the train-
ing to discern whether it favored any
candidate.
My conclusions are: Giving a person
or group a name, such as “left-wing” or
“right-wing” does not provide the valid-
ity or nonvalidity of that person or group.
“Correlation does not equal causation”
is still the case in any logical argument. I
would also infer that Mr. Bentz believes
that any election is fraudulent in which
his candidate is not the victor.
Evelyn Swart
Joseph
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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