A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
OTHER VIEWS
Lawsuit
poses risks to
forests and
communities
S
ix anti-forestry groups are suing to block a new policy that
would make it a little easier for the U.S. Forest Service to
reduce wildfi re risks and restore forest health on national for-
est lands in Eastern Oregon and Washington. In doing so, their
lawsuit aff ects several projects that would conduct hazardous fuel
reduction on at least 209,000 acres of land that’s vulnerable to
severe fi re.
The lawsuit aims to preserve an outdated and unscientifi c rule
from the Clinton era, known as the “Eastside Screens.” It originally
imposed a temporary rule prohibiting the removal of trees larger
than 21 inches in diameter on national forests east of the Cascades,
including the Malheur, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whit-
man, Deschutes, Ochoco, Fremont-Winema.
With little public involvement and no scien-
tifi c justifi cation, this temporary and arbitrary rule
became permanent when it was amended into the
management plans as standards for these federally
Nick Smith
owned forests.
In theory the rule was intended to protect and
improve forest conditions associated with late-seral or old growth
habitat. But in practice, it made it harder for the Forest Service to
remove tree species that compete with native pine and are less resil-
ient to fi re such as grand fi r or white fi r. This compelled the national
forests in Eastern Oregon to pursue dozens of project-specifi c
amendments to the 21-inch rule over the past 20 years in order to
meet their desired forest conditions.
This arbitrary rule created an expensive and time-consuming
process, and as a result, the Forest Service has struggled to keep
pace with the growing risks and restoration needs of these forests,
which places a variety of forest values and uses at risk.
During the 30 years of this temporary rule, anti-forestry groups
enjoyed the status quo because it tied the hands of our public lands
managers. They could also use it to block restoration projects they
did not like, even if the science-based treatments were supported by
collaboratives with diverse interests.
Rather than accelerate the trajectory of forests toward a late-seral
structure, as sound forest management would help accomplish, this
temporary, arbitrary and unscientifi c rule created forest conditions
that are unnaturally dense and exacerbate risk to wildfi re, insect and
disease infestations, and drought.
Rather than lifting this rule completely, the Forest Service only
made modest changes to its policy. In January 2021, the agency
adopted the “Old Tree and Large Tree Guidelines,” which includes
diameter limits for tree removal ranging from 21 inches to 30
inches, depending on tree species, and an overarching age limit on
tree removal of 150 years.
In announcing their lawsuit, anti-forestry groups labeled this
modest change a “Trump-era” rule allowing wholesale “logging of
old growth.” Yet the new guideline has given our public lands man-
agers some fl exibility to restore unhealthy forests by implementing
science-based treatments that are appropriate to the landscape.
The Forest Service is using this new guideline to develop sev-
eral projects on six national forests. One thing all of these projects
have in common is their primary objective is not necessarily timber
harvest, but hazardous fuels reduction and forest resiliency. Some
projects are located in areas identifi ed as wildland urban interface
(WUI) where the wildfi re threat to communities is heightened.
It’s unfortunate these groups would sue to block projects that
would improve the health of our forests and reduce the risks to our
public lands and nearby communities. As climate change continues
to impact our forests, the Forest Service should be doing everything
possible to prevent large-scale, carbon-emitting wildfi res, while
maximizing the ability of our forests to sequester more carbon and
store more carbon in both healthy trees and wood products.
Nick Smith is executive director of Healthy Forests, Healthy Com-
munities, a nonprofi t, nonpartisan organization supporting active forest
management on federal lands. He also serves as public aff airs director
for the American Forest Resource Council, a trade association represent-
ing wood products companies.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Celebrate America on the Fourth
“W
hy do we have the
Fourth of July holi-
day?” I asked a child.
“To celebrate America,” she
replied.
Great answer. I marvel that
George Washington, with his belea-
guered band of soldiers, defeated
King George III’s trained troops
under the leadership of Gen.
Cornwallis.
July 4, 1776 — the day cele-
brated for the signing of the Decla-
ration of Independence, the docu-
ment proclaiming our independence
from Great Britain.
A friend speculated what would
have happened if we had lost the
war.
“We’d be driving on the wrong
side of the road,” she said, “and eat-
ing bubble and squeak instead of
barbecued foods.”
Bubble and squeak — a British
national dish made from leftovers
including cabbage, potatoes, what-
ever veggies are found in the fridge,
all mashed together with optional
chopped egg and fried with dollop
of butter and a dab of goose grease.
The recipe varies from household to
household.
America won the war, so back to
the July Fourth celebration. A parade
makes a great spot to kick off the
festivities. Some parades in cities
become extravaganzas with march-
ing bands, fl oats, columns of hon-
ored servicemen and -women, and
accompanied by a
fl yover of scream-
ing jets. The crowd
cheers and tots
plug their ears.
I’ve enjoyed
modest parades
Jean Ann
every bit as patri-
Moultrie
otic in small towns
and villages. Music
from a school band or from record-
ings played over loudspeakers adds
to the atmosphere. Flags fl y. Kids
join as parade participants — their
bikes, trikes and wagons deco-
rated with posters and crepe paper.
I get a lump in my throat when the
fl ag-bearers march past and I hear a
brass band play the familiar patriotic
songs of freedom: “America! Amer-
ica! God shed his grace on thee, and
crown thy good with brotherhood,
from sea to shining sea.”
When the children were young
and the town didn’t hold a parade,
we held our own parade … in the
back yard.
After the excitement of a parade
has stirred my soul (and appetite),
I head to the barbecue and food.
Sometimes we enjoy eating in a
park. When I was a child, my father
grilled burgers in the back yard.
Even when he charred the edges
of the meat to a crispy black, we
thought the food delicious. Corn on
the cob, potato salad, fresh sliced
tomatoes, chocolate cake — all sta-
ples. Later years, we worked on des-
sert with a theme, which meant bak-
ing a sheet cake, frosting it with
cream cheese frosting, and then
designing a fl ag topping with the
Stars and Stripes fashioned from
strawberries and blueberries.
In time I was introduced to
the culinary delights of barbecue
chicken, ribs, etc. Fourth of July
chow became a whole new eating
adventure.
After the meal, time for a nap
(toddlers), backyard games (cro-
quet), short rest to clear up food
(adults and older kids), then gather
items to take to a swimming hole
(sunscreen, life jackets, etc.).
By dusk, preparation for the
cherry topping of the day, so to
speak — the fi reworks. One of my
biggest thrills as a kid: sparklers in
our driveway. Some towns hosted a
fi reworks display. We’d spread out
blankets on the lawn and ooh and
aah at the explosion of colors. “Did
you see that one?!”
In town at the end of the fes-
tivities, pink-cheeked, sweaty, and
sticky children check on dogs cow-
ering under the bed and the cat hid-
ing in a closet.
As I head home, I sing: “And
the star-spangled banner in triumph
shall wave o’er the land of the free
and the home of the brave!”
Jean Ann Moultrie is a Grant
County writer. She wishes every-
one a fun, festive, and safe Fourth
of July.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Council kowtows
to city manager
To the Editor:
None of the criticism and emo-
tion directed at the John Day city
manager is really his fault. I am
wrong to hold Nick Green respon-
sible for anything in our city that
I find objectionable. Green is just
an employee — an employee who
has been elevated to the status of
local monarch by an elected gov-
erning body.
In my view, the mayor and
councilors have made assump-
tions about the intelligence, integ-
rity, competencies, and inten-
tions of the city manager which
have resulted in a growing depen-
dency and false sense of security
to such a degree that the informed
conscience that should exist
within the body of the City Coun-
cil has been surrendered to the
will of one individual — the city
manager.
The real power of an informed
group conscience and directive
leadership should exist with the
mayor and within the council.
Instead, they have reduced them-
selves to a committee of “yes
men.”
The mayor and council seem
to exist as little more than for-
mality, their function hardly more
than ceremonial and their accom-
plishments amount to little more
than an illusion of a democratic
process, and it is this illusion of
democratic process that provides
the cover and legitimacy for the
ongoing initiatives, goals and
ambitions of one man — the city
manager.
How did we end up with our
elected officials allied with a
city employee waging a war of
utter disrespect upon the people
who elected them? Where is our
representation?
If I were mayor or a council
member, I would be embarrassed
for having placed myself in a posi-
tion where I could not exist nor
function without the ongoing pres-
ence, input and guidance of the
individual I supposedly employ.
It is no wonder there are plans
in place to continue using tax-
payer dollars to keep Nick Green
in an advisory capacity even after
he steps away from the city man-
ager role. I suspect the mayor and
City Council have very little if any
comprehension of the behind-the-
curtain workings and manipula-
tions of the man they employ, and
I believe they know that they will
be unable to keep these schemes in
motion without him.
Paul Sweany
John Day
L
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