I
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, July 2,2014
FOREST ACCESS
Don George of the group Forest Access For All points to a large
area of the Umatilla National Forest that will he impacted by
the proposed Blue Mountain Forest Plan Revision. George
was in Heppner to instruct people how to comment on the
plan. Photo by David Sykes
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
use of their forests,” says
George, whose day job is
as a mechanic in Baker
City. As an example he says
that, if allowed, the Forest
Service seeks to close, and
limit the use of, hundreds of
miles of roads per year, and
also dramatically increase
the number of potential
wilderness acres.
George says the forest
plan also creates large areas
where people will not be
able to walk more than
300 feet off either side
of the road and, in other
areas, severely cuts back
on all types of off-highway
vehicles. He says, if the
plan is adopted, the attitude
of the Forest Service will be
that all roads are presumed
closed unless marked as
open.
‘“ O p e n u n l e s s
specified' will now become
‘closed unless specified,'”
he warns.
Being from the Baker
City area, he says there
are already “thousands of
dollars of gating material”
stockpiled and waiting to be
used to close forest roads.
“This plan will make
thousands of more acres of
land olT-limits to the elderly,
the physically challenged,
and families wishing to
camp and recreate in this
forest," his group says.
At the heart o f the
whole issue is a 1,400-
page document covering
all three forests. The large
document (actually three
thick, spiral-bound books,
one for each forest) is
called the Blue Mountain
Forest Plan R evision,
which George says has
been in the planning stages
for more than 11 years,
and cost the government
o v er $10 m illio n to
produce. He has studied
the documents and related
materials extensively, and
is now traveling to many
com m unities teaching
p eo p le how to w rite
effective comments for
submittal to the Forest
Service.
His group hopes to get
enough people concerned
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about the forest closures
that there will be “thousands
of comments” submitted to
change it.” George says
according to the rules
the Forest Service must
acknow ledge and take into
consideration all legitimate
and c o rre c tly -w ritte n
comments before adopting
the final document.
“What we are doing
now is getting people to
comment on what they
don't like about this plan,”
he told the Heppner group.
He c a u tio n s th a t
without comments there
cannot later be objections
during the objection portion
of the plan adoption. Then,
w ith o u t co m m en t or
objections, no one in the
government will know that
people are against this plan,
he says. In addition, neither
FA FA nor other interested
groups can later pursue
litigation against the forest
use plan in attempts to stop
the closures.
“You need to let them
know what you think. We
have been sitting on our
hands for the past 20 years
while they, little by little,
take away our use of public
lands. People are fed up and
beginning to push back,”
he says.
He also says many
o f the Forest Service
employees he knows in the
Wallowa-Whitman Forest
are against the plan.
“ If Forest Service
employees come out and
say anything against it
they can have their lives
made miserable. The boots
on the ground, especially
fire fighters, say ‘This is
ridiculous,’” George says.
“ But management says,
‘This is the best way, trust
us, we know the best way
to do it.’”
George says the forests
have been fine for many
years with people having
access, and there is no need
to change and start locking
people out. He says many
of the people who use the
forest roads carry chain
saws with them, and when
they come across downed
trees they will cut them out
of the road.
“We are not asking for
super-highways. When 1
was growing up and we saw
downed trees, we would
remove the trees, we would
fix the roads. This doesn’t
hurt the environment.” He
points out that the roads
people don’t use will go
back to nature.
In advising people how
to comment on the proposed
forest plan, George said
there are several ways to
do it. They can mail, email,
hand deliver or use the
Forest Service website.
He recom m ends using
registered mail, or using
email but always asking
for an acknowledgement
to later prove the comment
was received and registered.
“ When we appealed
another plan,” he relates,
“thousands of comments
mysteriously disappeared.”
He says whichever way
a person comments, they
should ask for confirmation
so their comments don't get
“lost.”
He says, when writing
a comment, people should
reference the particular
area of the forest and how
the plan will directly affect
them.
“Explain how it will
affect your life. If you have
for years hunted in an area
(that will now be closed or
limited to access), explain
that it is your heritage and
your history,” he says. “Tell
them how it will negatively
affect your life.”
He urged people to be
specific and document what
they are commenting on.
“ It is e s p e c ia lly
important to tell them three
things," he told the crowd.
“Number one, what is the
issue you are commenting
on? Number two, why is
the issue an issue, and three,
what can the agency do to
satisfactorily resolve the
issue?”
He said people can
also comment on more
than one issue and that the
Forest Service is required to
respond to every comment
it receives. He handed out
a suggested template to
help people while they are
writing their comments. He
also recommended sending
the comments to a person’s
U.S. representatives and
senators. Deadline for
submitting comments is
August 15. 2014.
In a meeting the previous
day in Hermiston, people
there talked of forming
a local FAFA chapter,
George said. People can
also get more information
off the group's website or
by contacting them directly
(see info section). He said
the group's only funding is
through donations, which
he says are tax deductible.
They also raise money by
selling decals like those
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A copy o f the Blue
Mountains Forest Plan is
available at Forest Service
offices, although when
contacted Monday the local
Heppner office said they
were out, but more had been
ordered and they should
be receiving them in a few
days. See info section on
how to obtain a copy of the
plan and submit a comment.
George urged people
to becom e o rg an ized
and contact ATV and
snowmobile groups as well
as hunters, loggers and
others.
“ I f y o u u se th e
forest for wood cutting,
mushroom hunting or any
other activity, you need
to comment, because you
will be impacted by this”
he said. “I would like to see
3,000 comments.”
Info on Blue Mountain Forest
Plan
How to obtain a plan
Website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/BlueMtnsPlanRevision
CD or Hard Copy: Email request to:
bluemtnplanrevision@fs.fed.us
Phone: 541-523-1246 or 541-523-1302.
Read in Person: Documents to read are available at
Forest Service offices across the three forests and at
local community libraries.
How to submit a comment
E lec t ro n ica lly :
http ://www. fs. usda. gov/goto/
BlueMountainForestPlanRevisionComments
Fax: 541-523-6392
U.S. Mail: Blue Mountains Plan Revision Team P.O.
Box 907 Baker City, OR 97814
Deadline for submitting a comment: August 15,2014
How to contact Forest Access For All
Website: www.forestaccessforall.org
Email: keepitopen@forestaccessforall.org
U.S. Mail: PO Box 48 Baker City, OR 97814
Phone: 844-523-2323
DICKENSON AG
AMBASSADOR
Beth Dickenson, agriscience teacher at Heppner High School
and 2014 NATAA graduate Ambassador, will bring the latest
in teaching techniques to local science classrooms after in-
the-field study at DuPont Chesapeake Farms in Chestertown,
MD. - Contributed photo
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
developm ent in stitu te
sponsored by DuPont and
a special project o f the
National FFA Foundation
and the National Association
of Agricultural Educators
(NAAE). This year, 49
h ig h ly -re c o m m e n d e d
agriscience teachers were
selected to engage in
inquiry-based activities,
where they explore state-of-
the-art teaching concepts,
with a majority of their
training time in hands-on
activities on Chesapeake
Farms 3,300-acre working
farm. The dual farm and
classroom approach is
designed to invigorate
teachers and to infuse that
learning experience in
the classroom with their
students.
“ By understanding
global initiatives such
as feeding the world and
sustainability, teachers
learn how to engage
their students in real 21“
century issues and finding
real solutions,” said Rik
Miller, president, DuPont
Crop Protection. “The Ag
Academy embodies the
professional development
component and boosts the
enthusiasm necessary to
help students flourish in
agriscience-related fields.”
With the Ag Academy
training, teachers are able
to instill in their students
a better grasp of scientific
concepts and open the door
for new horizons to pursue
careers in STEM (science,
technology, engineering,
and m athem atics) and
related fields such as
agriculture. Each class of
Ag Ambassadors impacts
approxim ately 10,000
st udent s. Combi ned
with multiple workshop
presentations to their peers,
in the last eleven years
approxi mat el y 12,000
teachers across the U.S.
including Puerto Rico and
Alaska have participated,
having a direct impact on
over a million students
since inception.
“ The Ag Academy
has been an eye-opening
e x p e r i e n c e , ” said
D ickenson. “ I ’m very
excited to start preparing
my classroom curriculum
with new techniques to
share with my students and
other teachers.”
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