Page 29 - Flathead Beacon // 6.24.15

UNCOMMON GROUND MIKE JOPEK TRADE WARS
GUEST COLUMN RON MARCOUX AND BROMLEY MAHARG OPEN LAND IS IN OUR BLOOD
IN A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR EATERS across America, the House passed a bill repealing a previous U.S. law man- dating that meat imported from other countries contain a label delineating the origin.
Congressman Ryan Zinke voted to repeal country of origin labeling or COOL for imported meat products like cuts of beef, ground pork or beef, and poultry.
Meat labels indicate to consumers in which country the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. With meat pro- cessed and imported from all over the world, consumers may soon have no right to know this morsel of food information.
House Speaker John Boehner said that unless Congress repeals our COOL laws,
meats and vegetables find hungry state- side consumers, as they do on the ever-ex- panding import and export of food.
The last Farm Bill, with its many small grower policy advancements, largely subsidizes those who export food. Pol- icy makers appear eager to ship away to other nations much of the best that Amer- ica grows and import plenty of meats and vegetables for domestic consumption.
Recently on our farm, we were fortu- nate to get rain when pea-sized hail pel- lets hit a mile down the road. I hope our luck holds; it hasn’t every growing sea- son. The great outdoors has been uncon- ventionally turbulent with record-break- ing heat.
Temperatures hit 95 degrees and some vegetables simply bolted-to-
MONTANA OPEN LAND: IT defines who we are and what we are. We – the authors of this article – are connected by blood, a grandfather and granddaughter, and we are connected to Montana’s great out- doors through affection, appreciation and admiration.
Open land helps sustain Montana’s economy and nourish our souls. Yet all too often we take our vistas, farms and ranches, wildlife habitat, river bot- toms and recreational opportunities for granted – as if Montana can’t and won’t change. As if our open land will always be there.
That’s a dangerous assumption. Sometimes it’s important to pause and truly reflect upon what open land means to our Montana way of life.
That’s why we are thrilled to see Mon- tana Gov. Steve Bullock recognize July 2015 as Montana Open Land Month (a first in Montana) and see the outpour- ing of support for this month-long cel- ebration. Montana Open Land Month offers us all an opportunity to celebrate what open land means for our quality of life and economy, and we encourage you to learn more by visiting the Mon- tana Open Land Month website: open- landmt.org.
From Bromley: The work of my grand- father, Ron, has taken him on journeys to legendary Montana locations to work on mythic-sounding projects. The Dev- il’s Slide. Tenderfoot Creek. Iron Mask. The Porcupine and Taylor Fork areas of the Gallatin. The OTO Ranch. Dome Mountain. Western Montana’s French- town Valley. I respect my grandfather’s heroic dedication to Montana’s out- doors, and his induction as an inaugural member in the Montana Outdoor Hall of
Fame is truly inspiring.
I will always treasure my grand-
father’s raw joy in my own exuberant exploration of the outdoors. Many of my fondest childhood memories involve rocks, flowers, insects and all kinds of animals that live in and near lakes and streams. Now a student at Montana State University, it is not an exaggera- tion to say I’ve hiked, fished, snowshoed, camped, kayaked, climbed, floated and boated across Montana. So many pre- cious moments: thundering hooves of a moose, gently falling aspen leaf, soli- tude, exhilaration.
From Ron: My granddaughter, Brom- ley, may be too young to fully under- stand this statement, but the truth is, if you’re not paying attention, forty years can go by in a hurry. I received a degree in wildlife technology from the University of Montana in 1967, and I’ve spent my entire career working in the outdoors. You see a lot of changes in 40 years, but one thing that hasn’t changed – and if we’re smart, it never will – is our cultural commitment to open land. Montanans have been good stewards of our resources. We have wild trout. Wild places. Wild animals. Abundant and diverse recreation. Healthy agriculture and tourism industries.
Close your eyes, imagine the word “Montana,” and visualize an image. It doesn’t matter if you’re retired and look- ing back or young and looking ahead: the image in your mind is almost certainly inspired by open land.
Montana open land defines who we are and what we are. It defines not just a grandfather and a granddaughter, but all of us lucky enough and privileged enough to call Montana home.
“ONLY CONGRESS IS SMART ENOUGH TO SUBSIDIZE CROPS LIKE TOBACCO WHILE SUBSIDIZING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE.”
seed. Every member of Con- gress working a shift in the field, versus their air-condi- tioned offices, would say 95 is hot for early June.
Alan Merrill with the Montana Farmers Union said that in wheat country, “you never used to start seeding in April.” Last week the farmers’ organization and the Montana Brew- ers Association scheduled
American exporters might be faced with billions in retaliatory tariffs.
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said that Canada and Mexico have yet to prove any mone- tary losses from U.S. meat labeling laws. That’s a forthcoming international dis- pute process. Supporters of meat label- ing contend that over 60 countries have their own versions of COOL.
Referring to the stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership international trade agree- ment being fast-tracked through Con- gress, President Barak Obama earlier said that no trade agreement is going to force us to change our laws.
Zinke voted to give Obama fast-track authorization to negotiate the TPP. Zinke supported a companion customs bill, which prohibits things like climate change initiatives in trade but also adds six additional people to oversee negoti- ations. On the same day, Zinke opposed the bill to provide aid to any displaced U.S. workers.
We’ll have to see what the U.S. Sen- ate says about repealing U.S. meat label- ing laws, but it previously gave fast-track authority to Obama without the House amendments.
Policymakers should focus just as much attention assuring that domestic
a forum on changing climate, featuring Sen. Jon Tester and Montana Depart- ment of Agriculture director Ron de Yong.
Instead of dealing with big weather issues, Congress routinely chooses the expensive path of paying for select weather disasters like forest fires, crop killing droughts, fierce hailstorms, ani- mal deaths, or rampant flooding.
Congress could help domestic farm- ers and American consumers by keep- ing COOL. Trade wars will continue, as countries like Canada move forward with bioengineered products like GMO apples or GMO salmon. There should be no mys- tery to where people’s food is grown.
Much of what Montana produces is exported with little added value beyond the modest farmer return. It makes little sense to import chicken parts from China if the idea was to help domestic farmers.
If the recent past is any indication of the future, the weather will become more turbulent and federal farm disaster aid will see escalating budgetary increases.
Only Congress is smart enough to subsidize crops like tobacco while sub- sidizing health insurance coverage. Congress should put more focus on pro- moting healthy domestic food to hungry Americans.
“ALL TOO OFTEN WE TAKE OUR VISTAS, FARMS AND RANCHES, WILDLIFE HABITAT, RIVER BOTTOMS AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANTED – AS IF MONTANA CAN’T AND WON’T CHANGE.”
Bromley Maharg, born in Helena, is finishing her degree in Dietetics at MSU in Bozeman. Ron Marcoux is a retired Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Deputy Director and held several leadership positions with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. He lives in Helena and serves on the Prickly Pear Land Trust Board of Directors. More information about Montana Open Land Month is available at http://openlandmt.org.
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
JUNE 24, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
29