Page 29 - Flathead Beacon // 6.29.16

CLOSING RANGE DAVE SKINNER
ZINKE’S FICKLE LFOREST FRENEMIES
ONE MONTANA REPUBLICAN Secure Schools law.
Congressman Ryan Zinke nds As for environmental protection, the himself under attack from envi- CFDAs must be managed in accordance
GUEST COLUMN HENRY DYKEMA
EMBRACING MONTANA’S TSOLAR POTENTIAL
HOMAS EDISON SAID IN 1931, could meet 28 percent of Montana’s elec- “I’d put my money on the sun tricity needs.
and solar energy. What a source The governor’s plan, titled “The
ronmental groups such as the Wilder- ness Society, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Montana Wilderness Associa- tion, and the Theodore Roosevelt Conser- vation Partnership. Don’t be surprised.
The irony is, just weeks ago, these same entities buried Zinke in political rose petals. Zinke, who in his own words “bucks party leadership” on environ- mental issues, joined suburban Seattle’s Congressman Dave Reichert as the only Western Republicans supporting per- petuation of the deeply awed Land and Water Conservation Fund. As now writ- ten, LWCF has devolved into an insider’s slush fund used mostly to enable the fed- eral government to buy more land it can’t properly manage – no wonder Greens love LWCF.
Greens are now bashing Zinke for supporting H.R. 2316, the Self Su cient Community Lands Act, sponsored by Raul Labrador (R-Idaho). The purpose of the bill is “to generate dependable eco- nomic activity” within counties hosting national forest lands. Wow – it’s been decades since anyone has associated “dependable economic activity” with National Forests.
Labrador’s bill would allow a pilot program for establishment of “com- munity forest demonstration areas” (CFDA) within one year of becoming law. Each CFDA would “include at least 200,000 acres” or up to 900,000 acres on two national forests, the Tongass and Chugach in Alaska. However, only 4 million acres out of 192 million could become CFDAs, a little more than 2 per- cent of total National Forests – H.R. 2316 intends a test run, to see if the status quo could be improved upon.
In states where the governor may (or may not) choose to participate, CFDAs would be selected, and then overseen, by an advisory committee appointed by each governor.
Eligible lands properly exclude already-protected wilderness units and national monuments. Just like on NFS land, exporting raw logs is prohibited – a smart provision if the emphasis is on local “dependable economic activ- ity.” An appropriate amount of revenues would be kept back for operations and management, with county or local gov- ernments again enjoying harvest royal- ties in accordance with existing federal
with state-level Best Management Prac- tices or forest practices laws governing state and private lands. Importantly, and most upsetting to Greens, implementa- tion of CFDAs would “not be considered federal action” and therefore would not trigger the “nexus” that normally hogties matters in federal court.
As expected, the Montana Wilder- ness Association claimed doing so would “undermine bedrock environmental laws,” but federal laws such as the Fed- eral Water Pollution Control Act, Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act, as now in e ect on state and private forests, would nonetheless still govern.
Truth is, the only thing “undermined” would be the unjust political power national environmental groups so enjoy. Litigation would be a state, not federal matter, and management of local forests would be, imagine this – primarily local. Terrible!
Also deceptively, BHA’s writer team declared Labrador’s bill would allow “public-lands exploitation that cuts out hunters, anglers and other outdoor recre- ationists,” with MWA’s guy claiming the future “loss of clean water, wildlife hab- itat, and recreational use of public lands that are owned by all Americans.”
Again, not true. The actual bill lan- guage reads – “nothing in this section shall a ect public use and recreation within” CFDA parcels, and furthermore, nothing in the act “shall be construed to limit access [in a CFDA] for hunting, sh- ing, and other related purposes,” includ- ing recognized Indian treaty rights.
So Zinke made the right call, and Greens called him on the carpet. I nd all this praise and punishment rather Pavlovian, but understandable. Greens would like nothing better than to have their own trained seal in Congress, vot- ing their way, on their cue.
Further, Zinke has every right to buck the party establishment. But by making establishment environmentalists happy, Zinke isn’t just bucking his party. Criti- cally, Zinke is bucking many Montanans who did something important for him: They elected him to Congress.
Even if Congressman Zinke votes to delight his ckle forest frenemies every time, they’ll never, ever vote for him. They’re after a Congresscritter that’s already trained.
of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”
Three quarters of a century later, the promise of solar energy is nally being realized. The price of solar panels has dropped by more than half since 2009, and there are now more jobs in solar in this country than there are in oil and gas extraction or coal mining.
To allow Montana’s solar industry to continue growing toward its enormous potential, we need the right policies in place. That’s why I was so glad to see the energy plan recently released by Gov. Steve Bullock.
Here in Montana, rooftop solar is growing at a rate of 30 percent per year, and large-scale solar projects are also beginning to be developed. Within the last year, three Montana electric coop- eratives have installed community solar projects, allowing co-op members to buy into a larger solar array built by the co-op. Solar developers have signed contracts to build six large-scale solar arrays in Montana, and dozens more similar projects have been proposed.
As owner of a solar business near Red Lodge for the past 22 years, I’ve wit- nessed the growth of Montana’s solar industry rsthand.
In addition to creating jobs and boosting our economy, solar is a valu- able energy resource. It produces at times of high demand for electricity, when energy is especially valuable, and it helps to diversify our energy portfolio and make the grid more resilient.
Despite its recent growth, today solar accounts for just 0.1 percent of Mon- tana’s in-state electricity use, but its potential is huge. A recent study from the National Renewable Energy Labora- tory found that rooftop solar in Montana
Future of Montana Electricity,” addresses our state’s shifting energy landscape and lays out a variety of strat- egies to advance clean energy. When it comes to solar, the plan includes a goal of doubling solar development in the state by 2025. I am con dent that we will meet that goal well ahead of sched- ule, thanks in part to some of the strate- gies outlined in the plan.
For example, net metering is Mon- tana’s foundational solar policy and has made rooftop solar development pos- sible in the state. The governor’s plan opposes e orts to weaken the net meter- ing law, ensuring that rooftop solar be allowed to continue growing.
It’s also great to see the state govern- ment leading by example on solar. The plan calls for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to evaluate the potential of solar on its own build- ing in Helena, as well as other state- owned buildings and facilities around Montana.
As the governor’s plan points out, “Over the coming decades, the energy landscape will dramatically change.” Coal has been an important part of Mon- tana’s economy for a long time, but as buyers of Montana electricity increas- ingly demand cleaner energy sources, there’s no question that our energy sec- tor is in ux. Change can be disorient- ing, but with change comes opportu- nity. The people of Montana have always been known for their resourcefulness and adaptability. By seizing the clean energy opportunities before us, we can come through this transition stronger and more prosperous than ever.
Thank you, governor, for an energy plan that embraces Montana’s clean energy potential.
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.
“THE GOVERNOR’S PLAN OPPOSES EFFORTS TO WEAKEN THE NET METERING LAW, ENSURING THAT ROOFTOP SOLAR BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE GROWING.”
Henry Dykema is president of the nonpro t Montana Renewable Energy Association and owner of Sundance Solar Systems, a solar installation business near Red Lodge.
JUNE 29, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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