Page 27 - Flathead Beacon // 7.16.14

FLATHEADBEACON | JULY 16, 2014
FEDERAL LAND | 27
ENVIRONMENT
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eral government. But let’s be reason- able about it. There are reasons that we have government,” he says.
“You have to work with the feder- al government to move it in the right direction and reform it where you can. But my biggest concern is that government and bureaucracy move so slow that a lot of these species will wink out if we don’t act on it.”
Chip Weber, supervisor of the Flathead National Forest the last four years, says for the agency does the best it can in a complex situation.
“The biggest challenge is that we work for 300 million bosses and they don’t agree on what we should do,” Weber says.
In his 28-year career working for the agency, Weber has seen the debate surface before over federal land management. He welcomes con- structive criticism, he said, and de- scribed Hammer and other members of the public who provide input as im- portant to managing public land.
“Our mission is so broad and I’m glad it’s broad. And I think we serve the American people better by having it be broad,” he says, adding, “In the best of worlds, you use conflicts to arrive at a better decision and that’s what we try to do. I believe the Forest Service is the best land management
agency in the world, the best conser- vation entity in the world.”
As for Hammer, he remains as in- volved as ever. The Flathead Nation- al Forest is in the middle of revising its forest plan, a major undertaking that will set the local agency’s direc- tion for decades to come. Of course, Hammer has leafed through almost every page and combed over every sentence. He’s already raised public concerns over the planning effort and a recent collaboration involving the Whitefish Range Partnership, alien- ating himself, as he says, from former allies.
Does he ever get tired of being the squeaky wheel or constantly being involved in controversy and conten- tion?
“I’m pretty used to it. If you don’t have a pretty thick skin, you shouldn’t get into being an activist in any cause on either side of the political debate,” he says. “If you’re going to be politi- cally active, you’re going to have to take some lumps and live with the bad stuff people say about you. At the same time, you take note of the good things that people say about you, be- cause you get support. If we didn’t get support we wouldn’t be here 30 years later.”
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POLICY
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really don’t think it’s workable and in the end it is not going to be the success that its proponents advocate,” Harrington said. “Right now our focus is on helping the current model work and helping agencies meet their harvest goals using science- based technology.”
That’s the thrust of Gov. Bullock’s re- cently unveiled “Forests in Focus” ini- tiative, which he said comes at “a critical juncture for the future of Montana’s for- ests.”
The multi-faceted initiative is meant to accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration, watershed protection and wildlife habitat improvement on private and federal forests across the state.
“We are at a crossroads with forest health, our mills and the future condition of our forests,” Bullock said. “The after- math of a years-long mountain pine beetle epidemic, stalled projects on thousands of acres of national forests, and continued threats from wildfires provide a strong basis for increased focus on how we man- age forests and how we ensure we have a vibrant wood products industry provid- ing good-paying jobs for Montanans.”
The governor called upon land man- agers, timber industry representatives, the conservation community, private landowners, elected officials and others to work together to meet the challenges fac- ing Montana’s forests.
As part of the initiative, Bullock said $3 million from the state fire suppression account will be available for forest health, fuels reduction and watershed restoration projects. Some of the funding will also be funneled to the Forest Service in support of projects on priority landscapes identi- fied under the 2014 Farm Bill.
The governor’s initiative sits better with Tubbs and Harrington.
“We know there are problems, but this engages the agencies and identifies some timber management issues,” Tubbs said. “It takes a 360-degree look at the forest is- sues in Montana and examines the whole suite of resources.”
And while proponents such as Fielder think the land-transfer proposal has legs, she agrees that it needs to transcend the realm of political rhetoric.
“We can’t just banter about it for polit- ical talking points. We need to make real changes,” she said.
Lieser said he’s no apologist for the Forest Service, but having worked for the agency he understands its challenges.
“The challenges are recognized by many. But if all that land were in state management or ownership they would be responsible for fire suppression costs and that could easily amount to more than $100 million or more,” he said. “Where is that money going to come from?”
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