Page 26 - Flathead Beacon // 7.30.14

26 | JULY 30, 2014 OPINION
LETTERS
ENVIRONMENTALISTS LIKE HAMMER COST US JOBS
Now that I’ve seen his face, I can also see the man who made many of my customers, friends, loggers, mill workers and many other people in Lincoln County go without jobs (July 23 Beacon: “The Face of Environmental Activism”). Envi- ronmentalists like Keith Hammer helped make that happen. Logging in western Montana is virtually gone, unemploy- ment is high and jobs, except those for government, are difficult to find. People like Hammer tie things up in court – us- ing litigation as their way of getting what they want. I’ve seen what they’ve done in Lincoln County.
Look around if you live there and de- cide if there is a booming economy caused by people like Hammer. I liked it better when we had loggers and mill workers and people employed because of them – not by holier-than-thou environmentalist like Mr. Hammer.
Clare Hafferman Kalispell
CHANGING HATE –
ONE PERSON AT A TIME
I worry about deep divisions in our country. Fox News, Rachel Maddow, Rush Limbaugh, and mean-spirited letters printed in our local papers only make matters worse.
A few weeks ago, I was reading a book while waiting in the Seattle airport for my flight home to Kalispell. Directly behind me – our backs were practically touching – a middle-aged man talked loudly with his traveling companions. “I hate Demo- crats. They are ruining our country. Why should I have to pay for health care? I don’t know anyone who voted for Obama. I can’t imagine ever being friends with anyone who calls themselves a Democrat and voted for that man!”
I sat up straight, put down my book, took a deep breath, and walked around to face him. “I voted for Obama. Do I look like a bad person? I bet we have more in common than you think. Maybe, we could even become friends.”
He glanced upward, “Nope, that’s impossible!”
I didn’t give in. “How can you say that when you don’t even know me? Besides, I love having conversations with my Re- publican friends. Our conversations help me be more tolerant and understanding of multiple points of view. After all, you and I are Montanans. I bet we have more in common than you think.”
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His wife said, “Don’t bet on it.”
I sat down beside him, “OK what are three things you love?”
Turning his head slightly upward, he said “My church, my guns and my horses.” “At least we agree on one thing –
horses.”
For the next 15 minutes, we told horse
stories. We talked about how we love to ride in the mountains, how he loves his quarter horses; how I love my Arabians; how we both spent our childhood racing our horses bareback across mountain meadows.
When our flight was called, I looked at him and said, “See it might be possible to become friends with a Democrat.”
“You might be right.” With that we shook hands and together walked to the plane.
We can build bridges one person at a time. We can change hate into tolerance.
Perhaps Congress could learn a lesson here. Anger and polarization un- dermine our brilliantly designed form of government. As citizens we can take this lesson into the political arena and vote for candidates who reach out to find con- nections rather than those just defending their own political agendas.
Carol M. Santa Marion
SKINNER’S IGNORANCE OF WILDLIFE POLICY STUNNING
Dave Skinner’s recent article titled “Howling Stupidity” might not have been meant in a self-derogatory way, but it cer- tainly shows his own ignorance on issues related to wolves. I suppose that’s to be expected, given his repeated displays of “howling stupidity” over the years.
His complaint that people who appre- ciate wolves “won’t even pay for livestock loss” is the first sign of ignorance. Loss of livestock due to wolves is funded by the state General Fund to the Livestock Loss Mitigation Board, housed at the Depart- ment of Livestock. So, in fact, wolf lovers do support wolf management financially through their tax dollars. So, Skinner is just flat wrong. Every Montanan who pays taxes pays for loss of livestock due to wolves.
Secondly, FWP is legislatively mandated to spend $900,000 per year on wolf management. That means collar- ing, paying for wolf managers, funding the federal agency Wildlife Services and helping ensure that the state manages for a sustainable number of wolves, lest we fall back under the heavy hand of the Endangered Species Act.
Third: Who cares if wolf advocates want to help shoulder the burden? I for one welcome this new stamp. While my own experiences with voluntary stamps shows them to be underperformers gen-
erally, it is supremely arrogant to think that by advancing a way for non-hunting citizens to help pay for funding, we should immediately get the pitchforks. Wildlife management funding faces a growing amount of challenges. Some people see the economic benefit wildlife has to the state and want to steal it for themselves, like they did in Utah, through transfer- able private hunting licenses and wildlife welfare. Maybe that’s Skinner’s real goal: End public hunting by starving our Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency.
Fourth, Skinner’s childish vendetta against any wildlife federation is tire- some. Here’s the truth: If not for the Mon- tana Wildlife Federation, wolves would still be on the endangered species list. It’s a simple fact that MWF worked with Sen. Jon Tester to delist the wolves. Former Congressman Denny Rehberg along with Skinner’s other buddies at “Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife” and “Big Game Forever” opposed this effort because they feared losing their main money maker. And when they successfully underfund a state wildlife agency, their solution is to be given tags for sale and giving some of that back to the state. That’s how SFW and Big Game Forever have made millions of dollars – by selling the public’s wildlife.
Skinner himself even opined against the wolf delisting measure saying that it wouldn’t lead to hunting or management. Obviously, his political prognostications are as well formed as his knowledge of how FWP’s budgets work. Today, we’re successfully hunting and trapping wolves, thanks to the hard work of Tester, Rep. Mike Simpson and MWF.
The Montana Constitution tells us that wildlife is a public trust that is man- aged for all citizens of this state. This is a core tenet of how we manage wildlife in North America. Everyone has a seat at the table when it comes to managing this resource. The experience of every state that has broadened funding beyond just license buyers demonstrates that involv- ing more people in funding this system makes it stronger for hunters, anglers, and everyone else. For years hunters have criticized non-hunters for not pitching in for public wildlife. When an opportunity comes along to get non-hunters to help pay for wildlife management, we should be embracing it. That is, unless you’re a petty pundit like Skinner who wants to perpetuate the broken system he loves to complain about.
Support the stamp, buy your tags and hunt those wolves. Or don’t. This is Amer- ica and we should celebrate options rather than try to deride someone who comes up with new solutions to old problems.
Nick Gevock, conservation director Montana Wildlife Federation
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CORRECTIONS
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