Letter to the editor: Wilderness the greatest hurdle with CHI

 Editor,

Over the past few weeks, there has been several letters regarding the Columbia Highlands Initiative (CHI) with opinions on the potential impact to users. Cattlemen, hikers, bikers, ORV users, conservation groups and the timber industry all share a great interest in the Kettle Crest area of the Colville National Forests that this proposal encompasses. The other thing this groups share is mistrust, misinformation and questionable tactics. While emotions run high on all sides, the one fact that remains is that this is federal public land that belongs to everyone. That being the case, the adoption of the CHI, in some form, is in the best interest of all the people in this area. 

This initiative would give some much-needed local control over federal land in our own backyard and set a precedent for future collaboration. There are people in the interest groups who have met and worked hard to move some sort of agreement forward. There are others who have chosen not to be involved in the process and use innuendo and fear to undermine the negotiations – negotiations that have stalled. The potential consequences of no agreement are much too great to allow discussions to stop.

What are the potential consequences? Jobs. As Ferry County commissioner Dansel pointed out in his recent letter, much of the Kettle Range has been managed in the past via the federal lawsuit. Federal judges tend to make decisions based on who makes the better legal case and little else. Is it best for our area to continue down that path? Conservation Northwest, with the CHI, has initiated something for a more productive and sustainable future. Whether it goes ahead as written or is negotiated further, it is a better way to manage these lands. We can’t afford to lose the local jobs at stake if this bogs down. To pull it off, all the groups involved will have to give more than they would like and also get something substantial. Cows, recreation, ORV’s, the timber industry and wilderness all need to be in there. 

Wilderness, that “W” word, conjures up different things for different people. It is only one of three major aspects of the CHI, but is by far the biggest hurdle. More or less wilderness can be debated, but for the initiative to go forward, it has to be in there.

Again, this is public land and all groups need to get something substantial. Wilderness causes the biggest problem for arguably the most important person involved, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers. She would introduce the legislation to make the CHI happen when the groups agree on a plan. She would likely do so at a great political risk. More wilderness is not a key plank in her re-election campaign. This is however, one of those “rubber meets the road” issues in her district and a time when action is more important than politics. 

I would hope all interested people take the time to read the proposal for themselves and encourage Rep. McMorris Rogers to move forward. The ball is in her court. For some form of the CHI to move forward, she will have to exert some real leadership and get the negotiating process back on track. To let the CHI die would most likely mean kicking the can to a federal judge.

Sincerely,

Dave Hendrick

Kettle Falls