A Friday for the future
Mitch headed off on vacation this week leaving behind some great accomplishments and good news from the northeast corner of the state and even more from the Obama administration.
It may look like no more than a room of people watching a table of people, but the listening session with Cantwell & McMorris Rodgers was a huge success for the Columbia Highlands. Be sure to add your voice to the call for balance in the forest.
I head out on vacation this week with a big smile on my face, for Friday signaled how far we have come in our work to protect and restore the Columbia Highlands. Senator Maria Cantwell and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers traveled to Spokane for a special listening session on Communities, Collaborations and the Colville National Forest. This type of congressional attention is what Conservation Northwest has long planned for and worked towards, and the event was a great success. But, by coincidence, Friday brought even more affirmation for our work, and this time from the Obama administration.
I started Friday morning in Seattle to hear Secretary of the Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, give a major policy speech on his vision for the US Forest Service. Candidly, I was not expecting much attention to our nation’s forests from this administration, and nothing in Mr. Vilsack’s Midwestern pedigree would have indicated that we should. But the speech he gave was a stunner, and his vision for conservation and restoration resonated deeply with my own call for a Restoration Marshall Plan for our national forests.
Secretary Vilsack called for ecological forestry to be the driving principle for the US Forest Service to protect water and habitat, prepare ecosystems for climate change, and store carbon. He declared his plans not only to finalize the Clinton Roadless Area Conservation policy, but also a process for putting into rules his entire restoration and conservation vision. He even directed the Forest Service to work well beyond its own lands to help stop the conversion of state and private forests to developments, calling for a landscape view of the agency's forest conservation mission. Perhaps even more exciting, Mr. Vilsack called for all this to be accomplished through collaboration, and singled out as the best model our work on the Colville National Forest, in the Columbia Highlands. I had the opportunity to thank the Secretary for this mention, and he emphasized how the entire federal forest system must quickly be brought to emulate what we’ve accomplished in the Colville.
I have to admit my ego was a tad swollen from that experience when I flew to Spokane for the Congressional listening session, where all our collaborative partners were also instantly buoyed by the news about recognition from Vilsack. Then it only got better! In stark contrast to the heated and hostile atmosphere of many Congressional events this month, this forum was altogether civil and productive, with an audience of about 180 interested citizens, many wearing our "Balance in the Forest" buttons. It opened with affirming messages about the prominence and importance of Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition’s collaborative work from not only the senator and congresswoman, but also a note from Governor Gregoire expressing appreciation for the Coalition’s work and her commitment to protecting Washington’s roadless areas. Senator Cantwell said that the Coalition was “breaking the mold.”
Our elected leaders heard testimony from three panels that included the Colville National Forest Supervisor, several of our Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition partners, outdoor recreation leaders, and a number of representatives from county, tribal, and state government. The range of community representatives coming to the table was impressive and spoke to the importance of these wild lands to the people that live, work, and recreate here.
There were just a few tense moments, such as when Senator Cantwell pushed Forest Supervisor Brazell to know how balance could be reached when his agency’s planning process highlights just four of the Colville’s roadless areas for wilderness value while Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition advocates for 19. We also heard an itch from a motorized recreation leader for even more off-road vehicle trails, a push from a tribal representative for more logging, and concerns raised by some of the county commissioners. But on whole, the senator and congresswoman heard volumes of substantial evidence and testimonials that our collaboration is working and that its vision is the best thing going!
The majority recognized the successes and benefits of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition collaboration, its agreement and action on restoration projects, and the overall plan for excellent management and wilderness protection. Many asked for Congressional help to implement elements of the Coalition's vision, including a major restoration pilot project and wilderness designation for most of the forest’s remaining roadless areas. In the end, Senator Cantwell declared that our plan seems doable and that she would work with Rep. McMorris Rodgers and both agreed to explore legislative opportunities.
As my last day before vacation, I guess I couldn't ask for a more profound demonstration that our long project on the Colville National Forest is as ripe as this summer’s Okanogan peach crop. I believe that in coming weeks we will get a pretty good sense of just what our legislative opportunities are. In the meantime, please let the Senator and Congresswoman know you appreciate their attention and urge them to support balance in the woods with our easy on-line action center.
