The Star has done us great service in providing information about the Roaring Lion fire and subsequent follow up. Just like the Star’s previous outstanding coverage of the long fought battle over the Mitchell Slough. Yes, the slough was finally determined to be part of the Bitterroot, not a private and exclusive waterway. I wonder how that legal battle would have turned out without the Star’s attention and research. Almost surely ‘big money’ would have won.
With that history in mind, let’s give some thought to any lesson that may be gained from the coverage of the Roaring Lion fire. Is there a lesson for us laymen valley residents that is possibly being overlooked in the barrage of after action analyses? I have been a citizen in the valley for 41 years and am convinced that a great good can be found in considering the fire and its aftermath. In brief, it seems to me we have finally seen public exposure to a long standing negative practice that needs to be recognized and remedied.
I am writing about the decades of antics perpetuated by the Friends of the Bitterroot (often called Fools of the Bitterroot) and whatever other title this hodgepodge group of self appointed, elite eco-fascists might be hiding under. In the case of the Roaring Lion fire they showed their colors under the identity of Fred Rohrbach and the Bitterroot LLC (Bitterroot Star, Wed. Aug. 3). Concurrent with the start of the Roaring Lion fire they filed a suit in federal district court to stop the Westside Collaborative Vegetation Management Project which would have resulted in reduced vegetation in the Roaring Lion Creek. No they didn’t start the fire; but as usual they sought a prolonged delay which if eventually granted would assure that any fire would be larger and more dangerous.
Good news, neighbors! They just got exposed for a stunt they have been pulling for decades!
It started way back when they destroyed the lumber industry. Let’s explore this a little deeper. First, let me express my assumptions that are relative to my conclusions. First, I am an old man that thinks the more fuel, the greater the fire. Duh! Second, I think we have learned how to manage timber and necessary thinning without committing rape. Third, we spend good tax dollars for local, state and federal experts in forest management. Fourth, any forested land where people live inherently means that there are vital management requirements governing the interface between the residents and the surrounding forest. Lastly, the residents of such property must assume some obligations relative to the forest and in consideration of their neighbors as they have a common environment governing both the beauty and hazards of where they have made their home or business. In essence, where people live, there can’t be a completely prime forest.
These obvious assumptions are inherent in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA). As I understand the act, it encourages/arranges for collaborative planning by concerned residents and responsible experts to determine what steps to take to improve the health of the forest. That sounds like real fine law to me.
So if such a plan was made for the Roaring Lion drainage and was up for implementation, who in the hell are these people that feel obligated to interfere? Who elected or anointed them? I don’t see that they have any skin in the game. After all, it appears that the only resources involved are tax money and residents’ time and effort. One might consider a different but conceptually similar issue. Do we have an elite group that second guesses any attempts at local zoning? I don’t think so. I doubt we would tolerate such interference. Go figure! We pay for technical expertise and encourage collaboration and then we end up paying to have it set aside by a bunch of unaccountable pseudo-experts and lawyers. It is time to recognize the fools of the Bitterroot and their ilk for what they are. They may have made a significant contribution 20 or 30 years ago, but now it’s time for them to get out of the way.
I wonder if they would be so apt to file delaying law suits if the HFRA was amended to require the plaintive to post a sizable bond? After all, the folks that made the Collaborative Vegetative Management Project were paid government employees and residents who gave both of their time and a degree of landowner freedom. Yes, I think some skin in the game would go a long way to encourage accountability.
Neighbor, like many of you I know what John Muir meant by “the mountains are calling.” I backpacked in mountains for nearly 50 years. You and I might well wonder what beautiful drainage will burn next? Can’t we manage things without someone protecting us from ourselves as the elite always attempt to do? Perhaps by our years of deafening silence on this issue, we have endorsed the actions of eco-fascists by default.
Thanks to the Star, we have reporting on hand with which to base argument and perhaps identify improvements in our wonderful valley.
Ed Sperry
Stevensville