By Bob Williams, Stevensville
For some, there’s exciting new possibilities for making root deep changes in government.
Surprise, because of Representative Gianforte’s Good Neighbor Authority amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill, Ravalli County and other counties, have authority to sign deals with USDA-USFS about local timber management. Read more at:
In addition, Representative Gianforte has introduced legislation that if passed, would have the government allocate who gets to use 1,250 square miles of environment within 29 areas of Montana. Areas for 30 years set aside for designation as wilderness.
Our Congressman co-operated with the Ravalli County Board of Commissioners to promote and publicize benefits of a new type of active forest management, rooting USFS forest policy in more active harvesting of timber.
Our County Commissioners are working to cut away at some of the political roots of groups which are pro-environment.
Our Congressman and our County Commissioners are working together so that goverment policy can be uprooted from public expression about our Wilderness Study Areas.
Uprooted from a wide range of common sense expressions like:
“80% of us want to keep public lands and public waters in public hands.”
“Protect our largest payroll in Montana, people who work in outdoor recreation. That payroll paid for by receipts from people who recreate out of doors in Montana.”
“Forget that. Silence the people. Uproot government policy from public input. Have a Congressional Hearing in the Ravalli County Courthouse. Listen to three selected people. No more.”
“No need for a public hearing in Montana about the two Gianforte Bills that would let the Federal government allocate usage of 29 Wilderness Study Areas in Montana. Just need Representive Gianforte to visit one of the reddest counties in Montana, where the County Commissioners will help co-operate and promote deep root change like more active timber harvesting.”
“More active timber harvesting where? What might the public say?”
“The wildfire problems have been and are in the Bitterroot Mountains. Let’s take 10,000 truckloads of logs out of the Bitterroot Mountains, not the Sapphire Mountains.”
“It’s been twelve years since an environmental suit stopped a timber sale in the Bitterroots.”
“How about local co-operation between builders, lumber brokers, lumber retailers, and the USFS about actively managing timber to supply a local lumber mill. Be it fixed, or semi-portable, and positioned to sustainabily process local logs. Rather than export logs to make jobs in distant mills.”
“The Ravalli County Commissioners have gone for radical change. A root change.”
“A deep root change towards fiat government.”
Let’s face it. The Ravalli Congressional Hearing that was not a hearing will encourage expressions like these:
“Tough luck. With power comes privilege.”
“That does it. Might does not make right. I’m disgusted with politics. I’m not voting.”
“I’d like to vote for a Montana Republican ready, willing and able to work with the minority party. But right now not many of those.”
“I’m tired of voting for Republican candidates who covet dominating the minority party.”
“The nation is changing. There’s more Independents than Democrats. And there’s more Democrats than Republicans.”
“Yes, that’s all the more reason we must keep Ravalli Republican.”
“Even if that means no public input about proposed legislation to make radical changes in the status of Wilderness Study Areas?”
“I’m conflicted. What’s more important? Party politics or public input into forest management, and plans for Wilderness Study Areas?”