By Skip Kowalski, Stevensville
Folks who follow the news about the Forest Service know that the recent Gold Butterfly timber sale project was stopped by a lawsuit. Mistakenly, there is a false rumor going around that I made that happen. No, I am not the President of Friends of the Bitterroot and I was not responsible for the litigation.
Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have given this rumor a second thought, but this is an election year and these are not normal times. I couldn’t help but wonder, could these comments somehow be tied to my wife’s, Margaret Gorski, candidacy for Montana Senate District 44? After all, she has emphasized in her campaign the importance of working with the Forest Service and other entities to protect life and property from wildfire. By associating me with the litigation of a major Forest Service restoration proposal, it is a reasonable assumption that Margaret’s opponents could be spreading misinformation as part of a campaign strategy to discredit her.
Although I hope that my suspicions are wrong and that those involved in propagating these rumors are merely confused, the high stakes of this campaign give me reason for concern. Mentioning me specifically by name and on a subject that appears to come from out of the blue, suggests these remarks are no accident.
For the record, I’d like to stop these rumors, whatever their basis, before they cast a shadow of doubt on Margaret’s priorities and positions. First of all, Margaret is a member of the Ravalli County Citizen’s Collaborative and actually came out in support of the Gold Butterfly project. In addition to health care, education, public lands and the economy, a large part of Margaret’s campaign is based on her knowledge and experience of forestry, the Forest Service and working with others to carry out forest management projects. She sees tremendous opportunity in managing timber and fuels to not only help reduce the risk of wildfires on public health and property, but also to improve watershed condition, wildlife habitat and create jobs. Her priority on treating fuels to reduce fire hazard is especially important to those living in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). She knows the players, understands how the agencies operate, has familiarity with programs and funding sources and is committed to making the Bitterroot a safer place to live.
Margaret would be promoting more, not fewer, responsible and effective restoration projects on National Forest System lands. She would be an advocate for working across public and private land boundaries to make Montana and Montanans safer and better off. She would do a terrific job representing you in the state capitol.