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"Healthy
By Larry Campbell EAST FORK
BITTERROOT RIVER, Mont. -- Fanning fear, the government
insists it must rush to help. "Fire season is fast approaching, and
delaying the [Middle East Fork, MEF] Project even for a short period
increases
the risk that if a fire occurs, it will be severe", states the Forest
Service legal brief. The legal brief went so far as to express concern
for the
lives of firefighters and residents this season. Relegated
to the background
is the surprising scientific truth, summarized in an obscure two
sentences in
the Forest Service's MEF Environmental Impact Statement: "Generally,
for
logistical and economic reasons, the larger fuels are treated first and
the
treatment of smaller fuels typically follows 1 - 3 years later. During
that
time period, before treatment is complete, fire behavior severity is
increased." Taken
together that means
Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Bull's Project actually will
increase
fire hazard during this "fast approaching fire season". Plaintiffs
asked to delay
for sixty days the money-losing commercial logging that causes the
quietly
admitted increase in fire behavior severity. We suggested that during
this time
woods-work focused on the community protection zone (CPZ), the only
work
scientifically shown effective at protecting homes and firefighters,
could
begin while Supervisor Bull's Project that is so controversial from
corrupt
public process and scientific perspectives could be allowed to receive
the
referee playback review that it clearly deserves. Court
Review could provide
an opportunity to correct for some flawed science used to justify and
design
the Project. This would avoid undue damage to homes, people and the
ecosystem
in the MEF area which is still seriously harmed from past excessive
logging. The area
is seriously
deficient in old growth habitat and elk security cover. The East Fork
of the
Bitterroot is classified as Impaired by the State due to excessive
sediment
pollution, mostly from logging roads. Soils, the foundation of forest
health,
are extensively damaged beyond legal limits throughout the area. Any court
ruling after the
big trees and slash are on the ground would be a hollow victory at best. In my view
it is unconscionable
to increase "fire behavior severity" right as this "fire season
is fast approaching", and to do it without first providing the proven
effective home and fire-fighter protection CPZ work. This CPZ
woods-work,
proposed by conservationists, is worth 45 jobs and a 1 ½ million
dollar boost
to the local economy. It would be good fire insurance, possibly
avoiding loss
of homes or lives during the increased fire risk from any later
commercial
logging. It also offers the tactical advantage of the option to pull
back
firefighters knowing homes have had effective fire protection
treatments. These
are benefits that virtually everybody can agree on. No interests are
harmed,
and some, like homeowners, firefighters and woods-workers, are helped. The
approach of first
defending homes and then deciding on the big timber Project was
advocated over
6 months ago in person to Mark Rey, who runs the Forest Service. On
June 30
plaintiffs suggested this approach to the judge. It is
frustrating that the
Forest Service and our judicial system will not allow for such a
common- sense
solution. It feels like watching a moth dart through a flame, to see
the Forest
Service, County Officials and some MEF homeowners rush ahead with the
commercial logging Project and its increased fire risk before the CPZ
home
defense work is done. To the detriment of themselves and of us all,
some of
these people miss the message because they see red when they hear
green. They
may have won a Pyrrhic victory. It is
profoundly sad to see
the short shrift given the damage to the land, water and wildlife that
could be
avoided while still providing effective fire protection and woods-work
jobs.
After all, the planet as a whole is made of all the little pieces like
the MEF.
It all goes together. Or not. Our fate is tied to its vitality and we
are not
treating it well. Larry Campbell is a veteran Bitterroot
Valley environmental activist.
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