WEDGE/ROBERTS FIRES
Last summer the Roberts and
Wedge fires burned out of control in the North Fork.
The lightning caused Wedge fire burned 53,315 acres - 20,628
acres on Flathead NF, 30,353 acres in Glacier Park, 1,093 acres of
state land and 1,241 acres of private land.
It also burnt 7 residences and 29 other structures.
The man caused Roberts fire quickly jumped to 3200 acres in
the first 24 hours. The
towns of Hungry Horse and Apgar were threatened by this 57,570 acre
fire – 12,852 acres on Flathead NF, 44,421 acres in Glacier Park
and 297 acres on private land.
The two fires burnt a total of 33,480 acres of FNF land.
Senator
Conrad Burns introduced legislation, which waived some of the
legal requirements that apply to federal salvage projects in order
to expedite the salvage of burnt timber from these fires.
The bill allows FNF to develop one alternative rather than
the 4 or 5 usually required by NEPA.
It requires FNF to develop that alternative through a
collaborative process with the public.
Over 100
citizens converged on the West Coast Hotel ballroom to begin to
hammer out a salvage plan for these fires.
Several of us from MFMU were in that crowd.
We were shocked to learn that two of the principal
facilitators, Sperry and Munther have either worked with or for
radical environmentalist groups in the past.
These
appointments by FNF raised suspicions (later confirmed) that the
goal of FNF was to head off an agreement that called for large
amounts of salvage and no road closures or road rip.
In other words, the MFMU attendees believe that FNF wanted a
salvage project that resembles the Moose Fire Salvage project –
very little salvage and lots of road rip.
FNF accomplished their goal by facilitator manipulation,
keeping the small groups separated, insisting on impossible criteria
for agreement and cutting the process short when their goals were
achieved.
The most
effective stratagem employed was the definition of consensus that
was required for an agreement on an issue to go forward for
inclusion in the project alternative.
Forest Supervisor, Cathy Barbouletous, virtually promised
that she would include any proposals that obtained consensus.
Consensus, as defined by the facilitator, Munther, required
that “…all will stand by the group decision.”
Obviously that is impossible to accomplish for the polarized
issues of logging and road management.
As a result, we only reached full consensus on 5 points, all
of which were very broad and non-controversial.
No brainers, in fact. Without
consensus, FNF is free to craft a single alternative any way they
chose.
The
issues of salvage logging near streams, in roadless or old growth
areas and the closure and destruction of roads to meet Amendment 19
standards received very little support because of the way the groups
were managed and the requirement for unanimous support.
If we had used a majority or even a super-majority rule to
define agreement, we might have gotten a collaborative agreement
that would allow for significantly more salvage without road rip.
We are
now in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) stage with
its own comment period and finally the FEIS with the Record of
Decision (ROD). The
preliminary timeline called for the process to be completed by next
fall. Of course that
does not include appeals and litigation.
We are already a couple months behind schedule.
Comments
on the DEIS are due August 10, 2004.
Send your comments to:
Jimmy DeHerrera, District Ranger,
Robert-Wedge Post-Fire Project,
Glacier View Ranger District,
P.O. Box 190340, Hungry Horse, MT 59919
or email to
comments-northern-flathead-hungry-horse-glacier-view@fs.fed.us
Montanans
For Multiple Use will continue to work within the process. Although
we can’t expect for a much better result than we got in the Moose
Salvage Project, we must try. MFMU
will also work with other government agencies and elected officials
to try to change the legal climate that determines much of the
direction of forest management.
