ROADLESS ISSUE ON THE PRIMARY BALLOT
In 2000 MFMU requested
the county commissioners of Flathead County to place a question
about support for roadless and road closures on the June Primary ballot. They did
and the voters overwhelmingly voted for open access.
There was another roadless ballot question
on the June Primary in 2006. Although the ballot question has no
statutory effect, it gives us a good idea of how Flathead County
feels about roadless area restrictions.
THE BALLOT QUESTION
There
are 6.4 million acres of National Forest managed as Roadless in Montana.
Should that forest land:
|
X |
Be
managed by the Forest Service for multiple use purposes including
motorized recreation and
roaded timber production? |
| OR |
| |
Be
managed by the Forest Service for multiple use purposes including
non-motorized recreation and
roadless timber production? |
The question in blue is the one that truly
supports multiple use. Roadless timber production is almost an
oxymoron. Aside from very limited, very expensive helicopter logging
there is no such thing as "roadless" timber production.
Even with helicopter logging roads are needed - unless the enviros want to
go back to floating logs down the rivers. It would be fun to try it
just to here the howls of protest.
MONTANANS
FOR MULTIPLE USE supported the first question - the one in blue - with the
words "motorized" and "roaded"
63%
of the Flathead County voters agreed with MFMU
The vote was 11060 for motorized and
roaded and 6551 for non-motorized and roadless use.
The following
article appeared in The Daily Interlake. published in Kalispell,
MT on March 23, 2000. See update at the end of the article.
Roadless question on June 2000 Ballot
The Flathead County
commissioners have joined Lincoln County in putting a poll about
National Forest roadless areas on the June primary ballot. The proposal
was submitted to the commissioners by Clarence Taber and Chuck Samuelson
of Montanans for Multiple Use. Commissioners Dale Williams and Bob Watne
voted Wednesday to put the question on the ballot. The ballot is more
effective than an opinion poll in determining what the public believes
about the roadless issue, Taber told the commissioners. "I think it
would be a good measuring stick, to really put it out on the
table," he said. "It also would help the Forest Service gauge
public opinion," Taber said. "We thought it could be very
positive, on both sides," he said. The ballot measure contains a
statement about federal policies advocating more road closures and
roadless lands, and notes that a majority of Flathead County is National
Forest land. There is a disclaimer, stating that the election results
will carry no official mandate, and only reflect the opinions of county
residents. Voters will be asked whether or not they "support the
federal government policies of advocating more road closures and 40 to
60 million more acres of roadless lands." The measure is nearly
identical to one going on the Lincoln County ballot. "I'd gotten a
copy of it out of Lincoln County," said Samuelson. "We thought
we'd give it a run here." In a letter to the commissioners, Taber
noted that the roadless initiative originated in the executive branch,
not Congress, and the citizens have never had a vote.
UPDATE: The
vote in Flathead County was 79% against Clinton Forest road
policies. 89%
against in Lincoln county 81%
against in Sanders County 89%
against in Boundary County, Idaho
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