Wildland advocates return from D.C. junket heartened


Members of the Clearwater Basin Collaborative said they received positive feedback during a recent weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., where they met with agency heads and congressional staff members.
The group of diverse interests is trying to find common ground and craft agreements aimed at protecting wildland in the Clearwater Basin, increasing the number of timber sales and securing funding for counties dominated by federal lands. It includes environmentalists, loggers, local government officials and recreationists.
The group sent a contingent to the nation's capital earlier this month to get feedback on a list of ideas it is working on. Members who made the trip said simply by meeting with agency and congressional officials they were able to demonstrate the trust and cohesion they have built over the past two years and that is likely to pay dividends in the future.
Bill Higgins of the Idaho Forest Group said his idea for the Clearwater and Nez Perce national forests to be able to retain some of the money generated by timber sales to be used for the planning of future timber and restoration projects was well received.
"I think a lot of that we can do through existing authorities the Forest Service already has but because of the consensus support we have that will help get it done."
Dave Cadwallader, the supervisor of the Clearwater Region of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the people the group met with were impressed with the diversity of the collaborative members and the ability of individuals to represent the views of other members in the group. For example he said some members who represent quiet recreation were able to speak and support the efforts of others who represent motorized recreation, and environmental representatives spoke in favor of logging projects.
"I think that was eye opening for people back there," he said.
One of the biggest ideas the group took back to the capital was one pushed by Idaho County Commissioner Skip Brandt. He is advocating an overhaul of the way rural counties with large blocks of federal lands within their borders are compensated. Instead of receiving money from the Secure Rural Schools Act, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program or receiving a portion of profits from timbers sales on federal land, Brandt says the federal government should pay what amounts to a property tax.
"Everybody really appreciated the concept of thinking outside of the box and hearing what works, what doesn't and the simplistic approach," he said. "Some of them said it's almost too simple for D.C."
Rick Brazell, supervisor of the Nez Perce and Clearwater forests, was on the trip and introduced members of the collaborative to leaders of his agency. He said his bosses quickly picked up on the group's cohesion.
"The unity showed by us going back there will get a lot of support from the headquarter's office because they know we are real. It sends a big message."
The group is continuing to work on crafting an agreement that could lead to new wilderness designations, more secure funding for county governments and an increase in the amount of timber sales on federal lands.
More information on the group is available at http://www.clearwaterbasincollaborative.org/.
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Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.