Lochsa meeting draws show of force

There was an impressive turnout for U.S. Sen. Jim Risch's public meeting on the proposed upper Lochsa land exchange this week at Grangeville, and it wasn't just the more than 300 people who attended on a snowy November night to both comment and listen.

It was also the heavy law enforcement presence at the meeting. Idaho County sheriff's deputies and officers from the Grangeville Police Department were out in force for the presentation about a proposed land swap between Western Pacific Timber Co. and the U.S. Forest Service. Officers and deputies patrolled the perimeter of Grangeville Elementary School, stood guard at the door and asked to look in the bags and backpacks people carried. More officers were posted at the back door of the school's gymnasium, where Risch entered and exited, and a ring of officers and deputies stood on the gymnasium floor scanning the audience during the meeting.

Sheriff Doug Giddings, who attended, didn't know the exact number of officers present, but said about four Grangeville Police Department officers and 10 Idaho County sheriff's deputies participated in a briefing prior to the meeting's start. He said they were there at the request of Risch's office and U.S. Capitol Police, which is charged with protecting members of Congress. Giddings said officers were not concerned about Idaho County residents, but were on alert because federal authorities received word that people were being bused to the meetings from other communities.

"They were worried about the people from Moscow and Missoula, Mont., and the unknowns," he said. "They received information and they just wanted us to be ready."

Gary Macfarlane of the Moscow-based Friends of the Clearwater environmental group at Moscow laughed when informed there was concern that people from the Palouse and elsewhere warranted heightened security.

"That is hilarious," he said. "Yeah, we organized a carpool to come down there, but it's a public meeting, what's wrong with that?"

John Sandy, chief of staff for the senator, said he made the call for the extra security but also said neither he, Risch nor Giddings expected any trouble.

"If it was up to Sen. Risch, he wouldn't have anything any time," he said.

Sandy also dismissed the idea that there was a perceived threat from Moscow or Missoula. Instead, he said worrying about security - especially the threat of disturbed individuals lashing out - is a fact of life in the world today.

In fact, he said Senate protocol is to notify federal security when members attend big gatherings where emotions could run high.

"Whenever we do a large event like this it is recommend to me, being chief of staff, by the sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate that we notify them of the event," Sandy said. "I did and then the sergeant-at-arms takes over from there and coordinates with local law enforcement from the state police down to the county, to the city and they make the call. It's always better to err on the side of safety just in case there is somebody, not necessarily from the community, but somebody from the outside."

Sandy said he did hear some "grumbling" from attendees about the heavy law enforcement presence at the meeting. Ray Anderson, an opponent of the land swap from Grangeville, also said he heard some complaints. In particular, he said some people were not happy when he said they were told not to display signs against the land exchange inside the gym.

"I thought there is a constitutional right against that sort of stuff. It just didn't seem right to me," he said. "Up here in Idaho we believe in the Constitution and we try to stand by it."

The audience was demonstratively opposed to the trade, with people cheering after each comment against it. Even Macfarlane and Brett Haverstick, also an employee of Friends of the Clearwater, received applause after their brief comments lambasting the land trade. The environmentalists, who support things like the introduction of gray wolves and restrictions on public land logging, often find themselves in the minority in timber towns like Grangeville.

Macfarlane said he's only been cheered a few times there, and it's always been in relation to his stated opposition to the land exchange.

"There is a consensus against it," he said. "When has there ever been a consensus on national forest issues in Idaho amongst people of such different views? There hasn't, except for this issue and it's widespread."

---

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.