Pleased with forest plan
After eight years of collaboration with the communities and all interest groups, the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest on Nov. 28 released their record of decision for the future forest plan.
As president of Team Lochsa, and a landowner and lands manager for properties that butt up to the U.S. Forest Service, I was very pleased with the outcome.
The team on this project went out of its way to listen to the public, encourage professional collaboration and find needed compromise to address the comprehensive and complex challenge of a forest plan. The fabric of a plan is intertwined with threads that depend on each other. “One off” special interests can easily weaken that fabric.
By attending as many of the meetings as I could, I was able to better understand other perspectives outside of my own. There are many. Of the highlights, I am glad to see the plan address groups wanting more access while still maintaining a very large, recommended wilderness. As much as I like wilderness, at my age, mechanized and/or motorized access regions are becoming more interesting to me and probably the areas of the forest I will get to see and share with others the most.
By no means did the plan meet all of my expectations. However, I strongly support an outcome that reflects the broad perspectives and opinions of the largest users of the forest.
Thank you, Cheryl Probert and team, for managing this process as effectively and inclusively as you did.
Scott Bledsoe
Lolo, Mont.
Face the problem
In response to the Jan. 9 letter headlined “Why Did I Work?” it appears the writer’s attitude is typical of widespread misinformation circulating about the homeless in this country.
Rather than face the problem of homelessness, it’s just easier to brand all the unhoused (including more than 35,000 veterans) as lazy bums who don’t want to work. Why bother to ask them the truth about their hardships when it’s easier to pretend they love living ... on the taxpayers’ largesse? If we believe that myth, then ... we can just blame them and turn our backs. Not our problem.
In the real world, you can’t get a job if you don’t have a home with sanitation, food and a place to launder your clothes. And you can’t get a home if you don’t have a job.
The truth is that many factors came together to form this perfect storm: generational poverty, domestic violence, mental issues, health issues, drug addiction, job loss and the end of housing assistance during the pandemic are some of the causes. The skyrocketing cost of housing ... also added fuel to the fire.
What we need in this country is less hand-wringing, less NIMBYism and less victim-blaming. What we need ... is a serious commitment from every level of government to build affordable housing in our communities so that we can solve the housing crisis.
The question we need to ask our leaders is whether or not they have the political will to face it.
Patrice Yeatter
Kooskia
Story did a service
The news story in the Jan. 21 Tribune, written by Rachel Sun, about the life at the homeless camp in Clarkston, cemented my view of the value of a daily newspaper in our community.
Rachel did a great service by outlining the issues the unhoused face, and the difficulties in finding solutions. The interviews she provided personalized the plight of the people involved and should lead to a greater understanding of the need for a solution, and less judgment and finger-pointing.
My compliments to Rachel Sun and the Tribune staff.
Martha Christensen
Clarkston
