Bush wants to privatize Columbia Gorge forestland…

February 19th, 2006

The Administration’s obscene “foot-in-the-door” to privatize our public lands gets much worse.

Perhaps you believed the Administration’s claim that the 300,000+ acres of public land slated for sale are “worthless”? Wrong.

From Friends of the Columbia Gorge:

The US Forest Service is proposing to put 300,000 acres of what they call “disposable public lands” out to the highest bidder, including 730 acres in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. [...]

Properties on both sides of the Columbia Gorge are named on the potential sale list. These include lands in Corbett, above Sheppard’s Dell and near Cascade Locks in Oregon. On the Washington side, land near Cape Horn, Wind Mountain and above the flooded Celilo Falls would be available to the highest bidder.

The Columbia Gorge is one of the crown jewels of the Pacific Northwest. (Even Reagan apparently recognized this, as it was in 1986 that the Gorge was named as the first National Scenic Areas.) And, bizarrely, even someone in THIS Administration seems to recognize its worth:

Ironically, the President’s 2007 budget also calls for $1 million for further land acquisition in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

This entire privatization scheme needs to be halted. It’s not just the Columbia Gorge… it is hundreds of similarly valuable places. Just because land appears to be “fragmented” on a topo-map, it often isn’t when you look at a satellite view. And even isolated land can serve as a core for new conservation efforts in the future.

This scheme is simply a way to set precedent for future budgets… if they can sell off chunks of the Gorge now, just imagine what they might sell next year, or in 10 years.

While everyone should take action and ask the Regional Forester to remove Columbia Gorge lands from the auction targets, it seems to me that the Gorge could be a potent symbol for the entire 300,000 acres. If vital forestland in the Gorge is on the auction block, well, just imagine what else might be included?

For those who don’t know what the Columbia Gorge is, consider that this impacts just about every State. And, just like the Gorge, other valuable land is included in the list to sell:

In North Carolina:

Forest Service maps show several tracts adjacent to the Needmore land in Swain County could be sold. The state owns 4,400 acres in the area and manages the land as game lands.

The Needmore tracts were bought in 2004 after a major public-private campaign to preserve the property. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put up $2 million toward the purchase.

Hm. So this worthless land that is to be auctioned off also includes land that was previously purchased for conservation?

If the U.S. Forest Service begins selling off public lands, the agency won’t have any trouble finding buyers for land in Western North Carolina.

“I know there would be massive interest in larger tracts due to the fact there aren’t any large tracts of land left in Macon County,” said Robin Parker, owner of Cat Creek Realty in Franklin.

That’s right. Large tracts of open space are a rarity in more and more of the country. Their “value” is precisely because they are undeveloped, and they should be kept as such.

In Colorado:

The U.S. Forest Service has listed scenic land overlooking Rocky Mountain National Park and land around St. Mary’s Glacier as sites that could be sold to raise money for rural schools in 41 states.

In Missouri:

The Missouri land that might be sold is part of a once-depleted forest that public financing and decades of management have nurtured back to health.

Yes, after the public has paid for its reforestation, it’s time to sell!

Cedar Creek District Forester Carol Trokey said the land was mostly wooded, but some parcels have old fields with cedar trees. She said the parcels would be most useful for recreation or hunting.

Wait? The land would be useful for recreation or hunting? I thought that there was no recreation value in these lands?

And even some of the most anti-environment GOPers seem to be coming out against this proposal:

“Public lands are an asset that needs to be managed and conserved,” said Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho.

I can’t believe I am saying it, but Larry Craig is right (at least about the conservation part).

UPDATE: ACTION ALERT. Takes 1 minute. Please take action by emailing the regional forester and, more importantly, your congressional delegation.

UPDATE 2: DONATE ALERT. Please take action above. But also consider making even a small contribution to the organizations that are fighting this battle. Sadly, the environment receives a fraction of total philanthropic donations. Please consider donating to Friends of the Columbia Gorge and, for the larger battle, to The Wilderness Society.