Letter to the Editor from my fellow county commissioner Mike Blankenship, Ferry County I was given a copy of the Highlands News Journal of the Kettle Range Conservation Group, Summer 2013 edition. It started so well I was all giddy inside then BOOM! The article took a smelly change of direction. There were comments of feedlot odors, cow pies, destroyed meadows and herds of cows running amuck. How the cows and calves were eating the vegetation on the Kettle Crest Trail which is now part of the Pacific Northwest trail System. The article even questions if this the best use of the public lands. Let us back up a little. The first question that came to my mind how long have the cattle- men and shepherds been grazing the Kettle Crest and other parts of the forest? I have heard firsthand accounts of sheep bands and cattle grazing in the early 1900ís. Keep in mind this history is long before the Pacific Northwest Trail sys- tem or the Kettle Crest Trail. The cattle and sheep were here before land became the Colville National Forest. The author talks about the mid 1990ís, but the cows and sheep did not arrive in the mid 1990’s more like the mid 1890’s. If the first unobstructed (before best available science or best grazing management practices) grazing was so bad, then one would think the Kettle Crest area would not be an appealing place for recreation. So the meadows would be gone if the cattle were actually destroying them. The author speaks of the last thirty years as if that is when the cows grazing became a problem. I think with a little thought into the subject one could make a case that grazing is actually good for the forest. The cows remove excess vegetation, which aids in fire prevention and like mowing our lawn stimulates vegetative growth. The livestock piles left behind are actually good fertilizer, just go to your local nursery and see what they get for a bag. Meadows that are no longer grazed become overgrown and soon disappear. Studies show deer and elk do quite well eating behind cattle grazing as the cows remove the coarse feed that results in young softer vegetation. The seeds left in the piles are actually a food source for birds, insects and other creatures. The seeds for the most part are collected from the forest so any weeds are from the area grazed. There is mention of a high mountain spring the cows allegedly converted to a mud hole, anyone seen what a bear can do to a spring? If a cow creates a mud hole is that any more devastating than if a bear, deer or other wildlife did it? NOT at all! The author of this article would have you believe that the cattle are destroying the forest, I ask you to stop and think about the fact the cows and sheep have been here longer than you and I and yet the area is a place of beauty. The article is obviously written by a person who has his view of how the forest should be used. My question is, should one person or even one group’s values supersede or eliminate the values of other user groups? The inconvenience created by the cattle is not an adequate excuse to stop grazing and it is obvious that a little disturbance to the soil has not and will not destroy the land. I would suggest to the author of the article he might want to become a little more tolerant of Ferry County’s way of life or find another place more suitable to his taste. Later in the journal the president of Kettle Range Conservation authored an article about their Rendezvous gathering and spoke of the director and his wife grilling burgers to order. In the morning it was eggs and pork. I think someone should be hugging a rancher and farmer not belittling the grazers. The streams are short on water not from drought but because there are too many trees. The bugs are killing the trees in unusually high percentage not because it is natural but because the trees are stressed from overcrowding. The wildlife we desire and pretend to protect lack habitat due to too much timber. The quality of life in our forest has been damaged, but not as much by grazing as too much misdirected action by those who pretend to want to save the forest and the wildlife! Reality shows they just want to save their payroll. I personally miss the smells of fresh cut lumber, dairies and the old wigwam burners. I miss the early morning coffee shop with its long line of log trucks all lit up like Christmas trees. I have no objection to the smell of a little fertilizer, the odor, much like the rattlesnake’s rattle reminds me to watch where I step. Mike Blankenship Kettle Falls, WA
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 19:14:25 +0000
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