april 2016 the river journal
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April 2016 • FREE
Because there’s more to life than bad news
A Newsmagazine Worth Wading Through
Hecla wants the copper that lies under the wilderness.
Will the KNF plan allow them to take it out safely?
Photo by Ken Vanden Heuval
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A News Magazine Worth Wading Through
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STAFFCalm Center of TranquilityTrish Gannon • [email protected] of Truth & PropagandaJody Forest • [email protected] & Other StuffDavid Broughton• 208.290.6577 •[email protected]
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
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509.534.3625Contents of the River Journal are copyright 2016. Reproduction of any material, including original artwork and advertising, is prohibited. The River Journal is published the first week of each month and is distributed in over 16 communities in Sanders County, Montana, and Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai counties in Idaho.
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THE RIVER JOURNAL
• April 2016 •On the Cover: Photographer Ken
Vanden Heuval captured this view of St. Paul Peak from Lake Darling. A vein of copper-bearing ore lies deep underneath this area of the wilderness.
6. IT’S BAAAACK. Kootenai National Forest releast a new draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rock Creek Mine. Here’s what it says. by Lou Springer
6. THE BACKGROUND. What is the Rock Creek Mine proposal and just how do you get copper out of the ground? by Trish Gannon
8. THE JAWS OF A DILEMMA. A wolf trap catches a family pet, leaving some to wonder if it’s time to re-think our trapping guidelines.
10. VETERANS’ NEWS. Don’t miss the Stand-down in Coeur d’Alene.
10. IDAHO PRIMARIES ROUND 2. With presidential voting out of the way, it’s almost time for voters to choose the parties’ candidates for state, local and other federal offices.
11. CONTESTED PRIMARY RACES. Voters on both the Republican and Democrat tickets have choices to make in the upcoming primaries. GIL BEYER - IN THE MIDDLE
12. RE-ENGAGING THE PROCESS. While
the current political season leaves some scratching their heads, there’s no doubt that voters are more engaged than ever - and that’s a good thing. DAVID KEYES - AS I SEE IT.
14. THE GREAT ANTIBIOTIC. For Christians, there’s an answer to the dis-ease of sin. KATHY OSBORNE - KATHY’S FAITH WALK
15 THE VALUE OF A BROKEN HEART. When you’re not afraid to love, it’s inevitable to experience some pain. SANDY COMPTON - THE SCENIC ROUTE
16. MAGICAL FRUITS. No, it’s not time to plant beans, but if you want summer sweetness, there’s much that can be done now. NANCY HASTINGS - GET GROWING
17. THE TRUMPETER SWAN. Even for non-birders, these glorious birds are a harbinger of spring. MIKE TURNLUND - A BIRD IN HAND
18. ANGELS WALK AMONG US Those with a serious illness never walk their path alone. AC WOOLNOUGH - ALL SHOOK UP
19. WOOD CHUCKLE. When it’s time to tackle a window-maker, consider choosing a day with no wind. SCOTT CLAWSON - ACRES N’ PAINS
Add Some Love to Your Life!
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Page 6 April 2016
It’s Baaaaack
The Kootenai National Forest has released its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Rock Creek Mine. This document was revised from the 2001 Record of Decision which gave the go-ahead to Sterling/Genesis to begin work on the mine. Local and regional environmental groups appealed the 2001 decision which resulted in fifteen years of scrutiny and rewrites by the agencies. This recently released document is much more thorough and includes many improvements.
Some of the positive changes were self-evident after observing the mistakes made at the similar Troy Project copper/silver mine. To avoid underground ceiling collapses and above ground subsidence— experienced at Troy Mine — the ‘cavern and pillar’ design has been toned down to a room and pillar with the height of the rooms limited to no more than 30’ and the pillars left are much thicker.
Many of the positive changes were a direct result of public concern about water quality. Double lined pipes will be used to transport the contaminated water
which will be reused, then filtered and treated. The tailings will be dewatered from slurry to a paste consistency. There will be monitoring wells and emergency backup systems in place.
Kootenai National Forest, recognizing that oversight to assure that the mining company is following the approved designs was often lacking at the Troy Project, (partly because the mining company owned the land above the mine and partly due to lack of consistency within the agencies), have proposed setting up Technical Advisory Groups (TAGS) to follow the activities to make certain all the necessary regulations and preapproved designs are followed.
The minerals underneath the Cabinets were first claimed by Kennecott/Bear Creek, and have changed hands numerous times: ASARCO, Sterling/Genesis, Revett, and now Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Coeur d’ Alene, own the claims.
Hecla has been holding informational meetings to introduce their Rock Creek Mine and water treatment proposal. Hecla’s new computer model, relying
The Rock Creek Mine project, long relegated to the archives, is now front and center again with a new owner, and a new
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
by Lou Springer
On the surface, our mountain ranges are just another, stunning part of the natural beauty that causes so many to see this area as God’s Country. Covered in forest, dotted with mountain lakes and streams, and home to a diverse selection of wild game not often seen in the Lower 48, the Cabinet Mountains of the eastern side of the Panhandle were formed over 40 million years ago.
The foundation floor of the Cabinets (and most of the Panhandle, not to mention Montana) are the remains of what was once a massive, inland sea; ancient silts and muds that metamorphosed over 1.3 billion years ago. Far underneath our feet, and running within the Belt Supergroup foundation, is found the Revett Formation — host to ore-bearing veins of silver and copper. Drilling and geochemical studies taken in the 1970s just outside the boundary of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness of Montana suggested that a portion of this formation, 34 feet thick and ten miles long, could be found within the boundaries of the wilderness area, and might contain up to 70 million tons of “inferred subeconomic resources” (identified resources that do not meet the economic criteria of reserves) — in other words, copper and silver.
In the more than 40 years since, a number of companies have sought permission to exercise their “right” to remove this 70 million tons of rock to extract the copper and silver expected to be found within, despite its location within a federally protected wilderness area. And a number of individuals and organizations have successfully demanded revisions to those plans to ensure that the removal is done without detrimental impact to the surrounding area. The latest round in this effort began when the Kootenai National Forest (parent of the Wilderness area), issued its most recent Environmental Impact Statement, which details the conditions under which this ore may be mined.
In order to get at the copper, mining companies have proposed digging it out: in this particular case, digging an
adit to the ore body and then blasting ‘rooms’ for ore removal, leaving ‘pillars’ to support the ground above. This is the method which resulted in ground subsidence and created dangerous conditions in the now closed Troy Mine.
The rock thus removed will be moved by conveyor belt to a nearby facility, where it will be crushed, ground, and then mixed with an oil that makes the copper particles water repellent. A foaming agent is added, and the mixture is then bathed. Air jets in the water force the copper particles into foaming bubbles which are skimmed off the surface. The crushed rock that remains is then piled to the side — a mountain of waste that
opponents to the mine say will cover a half square mile to the height of 300 feet, creating an artificial “mountain” just off of Highway 200 near Noxon. That mountain will still contain the lead, zinc and arsenic that are also a part of the Revett Formation, along with the nitrates deposited by the blasting process, and will rest less than a mile from the Clark Fork River. The water used in the process — approximately 576,000 gallons per day — will be discharged, along with its contaminants, directly into the Clark Fork River, flowing into Lake Pend Oreille and points south and west on its way to the Pacific Ocean.
-Trish Gannon
Just What Is the Rock Creek Mine Project?
April 2016 Page �
upon the vastly improved water treatment systems, shows a dramatic decrease in toxic waste water. Water discharges, containing arsenic, cadmium, copper and lead, decrease from 2,000 gallons per minute to 400. This model includes evaporation and dust abatement spraying among the tools to reach this lower number. Evaporation and spraying are short term activities in this cloudy, rainy valley.
400 gallons per minute will be sprayed under water to mix with the Clark Fork River below the Noxon
dam. A Hecla handout states the Clark Fork is already polluted to the extent that mine wastewater will “actually be cleaner than the river water itself.” A bar graph demonstrates large amounts of metals present in the river and shows what comparably small amounts will be
Hecla states the Clark Fork River is already so polluted that mine wastewater will “actually be cleaner than the river water itself.”
discharged daily by the diffuser pipe. However, the condition of the Clark
Fork when the water testing was done reflects the outflow from the disastrous Milltown dam failure in 1997 that sent Butte copper mining waste our way. The Hecla model expects .07 pounds of arsenic; 1.02 pounds of copper and .14 pounds of lead discharged daily into the river. That is nearly 25 pounds of arsenic and 50 pounds of lead per year for 30 some years. Depending upon dilution only washes the problem downstream, until blocked by a dam or slowed by a
lake where the heavy metals sink and accumulate.
The tailings impoundment will weigh 100,000,000 tons. It will be less than 300 feet above and under a mile north of the river and is perched upon ancient lake deposits that precariously cling to
the steep sides of the Cabinets. These soils have proven to be unstable; from the 16 mile marker east on Highway #200, the highway department has had to raise the roadbed over a dozen times. The highway, the railroad and the river all lie down slope from the proposed tailings site. The lower Clark Fork Valley is the wettest habitable spot in Montana, and often suffers flooding from intense rain on snow events. Many people see a catastrophic failure of the impoundment due to landslide as an unacceptable risk.
After 40 years of questioning, it still has not been explained why the tailings cannot be backfilled into those empty honeycombs. Naturally, crushed rock takes more space than solid stone, but if even a quarter of the waste could be returned, the tailings impoundment would weigh less and leak less toxicity. If it would be considered too expensive to backfill; what would it cost to clean up a river? A lake?
The Technical Advisory Group with oversight from the KNF and MT Dept of Environmental Quality will be charged to monitor mining activities. It sounds good, but while the TAGs can oversee, they do not have the power to revoke permits, nor shut the mine down if serious problems exist.
There is much to celebrate in the new document, not the least the evidence that the lead agency has learned from past experience and is attempting to mitigate expected problems. Hecla has made a much more serious commitment to water quality than the other mining companies, and a lot of folks were employed gathering data and preparing the document. Yet it will not satisfy those people who distrust state and federal agencies to follow through. It will not placate those who are familiar with climate and soils in the valley. It will not stop the skeptics from writing another letter.
The public comment period on the Draft EIS for the Rock Creek Mine has been extended to April 19. Mail your comments to: Michael Huffine, Kootenai National Forest, 31374 US Hwy 2, Libby MT 59923-3022 . Email comments can be sent to [email protected] . The subject line must contain the project name: Rock Creek Project.
More Bee, Less AntThe Cabinet Mountain Mines are not like anthills with tunnels throughout. They are more like huge, underground honeycombs. The silver/copper bearing zones are thick; therefore the mining companies determined upon a room
and pillar design for both Troy and Rock Creek mines.
Page � April 2016
In the Jaws of a DilemmaWhat should be done about dogs caught in wolf traps
Mary Franzel was doing what she does frequently — taking her dogs for a walk out in our beautiful back yard. An inveterate hiker, there’s not many areas off-limits to her explorations, but this day’s mid-March hike was a simple jaunt on Clark Fork’s Lightning Creek Road, a public, graveled road that leads north out of town, past the cemetery and providing access to multiple dozens of homeowners.
Mary was cross-country skiing on the road surface just past the East Fork bridge when her dog, Morgan, walking at the edge of the road, stepped into a leg-hold trap belonging to Gary (Last Name Withheld*), intended to catch wolves.
This was the second time one of Mary’s dogs stepped into a wolf trap (the first time was on Avista property, involving an illegal trap) and, because the dog was calm, she took the time to snap a single picture, positive the trap had been illegally set.
But it wasn’t. Even though Morgan’s back legs were still on the roadbed, the trap location fell into the Forest Service guidelines, which allow traps to be set within 5 feet of the center line of a maintained road or trail, though off the traveling surface. Gary had followed the law precisely; he says the trap was initially 5’ from the edge of the road (though likely the dog pulled it closer after being trapped).
Steward Berkley’s story is different. He had let Nanuk, a Great Pyrenees, outside the door of his rural home to do his business. But when he went to call the dog back in, “he was long gone.” For the next three days Steward and his family looked in the woods for his dog, with no luck. On day three, the dog returned home, close to death and with an injured foot that told the tale of his having been caught in a leg-hold trap. Even worse, all the dog’s bottom teeth on the right side, and some on the left side, had been worn down where he tried to bite his way out of the trap. “Luckily he survived,” said Steward. “That’s the good thing.”
(Steward believes the trapper released the dog when he returned to check his trap.)
Steward finally found where a trap had been set on his neighbor’s property — a neighbor who had not given permission to anyone to set traps. “I talked to Fish and Game and they decided not to do anything about [the illegal] trap,” he said. “They told me that in cases on private property, they generally lose because of the size of the sign.”
What he’s referring to are the byzantine requirements of Idaho’s no trespass law. Though hunters and trappers are not allowed to engage in those activities on private land, they are not required to determine whether the land they’re on is private or not — that’s up to the land owner. The No Trespassing signage requirements include marking every 660 feet with a sign, or by painting trees or posts with at least 100 square inches of high-visibility orange paint. There is no requirement to post “cultivated” land, like a hay field, however. In Steward’s case, the trap had been set 50’ from a for sale sign.
It’s hard to know how serious a problem this is, as Fish and Game says they rarely get any calls about the issue, even though Mary has their number on speed dial. But as population continues to increase in areas that were once mostly wild, and as more and more people recreate — with their pets — in areas where traps are being set for wolves, a conversation is likely warranted.
And given that traps can be set alongside any road — including public highways and county roads — that conversation would preferably happen before a young child is caught in a trap.
Mary would like to see the “5’ from the centerline” distance increased. So would my source at Fish and Game.
“If you’re out in the woods and off-trail, then you should be aware of the possibility of traps. If your dog gets caught in one out there, it’s on you,” Mary says. “But when you’re walking on the
trail, or right next to it, you should have a reasonable expectation of safety.”
Steward would like to see the laws changed regarding private property. “It shouldn’t be the landowner’s responsibility to post their property,” he said. “It should be the hunter or trapper’s responsibility to know where they are.” Steward said he was once a commercial fisherman in Florida, “and I had to know where I could fish and where I couldn’t.”
He would also like to see trappers mark areas where traps are set, something they are reluctant to do given the high likelihood that anti-trapping zealots would damage or steal their traps.
Both would also like to see the elimination of conibear traps, which are designed to kill the trapped animal by crushing, even if it’s your family’s pet.
Mary and Steward want to make it clear that they’re not calling for an end to trapping. “Accidents are accidents,” said Steward. “I don’t think trappers want to be trapping someone’s pet, either.”
That’s a sentiment that Gary agrees with wholeheartedly. When he learned that Mary’s dog had gotten caught in one of his traps, he called her immediately to offer his apologies. He also agreed not only to set his traps a little further off the road, but to let Mary know when he sets traps in the area in the future, given it is a place she frequently likes.
Mary has nothing but praise for Gary’s position, and to listen to the pair of them talk offers hope that respectful conversation — and maybe even compromises — is obtainable on this issue that’s controversial in many areas.
Gary cautioned, however, that he can only speak for his own situation, and not for trappers in general, adding that, “I would want to see everyone involved in making any changes.”
Judging from comments made by trappers in the past, they are concerned about a slippery slope — that a distance increase today will mean a further distance tomorrow, and even further after that. The problem with slippery
April 2016 Page �
slopes, however, is that it assumes that people in the future can’t make a reasoned decision. And while Internet comment forums may lend credence to that fear, it’s not something that should stop a community from determining what is in its own best interest.
Yet Gary — and Mary — demonstrate that the first step in doing just such a thing is for each proponent to understand the other’s concerns, and act with respect.
One important issue to understand is that the most efficient way to trap wolves is for those traps to be close to roadways — preferred travel corridors for wolves in the winter just as much as they are for any other critter, including humans. Set a trap too far from the road, and there’s little chance a wolf is going to wander into it.
In addition, trappers are required by law to check their traps every 72 hours. Again, if traps are too far from a roadway, winter conditions can make that requirement almost impossible to meet.
That the current system works from a trapper’s position is obvious, given that Gary and his partner have caught ten wolves just from that area of Lightning Creek since 2010. “Put those traps another 25’ out, and that will cut out 70 percent of the wolves that are caught,” he explained.
Gary also shares concerns about marking trap locations, though he says some trappers do so voluntarily as it is. But traps are expensive, costing anywhere from a simple, $20 trap to ones costing hundreds of dollars. And both vandalism and theft are concrete problems: the day that Mary’s dog was trapped, two of Gary’s traps on that line were stolen. (As fate would have it, the perpetrator’s truck got stuck, almost
literally leaving him caught red-handed; he has been cited and fined.)
While there are more people recreating in the woods than there were even a few years ago, it should be noted that trapping season occurs only in the winter, when fewer people are in the woods, and that traps are set, naturally, in places where wolves are found. It’s not likely anyone will stumble upon a trap very close to an area with a lot of human activity. Gary added, however, he has noticed “tons of horn hunters out using dogs,” adding, “We try to stay as far away from people as we can.”
Two years ago, a “working group” for the Panhandle Region for Fish and Game did make a recommendation that the setback distance be increased, and that the use of conibear traps be limited. Ironically, Mary actually served on that committee. But again, according to that source in Fish and Game, Fish and Game Commissioners just didn’t see the traps as an issue worth addressing; at least, not at that time.
Commissioners, by the way, don’t get to change the rules even if they wanted
to. What they can do is make a recommendation to the Legislature, where any rule change would ultimately be debated.
Those conibear traps, by the way, are designed to kill an animal, and will crush a wolf (or a dog) in seconds. (Gary does not set conibear traps.)
So what should people do? If you think this is something that should be addressed, write or call the Fish and Game Commissioner for the Panhandle Region, Brad Corkill. (His
contact information is here: http://bit.ly/1UtgOgO). Urge your legislator to take action. But above all, educate yourself.
“If you regularly go out in the woods with your dogs, then it’s imperative you learn how to release your dog from a trap,” said Mary, who added that the Fish and Game website has videos to show how that is done.
It is also the law that dogs on public land must be kept on a leash at all times. Note that if you come upon a trap, it is also illegal to move or take the trap from its original location.
Wolf trapping season runs from November 15 through March 31 in Bonner and Boundary counties. Traps may also used to catch badger, beaver, bobcat, red fox, marten, mink, muskrat, river otter, coyote, skunks (spotted and striped), long tail weasels, raccoon and ermine. But because wolves are far more likely to use roads for travel, most traps near roads are intended for wolves.
-Trish GannonNOTE: I did not use Gary’s last name
in this story given that some people can be total jerks sometimes, and I didn’t want my source exposed to nasty
Because Mary’s dog Morgan was calm at the time (and because she thought the trap was illegally set), Mary took time to snap this photo. Morgan, though she
limped for a while, is fine. But this is a hazard anyone who recreates in the back country should be aware of during the trapping season.
Page 10 April 2016
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Holiday ShoresClark ForkHay’s ChevronMonarch MarketClark Fork BeverageSamuelsSamuels Service StationElmiraElmira StoreNaplesNaples Gen. StoreBonners FerrySuper One FoodsSafeway
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Idaho’s Primaries - Round 2With presidential voting out of the
way, Idaho residents can next participate in the political process in the primary election for all local, state and non-presidential federal positions on Tuesday, May 17. Voters can cast their ballots at their normal polling place, or can pick up an absentee ballot for voting at the county clerk’s office.
Primary voting is by party ballot only. In 2011, a new law “closed” primary elections in the state, restricting voters to only vote in the party election for the party to which they are registered, unless the party itself chooses to allow those outside the party to vote.
The Democratic Party is allowing “Unaffiliated” voters, as well as voters affiliated with all other political parties, to participate in their primary election in 2016. However, only registered Republican voters will be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary. Note: After March 11, 2016, voters affiliated with a political party may not change their affiliation until after the Primary Election in May. If you are not currently affiliated with a party, or if you are not registered to vote, you may do so at your polling place at the time of election, or at the county clerk’s office.
Party affiliation choices in Bonner County include Constitution, Democrat, Libertarian, Republican, or Unaffiliated (no party preference).
The Republican party chose not to open its primary this year, a change that was confusing to many, and in our last
Remember, your tax filing (or an extension) is due by April 15. There is help available for filing taxes to any veteran whose income is below $53,505 for the year. Call 509-353-4851 to schedule an appointment!
A Veteran’s Stand Down will be held at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d’Alene on May 7 from 0800 to 1400 hours. Help and support is available related to housing, employment, family activities, medical and dental care, estate and will clinics, plus brunch and haircuts are provided. There is military surplus for homeless veterans only, and a limited amount of veterinary care is available.
The fairgrounds are located at 4056 N. Government Way. For more information, call Eric Swanbeck at 208-664-3895. Don’t forget to bring your military or VA ID, or your DD214.
Veterans’ News
Local organizations supporting veterans are encouraged to share
their information. Please email your updates, events and issues
to [email protected]. Information must be received by the 25th of each month for the
following month’s events.
issue of the River Journal, we added to this confusion by failing to clarify that the deadline for affiliating as a Republican — March 11 — applied only to those voters who were already affiliated with another party. This is a great embarrassment to me, and I sincerely apologize for adding to the confusion. If you have never registered to vote in Bonner County, you may register, and if you affiliate as a Republican, vote in the Republican primary at any time between now and election day. If you are registered to vote but registered as an unaffiliated voter, you may change your affiliation to Republican and vote in the Republican primary at the time you choose to vote from now until election day. If, however, you are currently affiliated with another party, you may not at this time change your affiliation in order to vote in the Republican primary.
Voters affiliated with the Constitution party may vote on the Constitution, Democratic, or the non-partisan ballot.
Voters affiliated with the Democrat party, the Libertarian party, or who have chosen to remain unaffiliated, may vote on the Democrat ballot or the non-partisan ballot.
Voters affiliated with the Republican party may vote on the Republican ballot, the Democrat ballot, or the non-partisan ballot.
Note that non-partisan issues and the election of judges are included on all party ballots, not just the non-partisan ballot itself. -TG
April 2016 Page 11
Act (H.R. 4731), Labrador has become a leader of the ‘anti-refugee’ xenophobic contingent.
Let us move further down the ballot and look at Idaho Senate candidates in LD 1 and LD 7. In LD 1 the incumbent, Senator Shawn Keough, is being challenged (again) within her own party. This time the challenge comes from Glen Rohrer of Priest River. Mr. Rohrer is on record as saying that the county’s Resolution about keeping Syrian refugees out of Idaho wasn’t worded ‘strongly enough.’ Somehow, he sees a threat of Idaho being taken over by a small handful of women and children. That outcome seems to be highly unlikely since we Idahoans can carry all the weapons we want. Mr. Rohrer also is on record opposing the child support bill that passed in last year’s special session. He seems to think that ensuring all states have uniformity in the handling of child support payments is a threat to Idaho’s sovereignty. He is in line with Rep. Heather Scott and the rest of the Far Right wing of the GOP. In my opinion, Sen. Keough is doing a great job for all of LD 1 and deserves to be retained.
In the primary races for LD 1 Rep. Heather Scott is unopposed but shouldn’t be. She has given ample evidence that she is only concerned with herself and the Far Right of the GOP— not the majority of Idahoans. I’m disappointed that the vast majority of GOP voters haven’t found someone to make a contest of this race. However, fear not— Rep. Scott will face a formidable opponent in the General election. Kate McAlister, running as a Democrat, brings many skills to the fray. Along with being well spoken, knowledgeable and wicked smart, Kate would work well with both sides of the aisle and be a real asset in the House.
In LD 7, Ken Meyers is on the Democrat ballot running against the unopposed incumbent Senator Sheryl Nuxoll. Jessica Chilcott is on that same ballot running against incumbent Representative Shannon McMillan. Priscilla Giddings is challenging Rep. Shannon McMillan within the GOP.
In my first piece last month I spoke mostly in broad terms about the importance of registering to vote, becoming an ‘informed voter,’ actually going to the polls and voting in your own best interests. All too few of us actually do all four of those things. Most of us vote by rote. “We’ve always voted fill in the blank. Why should we change?” Well, I’ll tell you why. Most of the current crop of incumbents from the Federal level to the county level has, in my opinion, no real interest in serving the voters. They are mostly interested in serving their own agendas.
At the federal level, CD 1 Rep. Raul Labrador wants to weaken the power of the federal government and turn all federal lands over to the states. Why would anyone who loves our freedom of access to ‘the People’s Land’ for hunting, fishing and other recreation even consider that a wise move on our parts? The states couldn’t afford to fight wildfires. Nor could they afford to maintain the road systems on these lands. In my opinion, the first thing that would happen is that the states would sell their newly acquired real estate (or its resources) to private entities.
Following the sale of those lands we would likely see ‘No Trespassing’ signs —along with ‘No Hunting’ and ‘No Fishing’ signs. There goes one reason that I moved to Idaho over 35 years ago! Labrador and his small number of Congressional cohorts are anti-worker, against raising the minimum wage and funded by extremely conservative backers like the Koch brothers. As a working individual, do you think that a vote for Labrador is in your best interests?
Oh, and one other thing about Rep. Labrador: he was largely responsible for shutting down the government in October 2013 and taking 24 billion dollars from the economy and approximately 0.06 percent out of the GDP. Why did he do this? He and a few other Congressmen tried, once again, to defund the Affordable Care Act. With the introduction on 3/16/2016 of the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration
In the Bonner County Commissioner’s race, we have a real interesting scenario developing. Former Commissioner Lewis Rich is going against Dan McDonald for the seat being vacated by Cary Kelley in District 3, and Jeff Connolly will face off against incumbent Tom Suddick for the District 2 seat. With the turmoil that the incumbents have created over the Planning Department, and changes in hearing rules, this should be an interesting primary race. As Bette Davis is oft quoted, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
I cannot forget to mention one other race that caught my eye. Recently retired ISP Trooper Terry Ford is challenging incumbent Sheriff Daryl Wheeler. Both of these candidates have extensive backgrounds in law enforcement. Ford is a ‘native son’ and Wheeler is a relative newcomer to the Gem State. It will be interesting to see how this race plays out in May.
It is important for every age-eligible resident to register to vote and become informed. If we are to become a true representative democracy, we must go to the polls in May and again in November. That is the only way we, as citizens, can earn the right to bitch about our elected officials.
Contested Primary Races by Gil BeyerA retired Navy man, Gil Beyer has served
as a library trustee and on the county Planning & Zoning
board, (where he had the distinction of being fired from a volunteer
position). He is currently the county Democratic State Committeeman
and LD1 Chair.
Here in the Middle
Idaho’s primary elections for local, state and federal races (excluding
the Presidential race) will be held on Tuesday, May 17. Voters may vote on
either a Republican or a Democrat ballot, but not on both. See story on
page 6 for further rules regarding the May primary.
Page 12 April 2016
The football coach was running a tough practice in early September when he noticed one of his players appeared to be taking a nap instead of knocking out pushups like the rest of his team.
“Smith!” the coach cried out. “What’s the matter with you, are you ignorant or apathetic?”
“I dunno coach,” the player responded. “And I don’t care.”
•••This about sums up the past two
decades of the Democratic Party in Bonner and Boundary counties as well as the great state of Idaho.
Ignorant AND apathetic are two reoccurring themes I have witnessed during the past two decades as a once robust, two-party state morphed into a GOP-controlled fantasyland as the Dems stood on the sidelines.
That is about to change.Like all good fantasies, kingdoms or
fiefdoms, the GOP is starting to realize it has created too much of a good thing. Card-carrying Republicans — a necessity thanks to closed primaries — are now fighting amongst themselves and the party is breaking up faster than a kegger at the home of a friend whose parents just turned into the driveway.
It is a self-inflicted wound perpetuated by power hungry wannabes who are draped in the American flag in a hyperventilated bastardization of patriotism who have or attract more dollars than sense. The standard bearers of the GOP have all but been swept away during the past few election cycles and
Re-Engaging the Processthat has given rise to folks like Reps. Heather Scott and Sage Dixon.
These two loons have gone out of their way to not represent their state and have embarrassed nearly everyone who has any sense at all.
This column, newspaper or even the Internet isn’t spacious enough for me to summarize the idiotic words and deeds accumulated during the past two sessions by these two. For giggles, just Google: “The little Supreme Court in my head says this is OK” or “I embrace the Confederate flag” and I will stand next to it on a parade float and then deny it.
This is just the tip of an ignorant iceberg. In the good old days, these two would have been uninvited to the GOP and might have eventually worked their way up to the committee that places voter signs in lawns.
Reps. Scott and Dixon have always been the laughing stock of the Democrats but now even the Republicans are running and hiding.
•••What are we going to do about it?How about we all raise our right
hands … oops don’t do it, Donald Trump tried that.
How about we all just do something crazy and get out and vote in November?
If you need a warmup, there is a primary election in early May that actually has a contested race on the Democratic side. In the race for House District 1B, real Democrat (?) Sarah Althea Brotherton is challenged by fake Democrat Bob Vickaryous. Vickaryous’
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April 2016 Page 13
The Way I See It by David Keyes
David Keyes is the former publisher of the Bonner
County Daily Bee, Bonners Ferry
Herald, and Priest River Times.
strong beliefs in gun control, birth control, equal treatment for transgenders and women as well as keeping the Bible the hell out of the classroom isn’t at all true, but is fun to write. He is actually right of the John Birch Society and is running as a Democrat in case the incumbent look Sage Dixon somehow can’t run.
To further complicate things on the ballot, Stephen F. Howelett is also running as a Democrat for this position, but as a write-in candidate. He won’t be on the ballot as he initially filed (mistakenly) to run for House District 1A. He has withdrawn that filing to run as a write-in in District 1B.
Sen. Shawn Keough has tried to stay out of the Tea Party/Heather Scott/Sage Dixon crazy train by actually representing the vast majority of North Idahoans as co-chair of the powerful JFAC committee. She has been a voice of reason partially as an antidote to Scott and Dixon. She barely retained her senate seat last election and Scott, Dixon and the rest of the Tea Party Republicans found someone who fits their standards to run against Keough in the primary — Glenn Rohrer of Priest River.
Idaho’s most influential and longest serving female senator would have been taken out by a Tea Party newbie last election if Boundary County didn’t save her. It was that close. It could very well be closer this time around.
Two election cycles ago, the local Democrats were in such bad shape they planned to hold their yearly meeting in a phone booth on Cedar Street in Sandpoint. The old joke was — what was more endangered, North Idaho
Democrats or phone booths?•••Fast forward to this year. The
Democrats held a raucous caucus for the ages at the fairgrounds and throughout the state. Record numbers turned out for the Bernie Blitzkrieg or the Hillary Hootenany, depending on your take.
The buzz of the night was how the Democrats have finally loaded the bases with quality candidates and it looks like they are right.
••• Take a long look at who is running
for office this year. I think you will be impressed! Even District 7 (or Ward 7 as it is called) incumbents have great challengers.
Let’s ride this wave of enthusiasm and keep the common sense that we have previously elected (see Sen. Shawn Keough) and let’s put some people in powerful positions who actually want to do something.
It’s time to re-engage and to cast informed votes. I intend to start an adopt- a-Tea-Party-voter campaign where voters can choose which Tea Party regular their vote is going to cancel out. I hereby volunteer to cancel out Heather Scott’s vote and cast a vote for Kate McAlister.
How about you?
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Page 1� April 2016
My job as a Christ Follower is to show as much of Christ’s love as possible to a world that would just as soon not hear about it. It isn’t because people don’t want to be loved. They do. It is because our world has such a messed up definition of love that to see the real thing is both confusing and unbelievable, embarrassing even. When it comes to the love of God, it is rare that anyone accepts it on their own. There is usually a catalyst involved which can be anything from an unworldly experience in the mountains of Nepal to watching the peaceful passing of Grandmother, to simply realizing that we need a path to the God we know exists but we cannot communicate with.
How many times have you heard someone say “Dear God, if you are out there….”
He is out there. And so is the enemy. We all live in a desperate world.
People are desperate for a leader. Some are desperate to protect the earth. Some are desperate to be physically or mentally healed. Everyone is desperate to be loved. The enemy would like for us to believe two things:
1. That God does not exist. 2. If he does exist He is not interested
The Great Antibiotic by Kathy OsborneKathy’s Faith Walk
in us and certainly does not love us. How awful.
You and I know He exists because of the evidence all around us in nature, in the spiritual, and in the miraculous, unexplainable way everything works together. None of us get a free pass on this. We are all without excuse. Romans 1:18 discusses this.
To the second thought, is God interested in you and me? Without understanding why Jesus died on the cross outside Jerusalem we will never know that God is extremely interested in all of us. It really is so simple. We just need to read or listen and believe.
In many world religions man must work to perform duties to his chosen god in hopes that he/she will be heard, the sacrifice accepted, and forgiveness will come. But there is no way to know if forgiveness has come. There is no proof of forgiveness, of acceptance, or of love. This is agony and without forgiveness we are sick.
With Jesus it is different. Everyone in the world starts out separated from God because of our sin nature. The nature of sin is rebellion against God and He cannot allow it in His presence. It has to be dealt with, paid for, washed off, cleaned out ... it is for all intents and purposes an infection.
So what do you do if you love someone but they have an infection you cannot be near? You find a way to remove the infection. You find a way that destroys the infection but allows the object of your love to live. The removal of the infection requires an antibiotic.
So in a very real spiritual sense, the
Kathy Osborne is the editor of the quarterly
publication, the Co-Op Country
Round-Up
Blood of Jesus is an antibiotic for the infection of sin.
When Jesus died on the cross and all of His blood flowed out of His body onto the ground, His blood was (is) used to clear out the sin infection in all of us both deliberately and permanently. However, as with all antibiotics, it does no good unless the patient actually takes it into his/her body (or in this case, into the heart) and allows the medication to work. This means, all we have to do is ask Him to do this for us. It can be done in the privacy of our home, in a church, in the car on a drive, while walking in the park ... anywhere. God is everywhere just waiting for you to make a move toward him so He can come rushing into your life and save it.
It is that simple. We can deny that we have an infection ... but ... without the antibiotic we are going to die. With the antibiotic, we are forgiven and we will live. We know this because the Bible tells us so.
John 3:16-17 states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in him should not die, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” This is the love we are all looking for. If we accept it, how do we know we are forgiven? 1 John 1:9 tells us if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (estrangement from God). Through this we can know that we are both loved and forgiven.
Resurrection Day (Easter) has come and gone, and Passover is coming up very soon. Churches all over the world are going to be talking about the Sacrificed Lamb of Passover, and the Crucified Jesus of Resurrection Day. The Lamb and Jesus are one and the same.
If you have not yet allowed Jesus to clean your heart with His blood, please consider doing so this holiday season. If you do, you will have life and that more abundantly.
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April 2016 Page 1�
April. Or almost. There are little itty-bitty green leaves poking out of the ends of nine-bark and snowberry and dogwood stems. I got pollinated by a Sitka alder on a hike last week — it left a great big bright yellow spot on my black watch cap — mostly because I wasn’t watching exactly where I was going. The snow geese and tundra swans have disappeared from Denton Slough and Bull River in the direction of the Yukon. The light has returned.
Spring is upon us, the season when a young man’s fancy turns to love. And some not-so-young men as well. I suspect this is true of the other gender as well, but not being of that gender, I really can’t say.
Love is all fine and good, but, as many of us know, it can prove a dangerous field as well. Where there is the light of love, a broken heart often waits in the shadows. To love someone, something, is to take a risk. Nothing lasts forever; no human, no institution, no pet, no job, no relationship. True, some last longer than others — some last a lifetime — but in some manner or another, they all come to an end. And there lies that broken heart waiting in the shadows.
Broken hearts come in many varieties. Pierced. Pulverized. Cracked. Shattered. Torn. Ripped. Badly bruised. Constricted by grief. Smashed to smithereens. Reactions vary as well. Disillusionment. Depression. Paralysis. Catharsis. Galvanization. Frenzy. Anger. And many combinations thereof.
Not that I would know, you understand. I’m just ruminating here, trying to decide what I would do if I ever did get a broken heart.
Yeah, right. I’ve had my share of broken hearts.
Maybe even more than my share, though I’m not sure of that. Who knows what the quota for broken hearts is? Same old heart, but it still breaks from time to time. Then, I heal it up as best as I can, and, at some point or another, take another chance. At least that’s what I’ve done so far.
Sometimes it takes a while to get back
to the chance-taking place. My personal record is I’m-not-going-tell-how-many years. More than one. Less than 20.
The grand thing about a broken heart is that it proves that the owner was not afraid to love, that they were willing to take that chance and truly care. A broken heart is a badge of honor. It is not the scar of cowardice or the malaise of apathy or the curse of hopelessness. It is a medal bestowed on those brave enough to love someone. Or something. Or a cause. It proves courage and vulnerability at once.
A broken heart can also prove the cause, the something, the someone. Just because it didn’t work out doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the risk. To know this, truly know this, is a pricey bit of knowledge. It costs a broken heart. And sometimes more. Perhaps a loss of faith. A crisis of self. A multitude of tears. And some hours of sleep.
It might seem more appropriate to hide this away in a journal somewhere, but if I do that, I have missed an opportunity to learn. And teach. That’s what we artistic sorts are supposed to do, after all, I think; provide opportunity for growth to ourselves and others. And maybe a little entertainment as well.
Someone will come to me and say. “This is what I know of broken hearts,” and we will have some healing time. What I know about this latest broken heart of mine is that I was not afraid to take the risk, and after doing so, I did my best. I tried for something I wanted very much, and I didn’t lose so much as I just didn’t win, and it wasn’t for lack of trying or because I quit. And, in all of it, I
The Value of a Broken Heart by Sandy Compton
Sandy Compton’s book The Scenic Route, as
well as his many others, is available online at bluecreekpress.com,
or at Vanderford’s Books or The
Corner Bookstore in Sandpoint.
The Scenic Route
stayed true to myself. I like that. It’s good to know.
So, there you go. Thanks for listening. No need to ask for details, because I ain’t telling. This is enough.
Today is Easter. A bunch of friends are headed toward my house even as I finish up this thought. We will engage in our annual Easter Beer Hunt and eat lots of wonderful food and have a fire to celebrate the season of salvation. There is a grouse drumming in the woods south of my house, as he and his ancestors have since I was a boy running wild in the spring woods, waiting for the dog-tooth violets to rise out of the forest floor, redeeming the world from winter.
Spring is also the season of hope. And I have some. And that is good.
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Page 16 April 2016
A true gardener may be most happy with their hands in the dirt, but there’s something to be said for the sheer excitement that comes when the days grow longer, and our earth slowly turns itself from winter into spring. And once we’ve had a couple sunny days in a row, we get asked a lot, “ Is it to early to start planting?” The short answer is “No.” The sooner you get trees and shrubs into the ground, the better. They will wake up naturally as Spring arrives. There are, of course, a couple caveats. If your ground is saturated, you should wait. If soil is disturbed while it’s too wet it takes the natural air pockets out. We need some air pockets to remain for the roots to and drain. If too wet, the ground will become compact and hardpan, making it difficult for the roots to grow.. We have an excellent selection of trees and shrubs here at All Seasons that spent the winter here and are ready
Wetting Your PlantsGet Growing! by Nancy Hastings
Nancy Hastings grew up on a 300-acre farm and owns All Seasons Garden and Floral in Sandpoint with her husband John. They
have been cultivating community gardens
and growing for almost two decades in North Idaho.
to wake up in your landscape. At this time of year, you should start
thinking fruit. Not all fruit — tomatoes still need to wait a bit. But there is a huge variety of berry bushes and fruit trees that are perfectly happy to be planted in the ground right now.
Research in the last 15 years has proven that side by side transplants using Mycorrhizae thrive and grow better in soils with Mycorrhizae than those without this fungal application. You will find Mycorrhizae integrated into many fertilizers including Dr Earth, Gardeners & Bloom and others. This starter fertilizer includes beneficial soil microbes, plus Mycorrhizae, and ensures what we plant gets established as quickly as possible.
Mycorrhizae are fungal filaments that extend and improve root systems given their efficiency in absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. It’s been shown that in natural settings, more than 90 percent of plants will establish this fungal, symbiotic relationship. These filaments are so fine that a thimbleful of soil can contain miles of them! Not only do the filaments allow a plant’s roots to obtain more water from the soil, they also release enzymes into the soil that dissolve hard-to-capture nutrients, such as organic nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, along with others.
While this relationship occurs
naturally in undisturbed soil, tilling, erosion, site preparation, compaction, the removal of topsoil, invading weeds, and leaving soils fallow can reduce or eliminate these beneficial soil fungi. Further, there are studies that suggest endo mycorrhizal fungal populations are slow to return to soils where they have been depleted without close access to natural areas of repopulation By reintroducing mycorrhizal fungi, the gardener can see a dramatic difference in plant health while using less water and fertilizer.
If your question was, “Is it too early to start my vegetable garden?, the short answer is absolutely “Yes!” There are cold-hardly plants you can seed directly right now — think green and leafy. Lettuces, cabbage, kale, spinach, chard and collards can be planted if your soil can be worked. Other vegetables, unless you own a greenhouse or some other type of season extender should wait.
Traditionally, in Bonner County, gardens are planted on the weekend that includes the Memorial Day holiday, or when the snow is off Mt. Baldy. (Memorial Day is May 30 this year.) Each particular garden, however, features its own special microclimate and, if you’re new to gardening, your best bet is to find a neighbor with a garden and ask their planting advice.
STORIES OF MONTANA’S CREATIONSaturday, April 23, 7pm MST
at the Heron Community Center in Heron, Mont.
Journey back to the year of Montana’s founding with a lively presentation from author Ken Egan about the various characters and events that shaped the state from its beginning. Egan talks about slected historical figures, and then leads a conversation
about Montana’s past and present, based on his book “Montana 1864,” commemorating Montana Territory’s
150th anniversary.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLICSponsored by Humanities Montana and the Heron
Grandview Museum.
April 2016 Page 1�
We are graced by two species of swans in our area, which might surprise a lot of people who, in the normal course of their existence, might not see either of them. One of the swan species is quite common and the other is quite uncommon. One I see every day in season, the other is a rare treat. But to the untrained eye, sometimes even to the experienced birder, the two birds look too similar to tell them apart. Welcome to the world of the Trumpeter Swan, the spectacular bird with an identity crisis.
Here we go: the Tundra swan versus the Trumpeter swan. The Tundra swan is by far the most common swan species in our area, as they migrate through by the hundreds and thousands. Every spring and fall the quiet backwaters of Lake Pend Oreille and neighboring lakes and rivers play host to these big, beautiful, white, and distinctive birds as they fly through — north to the tundra regions of Canada and Alaska for the summer and then again south, toward the Pacific Coast and the Great Basin for the winter.
The Tundra swan is a classic swan in configuration: white, long neck, and elegant. But then, too, is the Trumpeter swan. How can a person tell them apart?
Whereas the Tundra swan is big, the Trumpeter swan is huge; it is easily twice the mass of a Tundra swan. Indeed, the Trumpeter is one of the largest flying birds in the world; part of a four-way tie with three other species of birds from around the world. But the Trumpeter swan does produce the largest egg of any flying bird species.
But size is difficult to use for identification purposes. Knowing that a Trumpeter is larger than a Tundra is not useful for differentiating between the two species unless the observer happens to see the two swans, side by side, for comparison. Tain’t gonna happen. So what else can a birder use for reference?
The identifiable differences are going to be in the size and structure of the beak and the head shape, both of which are going to require a good pair of binoculars to see. Here are the general rules of thumb that I use to tell the two swan species apart:
• The Tundra swan head shape is
Trumpeter Swan: A Very Special Bird
A Bird in Hand by Mike Turnlund
rounded on the crown, the whole head being a large feathered ovoid. The Trumpeter’s head is more pointed (not rounded) and sloped at the front, having a flat slope from the tip of beak to the top of the head. Its head is sort of like a right triangle. The Tundra also has a “notch” in the slope where the beak meets the forehead.
• The Tundra commonly has a bit of yellow at the base of the beak near the eyes, whereas the Trumpeter does not. But be warned, a significant minority of Tundras also lack this coloring.
• Lastly, from a distance (even when using the binoculars), the Trumpeter’s eyes seem to be part of the beak structure. There is no distinct separation of the eye from the bill in coloration or form. Not so with the Tundra. Although the separation is not perfect, the eye is more readily identifiable (and that, dear readers, was a pun).
Tundras are named for their preferred breeding habitat, Trumpeters for their bugling call. It is quite distinctive and, honestly, obnoxious. I remember being woken from a deep sleep far too early in the morning by a single Trumpeter while camping next to Henry’s Lake in southeastern Idaho. And then the Sandhill cranes decided to join the musical fray. Amazingly loud and utterly wild!
If this summer you happen to notice a pair of swans on a fair sized lake, they very well might be Trumpeters. They are rapidly expanding in population, having become nearly extinct a century ago. Tundras nest on the tundra, Trumpeters elsewhere. If that elsewhere is near you, take careful note!
There you go, swan-topia. Let’s go swan birding! You’ll need some good binoculars, a stealthy approach, and patience, but if the bird stars align, you might nab your first Trumpeter. Figuratively speaking. Happy Birding!
Do you love birds, and
want to know more? Check
out Mike’s bird photos, online at birdsidaho.blogspot.com.
208.263.4272
300 Bonner Mall Wayin PonderayBONNERMALL.COM
Seniors’ Day 9-12First Tuesday of every month
Special speaker from the Bonner County Sheriff
Monthly Used Book SaleSaturday, April 30 10-2
Bonner Mall Cinemas, J.C. Penney, Petco, Sayers, Sears, Smoker’s Express, Staples,
The Dollar Store, Vapor Depot, Walkers Furniture & Yokes
Fresh Market
Join Us For All Kinds Of Spring Savings at the Bonner Mall!
Week of the Young Child Art Display
April 10-15Art from local Preschools
Page 1� April 2016
Fear of the unknown preys on both the giver and recipient. How fast will the disease progress? Will dementia set in? Is a nursing home in the future? Will we lose all of our retirement savings? Will we lose our house? Irrational or not, these very real concerns can be overwhelming for everyone involved. A team approach including medical professionals (doctors, therapists, maybe even hospice) can and should be relied upon to provide input into patient care. Family can be the largest help or, conversely, a tremendous burden. Honest and open communication can resolve many issues and even help to heal old wounds as siblings and children unite to provide needed care for both patient and caregiver.
What can you, the reader do? Almost all of us know someone providing assistance to another. The most precious gift you can give them is time. Cover them to go shopping or shop for them. Stay with the patient so the caregiver can get some “me” time. If circumstances allow, take them to lunch, dinner or a movie. Simply give to the caregiver. Give them a chance to rest their wings.
Angels Walk Among Us by A.C. Woolnoughunique to them and to their role.
Becoming a caregiver is rarely a choice. Circumstance (cancer, an accident, a chronic disease) frequently dictates this new specialty. Responsibilities may include physical care, emotional support, medication reminders, transportation to, well, just about everywhere. Perhaps more difficult is managing decision making if there are cognitive issues such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. Who decides when it is time to stop driving? Who makes financial decisions? These and other difficult complicated issues are ripe for potential conflict. Throw adult children into the mix and the potential for hurt feelings or explosive confrontations becomes very real.
Some caregivers work around the clock, 24/7. This leads to other concerns. It’s been said you can’t pour milk from an empty jug. Frequently, the caregiver becomes exhausted both physically and spiritually. It is vital that the needs of the caregiver are addressed. Managing caregiver stress is critical to the physical, mental and emotional health of both the patient and the caregiver. Active stress reduction includes exercise, socializing, laughing and may include yoga, breath awareness and meditation or prayer.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are young; others not so much. Some are wives, husbands, partners, siblings, or offspring. Some are former strangers who often become part of the family. Whether you call them caregivers, care partners, or simply Angels, they all have one thing in common: they give of themselves to help others.
My caregiver, my Angel, is my incredible wife, Pamela. My Parkinson’s symptoms are limited, at this time, to tremors and a few non-motor issues. We are fortunate that her primary role is to provide extra emotional support to me — over and above being the special person and loving partner she has always been. Nevertheless, caregivers are special people with needs, hopes and fears
All Shook Up
A.C. Woolnough has spent a lifetime in education. He serves the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation as both a Research Asso. and a member of the People with Parkinson’s Advisory
Council. In addition, he is the Asst. State Director for the Parkinson’s Action Network.
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April 2016 Page 1�
If you have read much of what I’ve written, you know I have a hunger for all parts of nature. I know many naturalists and I understand and respect their passion. One group of naturalists who appear to be most zealous is the Birders. I thought of them when the Big Hat Gang of guys took over a bird sanctuary in Oregon.
In the politically charged season of today I always find it amazing that people try to change other’s opinions by calling them derogatory names. That appears to me to be the best way to stop any conversations.
However, I do think the boys with the big hats were somewhat misadvised when they felt they needed to get public attention by taking over the sanctuary.
Maybe they thought it would be an easy fight with various state and federal agencies; you know, SWAT teams and such. But they were quite misguided.
A bird sanctuary is the domain of the Birders, a tight knit community of stalwart and obsessive animal lovers who live by the tenet “Leave no trace.” Now doesn’t that sound rather ominous? I think I have heard M saying to 007, “I expect you back here in a week James, and leave no trace, understood.”
I would not start a conflict with anyone who lives by that rule. To understand how prepared they are to
Leave No Trace by Ernie Hawks
Ernie Hawks is the author of “Every Day is a High Holy
Day: Stories of an Adventuring Spirit,” available
on Amazon, Kindle or in
your favorite bookstore.
The Hawk’s Nestdefend their mission have you noticed many of the Birders drive Prius’ or other hybrid vehicles? If you were to ask them why, they will use catch phrases and buzz words like “carbon footprint, or global warming, or lowering fossil fuel use.” Note, these words are all code for stealth.
Imagine one of the Big Hat boys looking over the birds in the ponds and fields on a clear morning when suddenly he hears the soft whir of an electric window behind him. He looks around and sees the stealth vehicle, a blue haired Birder inside. He probably never realized he was between the Birder and the loon it was stalking. No one, absolutely no one, gets between a Birder and its loon. That was, no doubt, the first casualty of that radical experiment. Of course, you never heard about it because they (insert minor chord) leave no trace.
The birder had sneaked up behind him with that completely quiet car and now, who knows?
I imagine the car door opened and out stepped an ornery ornithologist, complete with extra long vision and photo memory. The blue hair against the clear blue sky in the background would have been working as camo, making the birder difficult to see. And then suddenly, there was no trace. The poor guy didn’t have a chance.
It is true a Birder is always quiet, but don’t think they aren’t hardcore. Many of them are tattooed. They wear tats of chestnut back chickadees, or ruby throated humming birds. I once saw
one unsheathe its arm from Gore-Tex, revealing a full colored tattoo of a Ruddy Duck.
I am sure the guys with the big hats who took over the Audubon Acres in Oregon had no idea what exactly they were up against. In fact, I kind of feel sorry for them. They don’t even realize you can’t take back public land, because all of us are the public so it is already ours and no one is more vehement about that fact than the Birders. Oh well.
During the stand-off there was one species hanging around the place that, no doubt, went unnoticed; it was the Western Hat Vulture. They understood right off the folly of the boys’ ways and also knew they would not be needing those cool big hats when orange becomes the fashion of the day.
Now every thing seems to be over and even though we may think it was ended by the state police, Fish and Game, and the FBI, don’t underestimate the Birders. Remember they (minor chord) leave no trace.
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Page 20 April 2016
Dawn rose demented like a moody warthog. Low clouds, scudding and tightly packed, were seemingly in a frenzied rush to find a loose scapegoat to flog repeatedly with cold icy showers, graupel and wind-driven detritus such as tree parts and small furry animals. Anyone already out doing or still inside procrastinating chores over another cup of motivation, knew for certain that conditions were of a temporary nature and likely to stay that way for a while.
Being a nature nut myself, I snubbed the obvious signs waving excitedly outside.
I also ignored our local ‘weather infomercialman’ who would, in a 90 percent to 98 percent probability range, inform me, “It’s going to be a simply fabulous day to come by and purchase this new boat I’m sitting in!” The other
likelihood would be, “Gonna be crappy all day, so come on down and buy one of these gorgeous Hot Tubs!” good salesman that he is. As a further note in either case, he’d follow up with, “…but don’t forget to stop in at the animal shelter and pick out one of these cute –OWE, Don’t Bite!” On and on until he, in a final effort to cover his ample perfidiousness, lets out, “and I’ll be fine tuning this, OUCH, forecast as the day, OUCH, progresses.” And always, “Coming up, I’ll be giving out our exclusive 21-day extended patchwork of possibilities!”
I checked the barometer instead – 28.7! Perfect. This is actually an ideal reading, as it has nowhere to go really but up! I couldn’t resist the sweet temptation of fate along with its savory companion, misery, and decided to go out to play anyway.
I pulled on my boots with happy anticipation garnished only by a very slight, almost gossamer, dusting of dread provided through the electrically charged hair follicles beginning to stand at attention on the back of my neck. A bonus I did not see coming!
Feeling energized, I zipped up my jacket, screwed on my hat and stepped outside to the usual scattering of bounding white tails and snorts of prancing indignation temporarily vacating our flower/deer bean beds. These are not your standard flower beds but those capable of changing from bright orderly rows of annuals, perennials and bulbs of various expense into inordinate piles of “Natures Milk Duds.”
I’d been successfully avoiding almost every opportunity to get a jump on
Wood Chuckle by Scott Clawson
next season’s firewood supply what with all the mild weather we’ve been enjoying (and probably, come May, will fondly reminisce about) but the reality of all the ‘wind damage’ to my trees from last fall was getting a grip on my comfortable procrastination.
Inasmuch as I’m still burning last season’s woodpile, you may be asking, as I certainly have, “Are you out of marbles? This is only April!”
Nope, I’ve got marbles I haven’t even begun to lose yet! Besides, last winter may still be with us through at least two or three settings of tomato plants, leaving little time to split and cure the next bunch before frostbite returns to warm the cockles of our hearts. Truth is, burning and curing seasons overlap as much as time (other stuff) and misery (mud) allow.
So, I headed over to the shop where my happy-go-lucky chain saw prefers to lay in wait, always ready to pounce on a good mood if one walks by wearing a silly grin like mine does. Gazing up at the clouds, I was reminded of a passage out of some long forgotten book, poem or boxcar graffiti I’d seen — ‘and the clouds looked dark and pregnant.’ I, of course, let out a hearty laugh at that and marched straight into the jaws of progress and impending amniotic fluids.
In my shop, as I listened to the metal roof rattle and hum from the wind, I sharpened my saw and checked its vitals, grabbed a wedge and a sledge, come-along, chain, tow rope, ear, eye and head protection, gloves, file, gas, bar oil, thermos and coffee mug and finally the sudden realization that I weighed approximately 389 lbs, well
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The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol 17 No. 18 | November 2008 | Page 5
increase nutrients, such as nitrogen and
This septic pilot project is being introduced in order to comply with water quality standards as determined by the Federal Clean Water Act. Designated to protect water quality, the plan, known as a “Total Maximum Daily Load” for Lake Pend Oreille, addresses nutrient issues
In addition, many lakeshore homeowners participated in a survey in 2007 concerning a variety of water quality issues. As is turns out, their
Council website at tristatecouncil.org.
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April 2016 Page 21
over the load limit set by my knees! In a flash of overdue self-preservation, I decided to use my wheelbarrow and headed uphill for a date with a “widow-maker” suspended thirty feet off the ground and, like a drunken sailor, hugging another for support.
Halfway there, I stopped to let my breath catch up, as it was obviously still down in the driveway somewhere trying to figure out where I went.
As gravity would have it, a rather large, opportunistic pinecone, densely unopened, made a surprisingly accurate sound bite of a golf ball bouncing off a concrete block, that note provided, of course, by my scull. My lips jettisoned a short verbal affidavit, a well-chewed toothpick and, I think, a little piece of my tongue. And just like Isaac Newton would have, I theorized this was a warning shot. So, donning my bright yellow ‘brain bucket’ just in time for it to ring from another cone calling, I ventured forth, upward, onward and undaunted. Note I did not say undented.
Meandering around, over, under and through downed saplings, stumps and deer beans on the same trail I would later be chucking cut lengths of stove sized firewood back down, I finally parked my gear in what I deemed a safe enough spot. Sizing up the situation required a few thoughtful
Scott Clawson ruminates on life
somewhere in the backwoods of
Careywood, and turns it all into humor. And he’s even on Pinterest now! (Facebook, too.)
Acres n Painsmoments as a mild gust tried unscrewing my lid and unsnapping my coat. The snag above me let out a groan and some ominous snapping sounds. Noticing the idiot below, it was probably just popping its knuckles in anticipation. I also heard a distinct grunt and thought it a fairly odd sound for a tree to make.
Now, geometry, calculus (the art of calculatin’) and physics (the art of gettin’ physical) have often been a laughing matter whenever mixed with my own particular talents when logging, as evidenced by some of my previous musings, but wind and its tendencies toward being fickle open up an even wider range of possibilities waaay beyond my own simple proclivities.
In a self-taught way, I mentally made lines of travel, angles of cuts and notches with constant variations for the sudden changes in wind velocity and direction, and finally, multiple routs of escape for that inescapable dreadnaught, Murphy’s Law.
I picked up my saw, locked the choke and throttle, set it on a stump, forced the toe of my right boot through the handle and gave roughly 900 pulls on the rope. Well, that was exaggerating some as I actually lost count after the rope broke.
Things perked up suddenly when that earlier grunt I heard gave out a thick, wet congratulatory snort from somewhere in the thicket behind me. This didn’t worry me anywhere near as much as did the fact that my right foot was still wedged in a ten pound chain saw as my now quite daunted but unfettered left leg did its lonely best to bound for home over, under and through downed saplings, stumps and deer beans.
Everything is undoubtedly still waiting up there for my return. It can wait however, as there’s still the rest of last season’s pile to burn through and I’m cured of jumping anything for the time being.
Page 22 April 2016
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April 2016 Page 23
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