By Donna Capurso

Moyie Springs

Our community is being assaulted by the federal government through the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Forest Service.  My grandfather used a term when I was growing up that I believe is the exact word to describe what is going on between the USFWS and the USFS.

The word is “cahoots” which is defined for those not familiar with its meaning as: “usually used in the plural, and often used to imply that the joint effort is unethical, shady, questionable, or illegal; as, a shill in cahoots with a pickpocket, to serve as a distraction.”

I am posting a number of articles dealing with the public land use issues in north Idaho. If you missed the first one regarding the 375,562 acres and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan for the Critical Caribou Habitat entitled, “USFWS – Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You,” you can access it at  www.Capurso4Idaho.com.

When I attended both the KVRI meeting on January 9 in Bonners Ferry and the Coordination meeting with the USFWS and the Bonner County Commissioners on January 24 at Priest Lake, the USFWS kept stating that their agency would not be making any changes to the public’s access.  This statement by itself is true because the USFWS are not the “public land managers.”  Our public land management is done by the US Forest Service.

On January 3, 2012 the United States Forest Service (USFS) released their Draft Forest Plans and their Draft Environmental Impact Statements for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest (IPNF).   These plans are designed to show how the USFS is going to “manage the usage” of the national forest for the next 15 years. All of the comments made here after will reference only the IPNF Plan but the principles will apply to the Kootenai National Forest (KNF) as well. The IPNF Draft Land Management Plan is a 442 page document and the IPNF DEIS is 563 pages.

Both documents are purposefully large, ambiguous and difficult to understand, and get the “NoDoz” out if you want to access them at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5345952.pdf

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5345951.pdf

and the Kootenai National Forest (KNF). http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5345788.pdf

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5345835.pdf

As a participant in the beginning stages of the USFS revision plan (2002-2004), and a Bonner County resident at the time, I would like to give you some insight into the process.  I saw firsthand how the Stakeholder’s process is a manipulated situation in which moderators are instructed on how to stymie the voice of the people by misdirection, ambiguity and prevarication, all with the goal of maintaining control without answering any questions.

During the group discussions, most conclusions like, “more road access,” “more logging and mining,” “more snowmobiling and ATV riding” and other human activities were suppressed. When each group came back together, a lot of these comments were never shared. You can rest assured that anything having to do with more wildernesses and more species protection always made it to the top.  All of the information was processed and rolled into a series of options, A B C D E etc.

In other words, you could choose from A, no change from the 1987 plan (can’t be considered anyway because of new restrictions in the Endangered Species Act “ESA”) or E, huge access restrictions. The USFS wants to make you “feel good” by recommending B or C, because it isn’t as bad as E.  Well, all of the choices are bad!  It’s obvious that the USFS no longer manages the national forest with a resource based plan but has switched to an ecology based plan.  It’s common practice to encourage people to provide written comments, telling them that their comments will have an effect on the outcome of the process, knowing all along that the various plans are already decided.  These comments are heavily solicited from outside the affected area from those that don’t have any stake in the outcome. The following is a quote taken from the IPNF website that was added just recently when the “open house” meetings were scheduled:

“Please note that several local papers inaccurately reported that ‘public hearings’ have been scheduled. No hearings or public testimony is scheduled. Open House meetings will be held to provide opportunities for members of the public to ask questions about the Forest Plan Revision process and to learn how to submit formal comments." ~ IPNF Website

The USFS rationale and excuse is that there is no way to increase public usage because that would violate a number of provisions of the ESA. Most of the conclusions in this management plan are derived from the “opinions” of so called “experts”.  Webster Dictionary defines an opinion as “a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.”

So, how does being “in cahoots” work between the USFWS and the USFS?  The USFWS “believes there are, or might be,” 45 or 46 caribou in their planned Caribou Critical Habitat plan.  What they don’t want you to know is that all but possibly one or two of these caribou are in Canada.  The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has openly challenged the USFWS caribou numbers (http://www.newsbf.com/news/1201/24caribou.html).

The USFS can then use the “opinion” of the USFWS as being factual and continue shutting down whatever little access we now have to our so called “public lands.”  The USFWS can point the finger at the USFS saying that they weren’t responsible for shutting down our forests, and the USFS points the finger at the USFWS saying that they had to shut the forests down because of their designating the 375, 562 acres as Caribou Critical Habitat or for any other species that they can use in the name of the ESA.

As stated in both meetings by the USFWS, they do not take into account the predation of any possible caribou that happens to wonder across our border by the grizzly bear, the Canadian Gray Wolf or the Cougar. 

It is the goal of the extreme environmentalist to promote their own agendas and self interests to the detriment of all of us and our way of life.

One way they promote their “end justifies the means” philosophy is their abuse of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). This act was intended to make the justice system more accessible to individuals of modest means, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations through limited recovery of their attorneys’ fees when they prevail in disputes with the Federal Government.

Idaho, along with eight other states, is saddled with the the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which is full of activist judges who continuously hear and rule in favor of the extreme environmentalist. Subsidized by federal tax dollars, environmental groups are filing a blizzard of lawsuits that no longer yield significant gain for the environment.  During the 1990s, the U.S. Treasury paid $31.6 million in legal fees for environmental cases filed against the government.

From 2003 through July, 2007, $4,716,264,730.00 (yes, that is billion with a "b") in total payments were paid in taxpayer dollars from the Judgment Fund for attorney fees and costs in cases against the federal government (www.maninnature.com/Bovines/Cattle/Cattle1d.html).

As long as the extreme environmentalists are allowed to foster their program of purity, the judges continue to rule in their favor, and the federal government agencies like the USFWS, USFS, EPA, etc., stay “in cahoots”, you and me, our children and grandchildren will be denied the ability to engage nature as God intended. 

So, let’s get back to the USFS’s forest plan.  The USFS management plan is solely based on flawed opinion and assumptions regarding the ESA.  As pointed out by Tony McDermott, IDFG, no plan will ever make any sense unless you evaluate all the predatory relationships between the species in the affected area (Grizzly Bear, Canadian Grey Wolf, Mountain Lion, etc.).

Excluding man from the equation is not the answer, or is it?  If in fact the larger plan is to remove man from the area and create a “wilderness zone," then we are well on our way!

People need to understand and educate themselves that this is the single biggest reason why our economy is dying and why there are no jobs here. Without food, water and shelter, life cannot exist. Natural resources make life possible.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by the Feds?  You are not alone.  So, what can “We the People” do?

·       Every time a federal government agency comes to town and dictates to us what they are going to do, we need to invoke “Coordination.” Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Benewah, and Shoshone Counties, along with Eastern Washington, Western Montana and any other county that feels they are being encroached upon by the Feds can join this coalition.

·       The 105 legislators of the State of Idaho need to start implementing new legislation stating that the State of Idaho has the ability to manage our own timbered ecosystems and will do so.

·       Governor Otter and Attorney General Wasden need to support this effort.

·       When these extreme environmental groups go to federal court and sue, we need to counter sue at a higher level to slow down this nonsense.   “We the People” have the right to use the Equal Access to Justice Act.

·       A major overhaul in the ESA need to be completed, and soon.

Finally, if all else fails, “We the People” of the State of Idaho need to stand up and assert our 10^th amendment rights through the power of the US Constitution and our state sovereignty.

It’s time to tell the  Federal Government that we have had enough and we’re not going to take any more abuse from the “eco-terrorists” that have set their sites on north Idaho specifically, and our surrounding states.  It took many years to get where we are today and it can’t be fixed overnight, but if we do nothing, we will have no one else to blame but ourselves.

We have compromised ourselves into a corner with the Feds, the extreme environmentalists and the left wing of society until we have little choice left to us. 

“We the People” are here to stay and I have no plan to just go away because the Feds say so.