Feds should manage Winema Forest
lands
Charlie Whitlatch, Klamath Falls, Ore.
Capital Press - July 29, 2005
The Klamath Tribes have been trying for several
years to have a portion of the Winema National Forest and a portion of the
Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge given to them to the tune of
730,000 acres. This real estate in Klamath County and a small part of Lake
County was a former reservation.
The tribe voted to sell the reservation. A current notion being publicized
is that the tribe didn’t know what they were doing, or didn’t
understand. They did understand that they were going to receive a lot of
money for selling it. It’s nobody’s fault but their own if the money
was spent foolishly. The tribal members who invested their money wisely
are to be commended.
The tribe is claiming that it can do a better job of managing the Winema
National Forest. It has been intimately involved in nearly all aspects of
the management for many years. If the tribe feels there has been poor
management of the forest, they are as much to blame as anyone.
The Forest Service is broke. Much of its operating funds came from timber
sales. If the U.S. Forest Service was allowed to manage the forest without
the “help” of the tribe and associated environmental groups, we might
see some timber sales that would produce revenue for that agency as well
as for Klamath County. Restoration projects that have been stymied could
be initiated. The tribe developed a forest plan amazingly similar to that
of the Forest Service.
My feeling is that the Winema National Forest should stay under the
ownership and management of the federal government (all the people of the
United States). The forest is for all Americans. The forest should not
become a sovereign nation within the United States. It should not be
managed by, given to or sold to the Klamath Tribes.
Charlie Whitlatch, Klamath Falls, Ore.
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