The Owyhee cannot wait

Thank you for your Nov. 7 editorial, “Biden and Congress should take this time to protect the Owyhee.” At its conclusion, you ask whether it will be at least four more years of waiting. As someone who has been actively involved in efforts to protect the Owyhee for more than a decade, I find that prospect heartbreaking and unacceptable.

The Owyhee simply cannot wait. With mining and other threats clawing at its edges and the impacts of climate change already visible, the irreparable damage and destruction that will inevitably follow inaction at this moment will be Oregon Senator Ron Wyden’s legacy.

If Senator Wyden continues to bet on a doomed legislative approach, he will be throwing away the hard work of all who have fought for the protection of these lands and ignoring the will of nearly three-quarters of Oregon voters. In addition, he will be single-handedly jeopardizing an Oregon treasure. The ranchers, tribes, local businesses, hunters and anglers, conservationists, and others who have come together in collaboration with Senator Wyden over many years did so because we agree we must preserve what is so treasured and culturally, economically, and ecologically valuable. We are counting on Senator Wyden to take responsibility and keep his promise.

I echo your call for Senator Wyden to work together with the Biden administration to designate an Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument before it is too late.

— Rynda Clark, Bend

Please clean up after your dogs on Phil’s Trail

Now that mountain biking is slowing down because of wet conditions, local visitors are taking their dogs to walk and/or run the trails. That’s where I was today and lately with my dog companion. In taking care to pick up my dog’s poop (with doggy bags supplied by Central Oregon Trail Alliance and easily accessible at the trailhead), I was astonished to see piles everywhere within 75 feet of the parking lot! Unbelievable!

Visitors (mountain bikers, runners, and walkers) please be responsible and clean up after your dogs. COTA has even provided a trash can at the bag location to deposit your bags. How easy can this be?

If you are responsibly taking care of your dog but you notice someone who isn’t, remind them of the bag/trashcan location.

COTA has worked real hard with the US Forest Service to provide excellent mountain biking trails in the Bend area. Let’s so respect for those efforts, please.

— Robert Walker, Bend

Prescribed burns and other steps can help

I read with great interest the op-ed written by fire ecologist George Wuerthner on Nov. 11 regarding the recent meeting of the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project. I attended that meeting that focused on mitigating wildfires by thinning and prescribed burns. What the Wuerthner article did not mention was that three of the Collaborative speakers presented data from a recent paper by Davis, et al. in forest ecology and management. Selective data presented from that paper showed that prescribed burns could reduce the risk of a subsequent severe fire within the subsequent 10 years. However, the speakers failed to present meta data from that same paper showing that thinning by itself had no significant effect in reducing fire risk. This omission was dubious because it would have directly contradicted arguments the Collaborative made that thinning is an effective tool in keeping our homes and communities safe.

I believe the data show that prescribed burns can help protect communities at the wildland-urban interface under circumstances where the fires are more manageable. I agree with Wuerthner that contemporary catastrophic megafires would burn right through managed areas, as shown by the Bootleg, Camp, Dixie, and other recent large conflagrations. Hardening homes, creating family escape plans, and encouraging local authorities to develop evacuation routes and measures are measures that will save lives and property.

— Roger A. Sabbadini, Bend

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