[voices]
STREET TALK
by Cathrine L. Walters
Asked Tuesday, July 29, at the corner of Higgins and Main.
What’s your favorite Montana-made beer? Follow-up: Where’s your favorite place to enjoy it?
Laura Stiles: Kettlehouse Cold Smoke. Barside: I enjoy it at Tamarack. I like the environment there.
Ashley Courville: The Salmon Fly Honey Rye by Madison River Brewing. River rat: On the river while floating in a tube.
Zack Porter: Wildwood Brewery’s Bodacious Bock, soon to be re-branded “Bodacious Bob” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Energ y drink: At the end of a long day on the trail or on a wild river.
D.C. vs. Montana Sending a new Congressman off to Washington, D.C., is somewhat like sending a child off to school: You hope he doesn’t fall in with the wrong crowd. Unfortunately, when it comes to national forests, it seems Rep. Steve Daines has fallen in with the wrong crowd—the crowd that puts politics before people and puts political gain ahead of making progress on the ground. For some inexplicable reason, Daines has moved to quash a series of Montanamade pilot projects aimed at improving national forest management. These pilot projects are the result of thousands of hours invested by folks from timber, hunters and anglers, wilderness advocates and others. As a private citizen and retired Forest Service ranger, I’ve invested long hours in these kinds of efforts for two main reasons. First, they are the best path forward to eventually break the logjam. Second, they are the right thing to do. That’s why I was frustrated to see Rep. Daines’ name on a letter to the Speaker of the House. Daines and some of his colleagues asked the Speaker to quash any state-by-state bills aimed at addressing the gridlock on our national forests. Instead, they demand a sweeping, national fix. Montanans share a deep affection for our national forests. These lands support jobs, both in timber and recreation-based industries. They are the source of our clean water and wildlife habitat and our outdoor way of life. It’s no secret that Montanans are frus-
trated with how our national forests are managed. We see the beetle-killed trees. We smell the smoky skies. We see poorly designed roads bleeding sediment into our streams. We know the Forest Service is capable of doing a better job. Montanans like me have put long hours into local-collaborative efforts aimed at breaking deadlock on our national forests. These collaborative projects work best when they include people from all walks of life, including folks from timber, recreation and conservation. Sen. Jon Tester took ownership of these projects and put them in a single bill. The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act takes three of these locally driven pilot projects and simply asks Congress to support them. One is from the Kootenai National Forest, one from the Lolo and one from the Beaverhead-Deerlodge. Poll after poll shows Montanans overwhelmingly support the bill. When Montanans get together, they can get things done. After all, they know the ground and have a vested interest in seeing it well managed. Then there is Washington, where ideologically driven factions design their own top-down visions for national forests. On one hand, eastern representatives want massive, multi-state wilderness bills. On the other, industry lobbyists push massive changes, swapping out “multiple use” for multi-million acre “resource zones.” All with no input, not even a meeting, in Montana. Montanans know that top-down mandates don’t work. Rep. Daines speaks of putting Montana first and making sure Montana’s voice is heard in solving issue
for Montana. But by putting his name on that obstructionist letter, the Congressman fails to live up to his campaign promises. There is still time for Daines to clarify his position and support local pilot projects. He should rethink his recent letter and do what’s right for Montana. Mark Petroni West Yellowstone
Drowning in fees I am opposed to the city of Polson water and sewer rate restructure as proposed. The combination of skyrocketing fees and reduction of the usage allowance is simply too much. After reading the information sent in a letter to Polson utility customers, I expect my water and sewer utility bill to at least triple in cost. Indeed, reducing the water usage allowance from 5,000 gallons to 2,000 gallons may cause my 300 percent estimate to be optimistic, particularly during summer months with unpredictable water demands. I can understand the need to update the lagoon system, but the city’s letter also presents two other major projects upcoming: a water utility upgrade and purchase of land for a new city well. My household budget does not allow me to address multiple major costs at one time. I expect the city to be fiscally responsible and sensitive to the ability of its citizens to afford a significant hike in utility costs, as well. I would like to see the city present lowered utility fee hikes while maintaining the 5,000-gallon water usage level as it presently stands. Garth Cox Polson
[Comments from MissoulaNews.com] Backtalk from “Close encounters,” July 24 Sam Tolman: Tamarack Brewery’s Sip ’N Go Naked apricot ale. Skinny dippin’: At Tamarack on Thursday nights between 8 and 11. It’s their happy hour and you can get a pitcher for $9.
The “rag” scores “I will archive this one as one of the most substantial pieces of literature that has ever come from this rag newspaper. I lived and breathed this UFO and mutilation issue from 1970 to 1976, firsthand. My only conclusion was cover-up by all authorities.” Posted July 24 at 9:06 a.m.
Earth-bound beings
Liz Masters: Big Sky Summer Honey. If it’s brown, it’s down: I like to enjoy it anywhere. But pretty much on the river from a tube.
“So, if the Indy is such a ‘rag newspaper,’ why do you bother reading it? And your comment that ‘These beings that most believe are from another planet are in fact bound on this Earth’ suggests to me that you get a lot, if not most, of your information from the National Enquirer and similar, equally reliable sources. Where do these ‘earth-bound beings’ of yours live, in Mt. Shasta ?” Posted July 24 at 1:50 p.m.
“I lived and breathed this UFO and mutilation issue from 1970 to 1976, firsthand.” To the point “The plural of anecdote is not proof.” Posted July 24 at 7:27 a.m.
True believer “We would do well to take serious note
[4] Missoula Independent • July 31–August 7, 2014
of this situation, to try to find ways to make peaceful contact with these visitors, and to determine what we might learn from them that may prove to be indispensable toward finding solutions to the myriad and grave problems facing humanity today.” Posted July 24 at 5:09 p.m.
Extraordinary evidence “A lot of true believers here, but to quote Carl Sagan, ‘Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.’ None of the ‘evidence’ presented thus far is compelling.” Posted July 28 at 8:30 p.m.
Extraordinary response “You know, I was thinking that exact same thing at church yesterday.” Posted July 28 at 8:46 p.m.