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MONDAY February 23, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 15, 2004 A Community Divided By Linda Duffy District Ranger, Ashland Ranger District of the Rogue Siskiyou National Forest I write this guest editorial at the request of Andrew Scot Bolsinger, Editor of the Ashland Daily Tidings. Mr. Bolsinger asked this of me following our recent discussion about the characterization an editorial made on Jan. 7, 2004, that there is an "�appearance that someone� is twisting the facts�" regarding public comment to the Mt. Ashland Ski Area Draft Environmental Statement. I asked for this discussion with Mr. Bolsinger because I wanted to know how Mr. Bolsinger came to this conclusion. This is important because I felt the editorial implied that the Forest Service "is twisting the facts." I represent the Forest Service in Ashland so the implication is that I, as Ashland District Ranger, am lying to the people I serve. At Mr. Bolsinger's invitation, I want to discuss three points in this editorial: 1) My mission as steward of these public lands associated with the community of Ashland has not changed. I continue to stand for truth, integrity, and transparency of governmental process. I will not lie to the people I serve. 2) Under my stewardship, my decisions for these public lands will not be made by popular vote or special interest pressure. Again, my commitment has not changed. Regardless of the issue at hand, my responsibility is to follow the letter and spirit of law of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other laws for governance of public lands entrusted to the Forest Service. This is a complex task and I remain committed to giving my best. 3) Public comment about the Forest Service draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) analyzing alternatives for expanding ski-able terrain at Mt. Ashland continue to reflect a community deeply divided about long and short-term options, risks, sacrifices and opportunities. I believe any team who carefully read the 3,269 letters and cards will find this to be true. And I believe any team reading them could come up with slightly different assessment of what the people who wrote those are saying. In this formal legal step of the NEPA process it is my responsibility to not interpret what I think people are saying, but to acknowledge the actual words said. It was not accurate for the Tidings editorial to characterize 11 percent of public comments as a representation of people who "don't care." It is accurate to say that this 11 percent did not clearly indicate their preference for a specific DEIS alternative. About two-thirds of this category includes the Rogue Group Sierra Club response card designed to give people choices for checking a box for either expansion Alternative 5, or no expansion Alternative 1, and a place for written comments. In the 11 percent category the Forest Service identified as "conflicting opinion or no preference" are cards or letters that people signed but did not indicate their preference for either alternative and/or didn't provide written comment to say what they were thinking. Or they checked both boxes - both for the expansion alternative and for no expansion. So it would be inaccurate for me to assume that because a citizen submitted a Sierra Club card they intended an automatic vote for no expansion if they did not specifically indicate so. This was however, the assumption made by the Tidings editorial. I shared with Mr. Bolsinger a Sierra Club card received with all the options crossed out, and no written comment provided. It would be irresponsible for me to assume what alternative this sender was intending to "vote for" as well. I visited with Sierra Club representatives as they personally reviewed public comment files at my office. They said their team would have recorded more of the 11 percent category into a no expansion vote. And they said they clearly understand this is not a voting process but they believe it is important for the community to be informed that the issue continues to be very clearly divided. My team is now focused on analyzing and responding to the public comments that offered information, pointed out areas of confusion or gave other perspectives. This is the next step to complete the environmental analysis prior to decision for action being reached. Summer 2004 is the target date for completion and decision. I will continue to conduct this analysis with full legal disclosure, with integrity for the legal environmental process, and with sensitivity for a community divided. This community division cannot be healed with a forthcoming Forest Service decision about ski area expansion. If the fabric of this community is to be intact when this debate is said and done, I believe it can only happen by the personal integrity in which we each bring ourselves to the issues and the intention we collectively hold for a community that can address issues where solutions that satisfy all seem impossible. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams