Feds should manage Winema Forest lands
Charlie Whitlatch, Klamath Falls, Ore.
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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