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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Talking and listening offer cure for gridlock

Slade Gorton Special to The Spokesman-Review

How much policy gridlock can we afford? We see it everywhere: between farmers and environmentalists, between urban and rural interests and between Eastern and Western Washington. The fighting can become so intense that it drives the possibility of compromise completely out of the picture.

The recent land use initiative, I-933, is a perfect example. Farmers and other rural property owners have complained for years that environmental laws make it difficult to farm and impinge on property rights, while environmentalists countered that we need stronger environmental protections. Both sides filed lawsuits and lobbied the Legislature in Olympia. I-933 was just the latest and most costly attempt by one side to get its message across. Although it lost in the polls, the underlying issues have not gone away.

Our typical responses to policy conflicts are costly lawsuits, lobbying and initiatives. These approaches tend to yield a winner-take-all outcome that leads to a backlash from the other side, creating further polarization that almost inevitably yields a “lose-lose” result.

One approach we have rarely tried is talking to one another. That’s right. Talking and listening. Again, the land use initiative is a perfect example. Property rights advocates and environmentalists have been so busy fighting that few have actually sat down and tried to find common ground.

Fortunately, it appears that this is about to change. Gov. Chris Gregoire and leaders from agricultural, environmental and other groups have asked the William D. Ruckelshaus Center to help create a focal point for discussion that might resolve the issues that gave rise to I-933. Based at Washington State University and the University of Washington, the Ruckelshaus Center is designed to help resolve some of the most challenging issues in the state.

Bill Ruckelshaus is an ideal person to promote such an effort. He is a nationally renowned civic leader who served with great distinction in two national administrations. He dealt with numerous highly controversial challenges in a fashion that often brought lasting settlements and left all sides with the knowledge that their views had been given a fair hearing.

The Ruckelshaus Center has already brought agricultural and environmental folks together with positive results. Last year, the center helped develop the Agricultural Pilots Project, which sought innovative ways to simultaneously strengthen the agricultural economy and improve the environment. The program encouraged farmers, environmentalists and others to submit project proposals jointly. It received 89 proposals for funding. While not all can be funded, it’s a valuable start to on-the-ground cooperation and tangible activities that may well make a difference.

The Ruckelshaus Center obviously won’t resolve all the issues around property rights, agriculture and environmental protection. But already the center has demonstrated that there are many agricultural producers and environmentalists who are ready to work together. This is true of other issues as well. The key is to create a politically safe, credible forum in which people can have honest discussions about the issues. The Ruckelshaus Center has shown that it can do just that.

Resolving complex issues is vitally important to the future of our urban and rural communities and to our collective quality of life. The ability to work together to resolve differences and fashion a collective vision for the future is vital. We haven’t achieved that with lawsuits, lobbying or initiatives.

The Ruckelshaus Center offers an alternative approach that is often less contentious, less costly and more effective. It provides hope that we can learn to talk to one another and gain respect for the interests of others. Only then can we get past the gridlock and create policies that produce stable and beneficial outcomes for all.