Common Sense Is Virgin Terrain For These Rowdies

Those who join the current outcry over federal regulations on public lands conveniently overlook one undisputable fact.

The backcountry has no shortage of idiots.

Some anti-government crusaders out there surely believe laws requiring vehicles to stay on roads are an infringement on some inalienable right.

But the scourges who think they are above the law take a heavy toll on the land and the public pocketbook.

For example, the Colville National Forest has reported a growing problem with a small but destructive contingent of 4-wheel-drive enthusiasts.

“Spring is an especially fragile time in the forest,” said Harv Skjerven of the Colville National Forest. “The problem’s not new, but we’re seeing more of it. People get bored or something and they find wet areas, a low spot, a place that will be a meadow in another few weeks. Then they drive through it.

“There are snipes and other critters nesting out there; sensitive plants we’re trying to protect.”

Such worries don’t hold water with everyone. Idaho Rep. Helen Chenoweth, for instance, recently was taken on a tour of wetland habitats sensitive to certain aquatic creatures.

“We used to call them puddles,” she scoffed.

But even a dolt who can’t recognize the fragile nature of a wet meadow ought to see that vehicles can leave deep gouges in the soil that later harden into concrete planters for knapweed and cheatgrass.

Not long ago, a few hell-raisers drove to a 10-acre clearcut between Addy and Colville and had a great time spinning their wheels through the cattails and mowing over the new crop of 6-foot-high trees.

“We had to go up there and string 80 feet of barbed-wire fence,” Skjerven said. “Then we had to fertilize and we’ll have to go in with hand tools to get rid of the ruts.”

Forest officials have been passing around photos of the latest 4-wheel-drive vandalism in an effort to let the public know what a few individuals are doing to the commons.

“Near the North Fork of Chewelah Creek, they weren’t content to destroy the land,” Skjerven said. “They used a pickup to knock over an outhouse. New outhouses cost $9,000 apiece because we have to make them out of concrete to stand up to that kind of vandalism.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “For that kind of money, I could put a college student out all summer brushing trails.”

The vandalized outhouse had been pumped and was ready for the Stevens County Boy Scouts, who were going to use the site for their spring campout.

“They didn’t have an extra $160 to rent a portable outhouse, so they had to find somewhere else to go,” he said.

Out of the Bush: Sportsmen have new hope now that George Bush has courageously rebuked the political arrogance of the National Rifle Association.

By dropping his NRA life membership, Bush has drawn the line between sportsmen and right-wingers who are trying to drag all gunowners into an antigovernment propaganda campaign.

Bush was perhaps the first president since Teddy Roosevelt who professed his love for hunting. Never mind that he joined other presidents who find it politically unadvisable to kill the obligatory turkey that’s presented to the White House on Thanksgiving. Bush has proved that sportsmen can stand up for gunowner rights without trashing federal agents who enforce laws the public supports.

Chicks, ahoy: Two peregrine falcon chicks cracked out of their eggs on the 56th floor of the Washington Mutual Tower in downtown Seattle recently. A video camera recorded the event for a TV viewing audience that rivaled numbers for afternoon soaps.

Scat deer: The people at Cat Tales say they have a solution to damage deer inflict on ornamental shrubbery: scat from wild felines.

One whiff of tiger scat makes deer bolt, they say, noting that area farmers stop by to cart away buckets full of the natural repellent.

Support environment: Help stop corporations that are trying to scuttle landuse regulations. Make a contribution to the grassroots effort to bring the socalled “property rights” Initiative 164 to a vote in November.

Write “No on 164,” P.O. Box 239, Kirkland WA 98033.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review