Forest Sounds

Favorite spots.

The Inland Northwest is full of them. Idyllic getaways where people can immerse themselves in the area’s defining qualities. Such places - and the growthrelated pressures that threaten them - served as the starting point for dozens of Ice Cream Conferences held in living rooms and other neighborhood gathering places in the region in the past month. The Spokesman-Review sponsored the conferences in preparation for the CityVote debate to be held in Spokane next Sunday.

The newspaper provided the ice cream, the hosts rounded up the participants and the participants brought their varied outlooks and philosophies to the discussion. They were asked to ponder environmental issues, beginning literally in their own back yards, and to work their way out to more worldly dimensions. Ultimately, they were asked to suggest questions that could be posed to the presidential candidates who take part in the debate.

One-hundred-forty-nine people volunteered to host discussions and were sent packets that included a coupon for free ice cream and a questionaire to be used as a discussion guide. Hundreds of participants’ views were incorporated into the responses that came back - at least 70 so far.

Some participants proudly and unequivocally called themselves environmentalists, while others scornfully rejected the label. And many voiced their respect for their natural surroundings but had an aversion to being branded as one with no regard for human habitat and jobs.

Almost universally, the participants reported dramatic change in their world and the environment in recent years, some good and some bad.

Noise, traffic congestion, air and water pollution, jet skis, loss of wildlife habitat - all were cause for wide concern.

“Our quiet, secluded spots that we enjoy relaxing in are not as enjoyable as in the past,” summarized Betty Tunison who hosted a group at her Spokane Valley home.

But some groups pointed to improvements that have come about in recent years. The replacement of railroad tracks with Riverfront Park, for example, restoration of historic neighborhoods or the stewardship they’d exercised in their own yards and neighborhoods. And some noted that the enactment and enforcement of environmental regulations, along with the cooperation of regulated businesses in many cases, had resulted in cleaner air and water.

Not that the regulatory climate wasn’t blamed for some excesses, too. The South Hill neighbors who met at Mary Wilkinson’s home reported: “A person we know in the Elk area wasn’t allowed to crush rusted out car bodies because it had become a habitat for mice and ground squirrels.”

Though most people thought government was capable of doing either good or harm, there was a pattern of wariness about relying on politicians for answers.

Even so, Lonnie Roe of Veradale shared the letters his Ice Cream Conference group had sent to U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt and U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Slade Gorton as an outgrowth of their discussion.

And, at least one group, hosted by Sherry Conrath in southwest Spokane enjoyed the “fun and informative couple of hours” enough that they’ve discussed getting together again on a regular basis.

, DataTimes MEMO: See related stories: 1. What’s an environmentalist? 2. One man’s favorite spot is close to home 3. From Olympic mountains to backyard slab, readers have their special places

This sidebar appeared with the story: QUESTIONS YOU TOLD US YOU WANT ANSWERED Hundreds of area residents, par ticipants in dozens of Ice Cream Conferences held in recent weeks, were asked to suggest questions for the presidential candidates participating in next Sunday’s CityVote debate in Spokane. Those printed below will be submitted to the candidates. 1. What is your vision of the balance between the pressures of a growing population and the needs of a healthy environment? 2. How would you protect the environment while making sure rural economies and farmers survive? 3. How will you reconcile the pressure for balancing the budget with the federal responsiblity to clean up 40 years of Cold War waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation? 4. Here in the West, the federal government is the largest single landowner, and our local and regional economies depend on the proper use of those parks, forests, ranges and minable hillsides. How would you as president reconcile local needs to use and develop federal lands with national needs to hold them in trust for all Americans? 5. What is the appropriate federal role in the development of public transportation as a means of easing traffic and reducing pollution? 6. What specific item, law or program will you be able to accomplish in the next four years to contribute to environmental protection and what tools - including your veto power - will you use to accomplish it?