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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Clinton’s Protection Plan Misguided, Says Nethercutt Says President Using ‘Scare Tactics’ On Columbia River Basin Plan

Associated Press

President Clinton is using “scare tactics” to try to ram through a sweeping ecosystem protection plan that could cut back logging and livestock grazing in the Columbia River basin, Rep. George Nethercutt said Wednesday.

“The people of the region affected by the findings deserve to have this chance to analyze and make judgments upon it,” the Washington state Republican said in an interview.

“The fact the president wants to stifle public opinion about the analyses and the cost of the implementation of the plan really does a disservice to us,” he said.

Nethercutt was upset by a Clinton statement late Friday when the president signed the Interior Department’s annual spending bill.

The legislation includes language by Nethercutt requiring a new study of the economic impact of the proposed ecosystem management plan, which covers parts of seven states - Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. It also requires the government to better estimate the cost of implementing the plan.

Clinton said Congress “continues to interfere with the administration’s efforts to promote ecosystem management and a greater understanding of the natural resource management issues affecting areas like the interior Columbia River basin - an area characterized by forest health, watershed and endangered species problems.

“Cumbersome requirements to delay a science-based plan for the basin could potentially shut down every forest in that region, hurting communities and families dependent on these forests for their livelihood,” the president said.

“This action may benefit a few special interests, but it injures both the environment and the economy.”

The argument put forth by Clinton and backers of the protection plan is that without a legally defensible plan that meets requirements of the Endangered Species Act, any logging, fishing or other commercial activity in the region would be subject to legal challenges.

“I think those are scare tactics in an effort to keep the public from understanding the details of the scientific studies,” Nethercutt said Wednesday of Clinton’s statement.

“I don’t know what special interest he represents, but it certainly is not the people of the 5th District of Washington,” he said.