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Letters for Oct. 10, 2024

Logging project raises concerns

The Around Round Lake Cedar logging project by the Idaho Department of Lands adjacent to Round Lake State Park is raising serious concerns among local users and campers from nearby Washington.

This timber sale threatens an old-growth patch that is a fire refugia, fire resistant and carbon storing old trees, a goshawk nesting stand, and black-backed woodpeckers – an Idaho Fish and Game species of concern – that have been observed in the area. The proposed clearcutting endangers local wildlife and diminishes the park’s natural beauty that attracts visitors from across state lines.

Round Lake State Park is a cherished destination for many, offering recreational opportunities such as hiking, fishing, birding and camping. With its scenic trails and diverse wildlife, it serves as a vital outdoor space for Idahoans and Washington residents. Logging disrupts these activities, destroying trails through forested habitats heavily used by park visitors, destroys the viewshed and harms the environment that so many have come to love.

I urge everyone concerned about this issue to take action. IDL hides behind a constitutional mandate and misinformation enabling their destructive activities. Contact the Idaho Department of Lands Coeur d’Alene Office at (208) 769-1525 or reach out to Erik Sjoquist at esjoquist@idl.idaho.gov. Let them know that this proposed logging project must be stopped, and the land transferred to Idaho Parks Department to protect our forests and the recreational spaces we hold dear. Your voice matters in this fight for environmental preservation.

Paul Sieracki

Priest River, Idaho

Changing how we vote is on ballot

Ranked choice voting and open primaries are on the ballot in five states and Washington, D.C., this fall. In Idaho, Proposition 1 gives all voters the opportunity to vote in the single primary election, and to rank their choices in the general election, giving them more opportunity to have their vote count.

In the proposed open primaries, all registered voters would cast one vote in each partisan race. More than 270,000 unaffiliated registered voters in Idaho are left out of this process. The top four candidates from the primary appear on the November ballot. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they win. That is not the case in Idaho.

Many states have a runoff election to avoid a situation where a candidate represents a minority of voters. RCV is an instant runoff that saves time and money. It has been used across the U.S. for more than a century, including in 62 jurisdictions in 2022, using a variety of ballot-counting systems, including hand counting. In RCV races across the country, higher turnouts have been reported, especially among younger voters.

In RCV, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the last-place candidate is eliminated. Votes for this candidate are then transferred to those voters’ second choice. If needed, the process is repeated until the winning candidate has a majority. This is still a one-person, one-vote system, and it has been ruled constitutional, unlike Idaho’s previous primary system.

Kathleen Painter

Bonners Ferry

Thank you, Spokane

I’ve been enjoying Jim Kershner’s “50 Years Ago in Expo ‘74 History” column, and those this month in particular reminded me of my visit to that world’s fair. I didn’t know then, when passing through from Alaska back to Nebraska, that I would one day live in Spokane, but I remember thinking what a cool community to host such an event. Thanks for the memories.

Madonna Luers

Mead



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