WILD BILL FOOTNOTE

Bitterroot Forest Needs New Leadership, Now

By Bill Schneider, 10-04-05

This morning, local conservationists in the Bitterroot Valley are holding a press conference to describe the “anti-democratic actions� of Bitterroot Forest Supervisor Dave Bull and announce they plan to “explore their legal options� to get the Bitterroot National Forest (BNF) back to Earth. Because, of course, wherever the administration of this national forest has been of late, it certainly is not on this planet.

Supervisor Bull has been a major headliner in western Montana in past weeks—and for good reason. He mocked the public involvement process (see original column) by going ahead with his own plan at the exact same time the public was sending in their suggestions for a preferred alternative and thinking their comments might actually have an impact on the final decision. Then, he ignored the fact that 98 percent of the comments opposed his alternative and did it anyway. Then, he showed his extreme arrogance by calling in armed guards to escort selected members of the public from a public meeting in a public building based on contrived safety concerns (see previous footnote to original column).

Now, conservationists are rightfully taking all this public and probably will head to the courts to get the entire manipulated process thrown out, as it should be. At the press conference, conservationists will also go back years and provide the press with a laundry list of questionable actions by the current BNF administration.

As I said earlier, whether or not the current contested project, the so-called Middle East Fork “hazardous fuel reduction� project has merit is irrelevant. What is relevant is the shocking behavior of a public official. To repeat my earlier suggestion, Regional Forester Abigail Kimbell should immediately remove Supervisor Bull from office to restore some faith in the public process. Ignoring Forest Service public participation mandates, as well as civil rights and open meeting laws, Supervisor Bull has shown us that he is obviously too confident that he can do whatever he pleases, the public be damned.

To emphasize, consider Supervisor Bull using armed guards to remove Stewart Brandborg, who is 80 years old and son of a former BNF supervisor. Brandborg is obviously not a safety concern and obviously an informed member of the public, precisely the type of person the Forest Service should welcome into the decision-making process.

In addition to all of the above, John Grove, a retired career Forest Service forester, has entered the flay on behalf of the Friends of the Bitterroot. “We are requesting our Congressional delegation to investigate the unethical, and possibly illegal, actions of Supervisor Bull and BNF staff under his direction regarding his blatantly biased public processes in public land management on the Bitterroot National Forest.�

Grove sums it up nicely. Our political leaders and our regional forester should step up and instantly remedy the situation by replacing Dave Bull with a forest supervisor who honors the public trust.

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