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Letters and comments for November 21, 2011
Questions not answered
The city of Cove has applied to USDA Rural Development for a loan of $1.6 million ($2.5 million with interest). This loan will pay for three new sewer lagoons and two miles of pipeline. When ratepayers question or offer suggestions, they are met with hostility. There are at least three alternatives that have not been considered. The citizens of Cove deserve transparency and there are many questions that are not being answered. If this concerns you, I urge you to contact Rural Development before Dec. 1. Contact: Charlotte Rollier state environmental coordinator USDA Rural Development 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Ste. 801 Portland, OR 97232-1274 1-503-414-3356 Yvonne Da Torre Cove
Project shrinks
As Union County commissioners, we are pleased to see a project on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest moving forward. The Cove II WUI project is the first project including a timber sale to receive approval in over a year, and should benefit the local economy. Overall, we feel this project is a success in allowing some timber to flow from the National Forest. As initially designed by the Forest Service, the project had just over 2,000 acres designated for commercial harvest for local ills. However, objections filed by the Hells Canyon Preservation Council and Oregon Wild resulted in negotiations that removed over 950 acres of commercial harvest from the project. Approximately 750 of those acres were changed to pre-commercial thinning, most of which are on the boundary between the wilderness and the national forest. This means that instead of removing the viable wood products from the acreage, material will be piled and burned. Removing 2,000,000 board feet from the Cove II WUI project means fewer job opportunities for local commercial loggers as well as constrained wood supply for local mills. In these hard economic times, it is a shame that we cannot complete the Cove II WUI project as proposed by the Forest Service without having to reduce the positive impact because of negotiations with special interest groups. Steve McClure, Mark D. Davidson, William D. Rosholt Union County commissioners |