Cancer within timber industry

On Jan. 20, we heard a lot of words about the American spirit— as though a good spirit emanated from Washington,D.C.  The reality in Idaho is that Washington has choked our spirit.

The spirit most relevant to Idahoans is Pioneer spirit, where Libertarians pursue self-initiative, liberty and rural free enterprise that values the family form, the woodlot, and all renewable natural resources necessary to give rural counties sustainable economic basis; not just tourist stopovers, or real estate investments for the rich and snooty hiding in their gated communities.

North Idaho’s cancer is within our timber industry.  Producing only lumber and some sheet goods- it is very one dimensional, having little wood products industry; toys, furniture, lathed products, cut stock, and pre-form manufacturing.

Any new entrepreneur, new technology use, and financial support to develop ways to literally develop wood products in North Idaho have been discouraged over many years by policies of federal land managers, with the key assassin being the Endangered Species Act. The ESA framers may not have realized it would be used to control land-use on forested areas, rather than actually bring back the depleted species on suburban areas, or polluted places.

There is only one way to look at the ESA.  It is the enemy of Idaho and the people of Idaho.

This is a cause of our cancer.

Many seem reticent to believe that North Idaho has been staked out as the botanical zoo for the elitist do-gooder that curiously articulate a bunch that dominates federal meetings and pulls the strings at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  They’ve managed to gate off Idaho’s yellow brick road taking control of its wildlife and timberland, two thirds of Idaho’s land.  How ridiculous.

 The Constitution gives them no such ownership.  Through an arrangement of convenience, the fed gained control of certain wild states, like Idaho, at a time when little state government existed and indigenous natives still lived on these lands.  Since then, Idaho has become capable of policing and owning its own state.

It is not only a matter of time before federally owned states will not live under the dictates of urban people and seize their identity  back and their land.  We hope so.

Tony and Jackie Brown

Naples