Unite as a Community and Make Our Voices Heard

SEELEY LAKE - It is probably general agreement that the summer of 2017 in Seeley Lake will be remembered as the summer of the fire, as opposed to the summer of sunny skies, fresh mountain air and experiencing a variety of recreational opportunities. As we all know, and it bears repeating, that “The Fire” has had significant impact on this community personally and economically, the extent which is yet to be determined.

Although this fire season is (hopefully) coming to an end fairly soon, we must not forget to resurrect multiple factors contributing to this disaster. I am referring to failure of responsible forest management, initial actions that would directly contribute to the rapid spread of the fire and Federal funding that is sorely needing total reorganization. We need to hold those who have been given the authority to make decisions and are in leadership positions accountable for their actions. This isn’t “finger pointing”. It is simply demanding exemplary leadership, insight and appropriate use of resources of those we entrust our forests to.

At the very least, our elected representatives need to lead the charge on the investigation and revision of forest management. We have heard repeatedly from firefighters that their greatest enemy has been tree downfall that has provided fuel to a fire only too eager to grow. I am certainly no expert in forest management but I would gladly entrust that task to those who are.

Also, an extremely valuable resource in this community was not utilized this entire evolution. That is, the local, resident experts whose livelihood revolves around logging and preservation of that resource. If I may interject my two cents in this, why isn’t a local resident an integral part of the fire management team? Who knows these mountains better than those who work and hunt in them?

But I digress. My purpose in this letter is to provide residents with the information needed to contact their Senator/Congressman. If we do nothing, this will be forgotten in a short time and this fire will remain a destructive monster, nothing else.

If you don’t have time to write a letter, I have provided phone numbers. Whatever method you choose, your voice will be heard. We MUST ACT!!

Fires are managed by the National Forest Service which falls under the US Department of Agriculture. Ideally, you want to contact a member in the Montana delegation who is on a committee with oversight over the USDA.

That would be Senator Daines. He is on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. He also chairs the subcommittee on conservation, forestry and natural resources. He has a number of offices throughout Montana, but your best bet is to contact the Great Falls office, because the liaison there is in direct contact with the Department of Forestry. The phone number is: 406-453-0148. Ask for Alison.

Contact Representative Greg Gianforte. He is on the powerful House Oversight Committee on Government Reform (OGR). As a member of this committee, he has wide latitude as it applies to mismanagement of government resources or where government agencies have not performed appropriately. Contact his Helena office at 406-502-1435. The senior staffers located there will be more than happy to listen and take on these issues.

If your time is limited, focus on Senator Daines. You’ll get more bang for your buck there.

In consideration of length of this letter, I did not include addresses. However, calling the office and requesting the address is advised.

In order to truly make a difference and facilitate positive change in processes, we must unite as a community and make our voices heard! These representatives were voted into office by you. Now is the time to expect them to have your voice and stand up for Montana!