SEELEY LAKE - Recently a petition has been circulating in Seeley Lake calling for the Forest Service to “remove and replace the current Ranger of the Seeley Lake Ranger District”. The petition also suggests there is “sufficient belief” and “consensus” in the community calling into question the Ranger’s competence, self interest and contribution to the vitality and resilience of the community.
In my view this petition is an absurdity and an unfortunate example of poorly informed discussion in our community. I do not believe it represents a consensus of opinion or our own better interest.
I have been in and around Seeley Lake for 25 years, living here full time for the last 11 years. I am retired after 44 years as a scientist working throughout the West with Ranger District, Forest and Regional Office staff, fish and wildlife agencies, universities and private or NGO efforts focused on natural resource management, wildfire and its effects and on climate change. Since retirement I have continued to work with the Forest Service, MT Fish Wildlife and Parks, local schools and numerous volunteers on a number of collaborative efforts including the SW Crown CFLR, Clearwater Blackfoot Stewardship, numerous water quality, lake and stream flow monitoring projects, research and restoration of roads, development and maintenance of recreational trails and development of science curricula in the schools. I have worked directly with both the recent and current rangers.
In my experience the current Ranger has done a good job in an almost impossible task. She has gone out of her way to participate regularly with the Community Council, to provide updates and discussion in the local paper, to hold regular meet and greet sessions in the District Office making herself and her staff available to the public, and to be available for discussion one on one. We’ve certainly had differences of opinion, but I’ve found the current Ranger and her staff to be professional, capable, and responsive during an extremely challenging time of collapsing budgets and radically changing climate/fire conditions.
Seeley Lake is a small community that faces a challenging future. Some believe that we can simply turn the clock back and stop change, stop fire in its tracks, sweep any notion of climate change under the rug and log our way to prosperity. Others are uncertain or poorly informed but easily swayed by outspoken critics. And, still others are working to be informed and to participate in dialogue that hopefully can lead to a more resilient and vital community in the face of change that is inevitable.
I believe the latter folks value the Forest Service and the current Ranger as part of a more thoughtful path.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Rieman
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