Abbot, Carl, Sy Adler, and Margery Post Abbott. Planning a New West. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1997. Chapter 4: The Politics of Protection. pp 87-113. (reviewed by Jennifer Lenhardt)
Summary:
This book, published in 1997, articulates a new perspective on land use planning in the Pacific Northwest. Chapter 4 focuses on the political side of protecting the environment. The chapter introduces the motives behind conservationists' efforts to bring about change by including the federal government as regulatory and enforcement party to any interstate agreements regarding the Columbia River.
The introduction to the chapter concisely summarizes the main points of the legislative process surrounding these efforts and articulates four main points along the path to protection. The remainder of the chapter details the efforts of U.S. Senator Robert Packwood (R-OR), former Oregon governor Vic Atiyeh, former Washington governor John Spellman, U.S. Senator Dan Evans (R-WA), and finally U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR) in pushing through S.2055 which became law in November of 1986.
S. 2055 is a jointly sponsored Scenic Area Act that specified four Special Management Areas (SMA's) that are now part of the National Forest System. Originally, S. 2055 was introduced by Packwood as the Columbia River Gorge Act of 1983. It was designed to mitigate the concerns of local environmentalists who articulated doubt in the ability of local government to adequately protect the Columbia River Gorge. The bill proposed the incorporation of certain lands into the National Forest system, which would subsequently place them under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. The bill stuttered in committee and never came to a vote.
Four Oregon and Washington senators then introduced S. 2055, the Scenic Area Act. The new plan involved a two-tier system of management including a regional planning agency as well as the U.S. Forest Service. Reluctantly signed in 1986 by President Reagan, the bill became law.
Critique of Chapter 4: The Politics of Protection
Although the information in this chapter is interesting and very relevant, it is not so easy to follow. Because there are so many players involved and there were two different acts reviewed, it would have been helpful for the authors to visually map what happened and perhaps chart the course of the legislation. I read it twice in order to understand exactly what happened.
The authors do a good job of including the ramifications of both acts for the various parties: environmentalists, private land owners, federal and state agencies, etc. These ideas and the information, however, are not so logically mapped and require the reader to track many discussions simultaneously.
The summary at the end of the chapter does an exceptional job of critiquing the final outcome of years of negotiation. In order to pass legislation that was originally frustrating to many parties, compromises in language and clarity leaves us with a law that is interesting but not substantive. Language in the act, like “protect and enhance gorge scenic, cultural, recreational, and natural resources” leaves much to be desired in the way of a clear delineation of policy precedence. Does scenic, cultural, recreational, or natural resources warrant protection first? What constitutes protection and enhancement? These types of substantive issues may have been defined in earlier drafts, but the hotly contested and highly debated bill morphed into an act much like others with no real guiding principles and means for political recourse.
Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
HC 441: Science Colloquium, Columbia River Ecology
Fall term, 2005
Send e-mail to the Webmaster