February 24, 2008

My last blog was printed as a letter to the editor in the Wenatchee World and the Spokesman-Review. The Seattle Times seems to have ignored it. The most interesting response was in the Spokesman Review from a writer in Ferry County, who said (and I quote):

“Ms. Madsen doesn’t want wildlife to be able to move in our area.”

Where in heaven’s name did he get that idea?! I am under no illusion that wildlife give a fig what I think about where they move. Considering the many moose sightings in the metropolitan Spokane River watershed over the last two weeks, the moose seem to be moving around just fine. Common sense tells me the moose, bears, cougars, wolves, deer and elk don’t need a Y2Y Eco-Region sign to tell them where to move.

My critic goes on to say that of course the West Siders are ignoring us because our legislators vote “no.” Voting no on a bad idea is good thing. In fact, it is such a good thing that I am headed to Olympia this week to testify against SB 5318 in front of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The trick will be putting the case into words the West Siders can understand, since respect for private property rights and common sense doesn’t seem to sway them.