In the midst of the daily reminders about the devastating oil spill along the Gulf Coast -- an environmental and economic catastrophe unseen in American history -- I am reminded that here in the Northwest we experienced the height of the our environmental and economic mis-management in the mid-1990s.

Our National Forests were shut down, timber towns were collapsing and it was hard to see what, if anything, could replace the mess caused by decades of over-harvest, fire-suppression, environmental litigation, consolidation and mechanization of the forest products industry, and changes in global market forces. People were angry, scared, broke, and tired. These are not the typical conditions that we think will spawn innovation, hope, and success.

Now, I am not saying that the war’s over forest management is on par with a massive deep sea oil explosion on any dimension. But I am recognizing that some of the dialogue and reactions share heartache, debate over who to blame, who to hold responsible, and perhaps most importantly, what to do next.

This week a rare thing is happening. The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands is having an oversight hearing to learn about how local efforts in public land communities are creating rural jobs by taking care of our beautiful and productive landscapes.

I am thrilled because four of Sustainable Northwest’s closest partners are serving as witnesses at this hearing. I know their stories and I know that their success has not come easily, nor without struggle. 

But success has come. They have restored portions of our National Forest System, re-channeled streams, saved good working ranches. They have created innovative uses for the wood removed from these efforts and built community-scaled energy facilities and other innovative manufacturing infrastructure. They have created local jobs, catalyzed local business development, and helped with training and retooling as their community transitioned. 

Their accomplishments have been realized by working collaboratively with people from their community and from afar. Their work wasn’t driven by political ideology, in fact quite the opposite.  

The West’s collaborative movement started in the Clinton years, it continued and grew in the Bush years, and will continue and evolve through this Administration and others. The work of these communities, and countless others, has been done in partnership with the federal land management agencies, regulatory officials, and anyone and everyone who was willing to try and make something positive actually happen on the land and in their community. All this and more has been accomplished on a shoe string. These are the organizations whose annual budgets might be as little as $300,000 or as much as $1,000,000. Most are somewhere in between; tiny operations in comparison to the task. 

Now, they will be the first ones to tell you that the task is not done, that there is a lot more to do. They will point out that the forests and range are still not healthy and that people in their community are unemployed and struggling to get by and that businesses, infrastructure, and local knowledge have been lost.

But today, at this hearing convened by Congress, they will have the opportunity to celebrate and share what has worked. They will have a chance to tell our Congressional leaders what the federal government has done right and offer a hand in partnership to work on the issues that remain. It is rare in our media-hyped, politically polarized culture to get the five minutes of fame because of something that is going well, providing hope, and leading us to the future. I hope the echo of their successes will reach all Americans, especially those on the Gulf Coast who are frustrated, tired, scared, and broke. That they will see a small glimmer of a shared hurdle and feel like it is possible to overcome the seemingly impossible. 

As for my partners who traveled about 15 hours each way to speak their truth for five minutes, I hope they bask in their accomplishments, in the pure fact that they had, and continue to have, a vision that brings their love of the land and their community together; and that people in the highest positions of our government are listening. 

I know Sustainable Northwest’s and our partners journey will continue to be long and hard, but today before this hearing, I feel buoyed by the hope that people who were once in the middle of despair have risen to carve a path of solutions. I hope that the federal government—Congress, the Administration, and the Agencies—will accept our hand of partnership and continue to work things out for a more sustainable American West.