Community, forest, economic issues come together in Dads Creek project

The Dads Creek project had its roots in a previous, successful collaboration to address unhealthy forest conditions on Bureau of Land Management land on Little Canyon Mountain.

The Dads Creek project had its roots in a previous, successful collaboration to address unhealthy forest conditions on Bureau of Land Management land on Little Canyon Mountain.

Mike Browning, one of the principal activists in that effort, recalled a conversation with his friend Charlie O'Rorke at the time. Browning wondered if it would be crazy to try talking to the Forest Service about a larger project.

"Charlie turned to me and said, 'Mike, we've got absolutely nothing to lose," Browning recalled.

Browning contacted Sustainable Northwest for help. The non-profit, which had helped coordinate the Little Canyon Mountain project, helps communities work through disputes over resource issues.

Karen Steer, then a program officer for Sustainable Northwest, signed on to facilitate the process - no easy task, the participants concede.

"They're in disagreement on many things," she said. "But if we can find enough points of overlap, then we can get some good things done."

She said that despite continuing differences of opinion, the group is building trust.

"When we first got together, people were saying, 'I just need to convince them that my point of view is right.' Now people are listening to each other."

The process is not without frustrations, she noted, and it takes time.

"But we're getting there," she said.

Steer noted that Sustainable Northwest only gets involved in such projects if the goals address community and economic health, in addition to resource issues.

"Sustainable Northwest is very interested in creating a restoration economy," she said.

That suits Browning and some of the other participants just fine. They remain concerned that a continuing shutdown in the woods could make it impossible for local mills to continue operating.

"And if our infrastructure goes away, there's no one who's going to come in and invest $50 million or $100 million to build it again," he said.

Browning lauded the participants for their efforts, citing the Forest Service and the Grant County Court in particular for their support and involvement in the Dads Creek project.

"We don't know where it's going to go - it might fall flat on its face. But we're going to give it a shot," Browning said. "Like Charlie said, we've got nothing to lose."