By Aron Faegre
May 20, 2013 at 4:00 AM, updated May 20, 2013 at 4:15 AM
Aron Faegre is president of the Columbia Seaplane Pilots Association.
Regarding the article "Waldo Lake motor ban passes" (May 14):
I have worked for five years to find a way for seaplanes, pilots and
their passengers to be able to experience Waldo Lake in cooperation with
other users. Instead, we have been completely shut out. The intolerance
of Oregon Wild and the Sierra Club concerning Waldo Lake is a sad
repetition of the polarized national politics in Washington, D.C. There
are enormously important environmental issues that need action.
Solutions will come only by finding common ground and creating
coalitions. Creating a private playground for these environmental
groups' members at Waldo Lake is an action that shows only the shallow
depth of their ability to work on the big issues.
As seaplane pilots, we have been found "guilty" of all kinds of
problems by these groups and their members, at numerous Salem and Eugene
hearings, all without a single scientific fact. Rather, it has all been
innuendo and imagined disasters. Seaplanes in Alaska and Canada are
recognized as the most environmentally preferred method of accessing
remote pristine lakes. In British Columbia, the seaplane group and
provincial parks have a public-private partnership whereby the seaplanes
help keep the remote lakes clean and safe and provide support for the
state parks staff. In fact, seaplanes avoid the enormous environmental
damage that automobiles bring to a remote area. The environmental groups
forget to look at their own steeds. At Waldo Lake, the road access
required the clearing of approximately 100 acres of forest and required
the importing of 120 million pounds of asphalt into the watershed. Maybe
he who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones.
Our Oregon seaplane group, whose members come from all walks of life,
near the end of hearings even asked: "Could we at least use the lake
when the road is closed by snow but the water is still open?" The
answer: "No." We asked: "Could we at least get clearance to use the lake
in an emergency when clouds in the area leave no other option?" The
answer: "No." So much for finding common ground; the big guys beat us to
a pulp in Salem.
We want the public to know:
1) Seaplanes have never destroyed a pristine remote lake anywhere in the world.
2) Seaplanes are at least as clean as cars (opponents searched Waldo
Lake for seaplane pollution for five years and couldn't find any).
3) Seaplanes have an invasive species prevention program developed
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and advanced by our national and
regional seaplane pilot associations.
Obviously, we plead guilty that our propellers are noisy, and we
apologize for that. On all waters of this state, we will do our best to
minimize our impact in that regard. At the risk of some backlash, I'll
just close with the thought that I'll just have to go back to my
volunteer work this summer helping restore a critically endangered bird
species. And my fellow pilots will conduct themselves responsibly on
lakes all over the West, while Oregon Wild and Sierra Club members enjoy
the exclusive club they've created on Waldo Lake. We would have loved
to partner with them.
Aron Faegre is president of the Columbia Seaplane Pilots Association.
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion
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