Safe landing makes for happy ending
Inter Lake editorial
At a time when Flathead Valley residents are still grieving from a number of fatalities over the past few weeks, it was nice to have a happy ending on Saturday at Skydive Lost Prairie near Marion.
After the landing gear fell off a plane as it was situated to drop a load of skydivers, the experienced pilot flew around the remote airfield for some 90 minutes until he burned off most of the fuel. It was a wise decision, allowing him not only to eliminate fuel but also giving him and rescue crews on the ground time to figure out a plan.
The plane tipped over slowly as it landed, but the pilot walked away without a scratch. His outcome is a testament to his skill and ability to stay calm in the face of potentially grave danger.
The incident reminds us of the risk that's involved when we take to the skyways or the byways. It reminds us that not everyone is as fortunate as this particular pilot.
Just a week ago, beloved Whitefish veterinarian Hugh Rogers perished when his plane crashed on Hungry Horse Reservoir. Two weeks before that a Helena man was killed in a plane crash near Canyon Ferry Lake, and 14 people died March 22 when their plane crashed in Butte.
We're also still reeling from the recent death of Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Haynes.
It was on the minds of people at Skydive Lost Prairie during Saturday's incident that nearly two years ago, four skydivers and a pilot were killed trying to land at that very same airstrip.
Life is so very fragile, we're reminded again and again. That's why a save like the one Saturday is reason to celebrate.
He's not the first to suggest it, but Gov. Brian Schweitzer is by far the most influential person to propose that the state of Montana assume timber management on a piece of national forest lands.
We have no doubt the state would indeed move along timber sales in a more productive fashion than the U.S. Forest Service has been able to.
Schweitzer said he has written to the secretary of agriculture suggesting a transfer of management authority. He said that if the state managed just 15,000 acres of federal land, it would likely yield enough timber to keep small mills across the state open.
That certainly would help small mills, but one has to wonder how realistic the proposal is, considering the amount of "analysis paralysis' and legal strangulation that comes with just about any significant action proposed for federal forests.
And the unfortunate reality is that the federal government, rather than the state, is poised to add to its timberland holdings in Montana. The Montana Legacy Project involves the purchase of a whopping 320,000 acres of Plum Creek Timber Co. land in Montana. While there are provisions for some of that acreage to be transferred to the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the vast majority will be managed by the Forest Service.
While the Forest Service will manage the land for timber, recreation and public access, it's not a stretch to predict that more timber would come off the land if it were managed by the state. And that's a shame.