OPINION: Bureaucrats ought not turn away citizens or equipment ready to help

I have been a resident of Kalispell for 84 years. I have worked in the wood products industries for at least 70 years. I have been a sawyer, a skidder, a millworker and a truck driver. I worked all over Northwest Montana, hauling heavy equipment on countless back roads and job sights. I have harvested thousands of board feet of timber and consider myself a good steward of the lands and our natural resources. As a result of my experience, like many loggers, I have worked on dozens of forest fires falling trees and hauling heavy equipment for decades.

I am writing to share my thoughts and concerns on how wildfire suppression is being conducted in Montana today. When heavy equipment is hauled to a fire, the equipment should be put to work right away instead of remaining idle while the fires rage. Rules and regulations have gotten out of control and the result is millions of wasted tax dollars and increased natural resource losses due to bureaucratic nonsense that hampers the efforts of the true stewards of the woods, our loggers and the members of the wood products industries.

For example, one of my sons was turned away because they say he wasn’t equipped to their exact specifications. My son has thousands of hours hauling and operating heavy equipment in the woods, he knows exactly what he is doing, and his ability to operate safely is proven by his spotless record.

Helicopters belonging to the state of Montana sit idle while our woods are burning because they don’t have the size water bucket that the federal government requires.

Another son of mine was threatened with a fine because he discovered a wildfire while returning from a fishing trip, and he and others used their equipment to immediately put it out. Apparently the government needed to analyze the threat potential and come up with a plan first. Heck, they had the fire out before it had the opportunity to become an explosive threat to property and lives. According to the government, they broke the law.

What kind of rules and regulations discourage common sense? These men make their living in the woods, you would think they would be commended for their unpaid and selfless sacrifice not discouraged and threatened for responsible behavior.

Years ago the government used to draft anyone available to help eradicate these wildfires. Citizens understood that we all have an obligation to protect our natural resources. Today the authorities seem to forget that these forests belong to us the people and not a handful of bureaucrats who are hell-bent on making regulations that cripple the efforts to eradicate a fire.

I understand the need for safety and protecting the lives of the people who are attempting to preserve our forests, but I don’t understand bringing men and equipment in from all over the country while we have good experienced men and good working equipment right here.

In conclusion, when needless government regulations hamper the efforts to put out wild fires and waste millions of your tax dollars, we need to speak up and encourage your elected representatives to be part of the solution not part of the problem.

Richard “Nibs” Whitehead is a resident of Kalispell.