Norfolk Daily News letter to the editor by Snake River landowner – March 30, 2011
By frito at March 30, 2011 | 12:58 am | Print
Editor’s Note: The following is a letter sent from one of the landowners affected by the proposed Snake River Acquisition project, Dr. Cleve Trimble, to the Norfolk Daily News. dated March 30, 2011
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In describing the Cowboy Trail’s damage by a force of nature, the recent NDN editorial (10/18/10) found ‘no shortage of irony’ that the Trail was designed for people to enjoy nature. Repair estimates of up to $6.2MM were more than the cash-strapped Nebraska Game and Parks Commission could raise, even when tapping into its other sources. It was questioned whether the costs of repairs outweighed their value. The trail purportedly had not been used “as extensively as supporters might have hoped.” Somehow the value of embracing nature has become numbers-driven.
But an abundance of irony was evidenced in another article in the same edition (“State angles for greater access to Snake River”). The Game and Parks Commission announced its intention to purchase a $9MM ranch through which a small portion of the Snake River runs. Not unexpectedly, the Commission was tapping into another of its funding sources. The Commission noted that the quality of the fishery was “unrivaled anywhere”, including Colorado and Wyoming, and intends to open up the river to the public.
Somehow the Commission has missed the irony that the fishery is unrivaled because it has been in the hands of private landowners, stewards who live and work on the land 365 days a year, through all kind of weather, and who have their own process for admitting fishers who agree to the rules that have enabled the fishery to flourish. There is a reason the fishery, and the setting itself, has remained special.
It is ironic that the Commission has somehow forgotten its recent plea to the public (9/12/10) to pick up after itself in state-maintained areas because the litter was proving fatal to the environment and wildlife. But almost immediately thereafter, the Commission lifted its ban on alcohol in state-maintained areas. It is as though there are no connecting dots between alcohol and litter.
It is ironic that the Commission will invite the public into what is now a relatively pristine environment when only one enforcement officer covers the entirety of Cherry County, a land mass exceeding that of Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut. On-going maintenance and enforcement are predictably impossible with a State budget that demands layoffs and across-the-board cuts.
It is ironic that the Commission says Snake Falls must be available for public viewing when the public has always been able to view it. The sole burden is to contribute a dollar to walk a path that the Commission now wants to replace with an expensive, high-maintenance boardwalk, restrooms, and parking lot.
It is ironic that the Commission seeks to spend the money of others on a new project when it cannot maintain most of its old projects. Surely, the Cowboy Trail benefits more people per day than the 6 fisherman the Commission intends to specially select to be given access to the Snake.
Some lovely places on this earth get that way because they haven’t been trammeled by week-end visitors. Some fish get big because they haven’t been caught. Why is it that a public agency doesn’t understand that some places, like some fishes, do just fine without the public and its managers? Does everything that is good have to be subjected to a fee-generating license or permit?
And how long until the maintenance becomes unaffordable; until the utilization drops; or until someone opines that the costs of repairs outweigh their value. Just like giving up on the Cowboy Trail, but this time a river will die. How ironic.
Cleve Trimble
Cherry County
