Letters to the editor Sept. 15

Voter information

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s refusal to tell Montana state legislators the details of how and what she did in response to President Trump’s call for state voter information pretty much speaks for itself.

She sacrificed citizen privacy to gain favor and campaign support. Ignorance of Montana and U.S. constitutional law is no defense. Failure to supply a forthright admission of mistakes made and premature obedience to a questionable presidential executive order constitute a serious breach of trust.

— Margaret S. Davis, Lakeside

Demand enforcement

In her Monday, Sept. 7 letter (Gumbo river), Brenda Anderson described the visible effects of development on the Stillwater River. She attributed those impacts to the recent development boom — and she is correct.

My recent dealings with the city of Columbia falls, Flathead County, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, including the Flathead Conservation District, have left me angry and appalled. The agencies charged with protecting the natural resources that define and sustain our valley — especially our surface water and groundwater — are instead standing by while those resources are put at risk. That failure is unacceptable.

Much of this damage could be reduced through basic safeguards, including erosion controls and protected open space or greenbelts around streams, rivers and lakes. Too often, however, these measures receive only pro forma consideration, while developers’ priorities — building more and maximizing profit — carry far greater weight.

I witnessed this firsthand at Garnier Creek near Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls. A protective buffer of timber and brush was completely removed from open space intended to safeguard the creek. Stormwater ponds were then built immediately beside the water, creating a direct pathway for mud, pesticides, and fertilizers to enter the creek — all to make room for a few additional lots and generate a few more dollars for developers.

If this continues, our creeks may become “gumbo creeks,” feeding “gumbo rivers” and, eventually, “gumbo lakes.” Developers will take their profits to the bank, while the public is left with sprawling housing tracts, commercial development, and polluted creeks, rivers and lakes.

Growth may be inevitable, but the government agencies entrusted with protecting our natural resources must stop pretending they are doing their jobs while developers are allowed to degrade the waters that belong to all of us. Their excuses, inaction, and lack of courage are a betrayal of the public trust, and they must finally be held accountable. Otherwise, why are they needed?

I urge every Montanan who values clean water to demand real enforcement, meaningful protective buffers, and public accountability from Flathead County, DEQ, DNRC and the FCD — before more irreversible damage is done.

Montana — the former Last Best Place — must not be allowed to become the Most Polluted Place.

— Paul Kruger, Columbia Falls