HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-29-21 Public Comment - G. Monahan - Commission Meeting Formwat & BMW ProjectFrom:Glenn Monahan
To:Agenda
Subject:Commission Meetings
Date:Thursday, July 29, 2021 12:46:33 PM
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Dear Commissioners:
This past Tuesday, I monitored and participated in the Commission meeting.
I am compelled to advise you that the electronic, virtual meeting format is a complete failure.
Despite the fact that I have an excellent internet connection and was using a high quality ipad,paired with high quality Sony headphones, I had great difficulty hearing and understanding the
commissioners and the public commenters.
It is my understanding that many people who wished to comment were unable to do so for
various reasons. This just doesn't happen with a live meeting held at City Hall.
I am herein urging you, in the strongest possible terms, to resume live Commissionmeeting at City Hall. There are precautions that can be taken to assuage your Covidconcerns, AND vaccinated individuals posses a very high degree of protection fromserious infection. The time has come to leave the comfort of your homes, and hold livemeetings - where citizens can be actively engaged with their government in a format thatis proven to be accessible and effective.
Regarding your vote on Tuesday:
The BMW project is a solution in search of a problem.
My training and background is in Earth Science, and I am well equipped to read, digest, and
make conclusions from current research on fires and climate - which I have been engaged infor several years.
I would like to express my passionate disappointment in your decision to join the USFS withan amicus brief, in the BM Watershed matter. The commission and the city manager are
essentially ignoring current fire science. The commission is essentially saying that, YES - itbelieves in anthropogenic climate change, and Yes - it believes that storing carbon in old-
growth forests can mitigate a warming climate (as per MSU professor Cathy Whitlock), andYES - habitat for wildlife is important. But you are not putting these beliefs into practice.
Somehow you have been persuaded that this project is an exception - it is not!
It is a dangerous thing when a government entity acknowledges the best available science, but
fails to heed it. And this, coupled with the overwhelming public input to NOT log the BMW isof great concern.
I was disheartened at the City Manager's condescending statement that building logging roadsinto the forest is a good thing, because, "when we do have a fire up there, it will make it easier
for firefighters to safely combat the fire". Perhaps you are not aware that about 80% of firesare human caused, and roads attract human activity. Opening up the forest to sunshine and
wind will likely make it drier, and allow earlier snow runoff. This will affect soil moistureretention.
A number of commenters on Tuesday pointed out to you that rapidly accumulating peerreviewed research is pointing to an inability of trees to recolonize disturbed areas (see this
research from Univ of Montana: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2196213-forests-are-becoming-less-able-to-bounce-back-from-wildfires/). This disturbing trend begs the question,
"What if the forest treatments in the BMW causes the forest to dry, thus preventing anyseedling regeneration? As the forest then ages, will old trees will die, and not be replaced?
Our watershed will then convert to grassland/shrubs, with diminished capacity for soilmoisture retention. The risks of this project, in all probability, outweigh the supposed benefits.
Our climate and environment here in SW Montana are changing rapidly - before our eyes -and growth is consuming much of our diminishing resources. And yet the commission insists
on defending a proposal that was created in 2005. And particularly troubling is that you arerelying on the USFS - an agency that is still focused on "getting out the cut" - as your primary
source for providing the rationale to proceed.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input in the management of our city.
Sincerely,
Glenn Monahan
420 North 10th AveBozeman, MT