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jdk610
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 1:22 pm 
Federal agencies recently re-opened the public comment period for North Cascades grizzly recovery. You have until October 24, 2019 to make your voice heard. If you’d like to comment in support of North Cascades grizzly recovery, Conservation Northwest provides some helpful guidance and key talking points. If you're interested in learning more about why it's important to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades, this page is a good starting point. Full disclosure: I’m a long-time member of this forum, and long-time supporter of wilderness and wildlife conservation. As such, I recently took a job working for Conservation Northwest, helping them with public outreach for North Cascades grizzly recovery. Posting here is part of that outreach.

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Tom
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 1:42 pm 
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Kim Brown
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 9:04 pm 
I don't know how I am going to respond, but I want to compliment you for including links to the EIS and to the other Alternatives. Most, if not all, other not for profits, just supply link to a canned response form in a blog that says, "fill in the blanks because we said so! " Which insults the intelligence of those they want to reach, and is a lost opportunity for dialog and education.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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jdk610
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 9:36 pm 
Ah, Kim, I wish I could take credit for posting the link to the other alternatives, but that was Tom, not me. Regardless, that's really good feedback for future posts. Or maybe you meant that the Conversation NW webpage included links to the EIS and other alternatives? In which case, thanks for your recognition. smile.gif

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Tom
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 10:17 pm 
Actually first link you posted did include a link to the summary of alternatives. I just made it a little easier to find for anyone that wanted to jump directly to it.

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Ski
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 11:19 pm 
Kim wrote:
"... a canned response form in a blog that says, "fill in the blanks because we said so! "
It might be appropriate to note here: Kim was standing right next to me at a public meeting up at SeaTac (several years ago) when the Compliance Officer from a local National Park told us that the "form letter" responses received (which originate from "environmental" websites) are viewed as a single response, regardless of how many copies they receive. If you want your comments to be read and considered, you need to compose your own letter, not simply copy and paste or "fill in the blanks" on some kind of online form.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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contour5
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PostMon Sep 16, 2019 11:45 pm 
Thanks for posting. I saw the story in the Concrete Herald last week and promptly forgot all about it. I heartily recommend the Concrete Herald and the bakery in Concrete. Not quite sure how I feel about savage, flesh-ripping apex predators parachuted onto the hiker trails. There was also a story about the law enforcement response to the accidental (?) discharge of a canister of bear spray inside the burger shack down on highway 20. Tons of teenage vandalism/tagging coverage; burglaries, DUIs, domestic disturbances, you name it. It's a jungle out there. Trophy killers'll probly get 'em faster than they can eat us anyway- Bring 'em on! Strike down the untrailworthy! They haven't earned it!

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Kim Brown
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 8:45 am 
Tom wrote:
Actually first link you posted did include a link to the summary of alternatives. I just made it a little easier to find for anyone that wanted to jump directly to it.
Yes; Tom made a separate post, knowing that a lot of people don't actually read full content.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Kim Brown
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 8:46 am 
contour5 wrote:
ot quite sure how I feel about savage, flesh-ripping apex predators parachuted onto the hiker trails.
Seems like you're getting close to being sure how you feel about it clown.gif

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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jdk610
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 8:56 am 
Ski - great point about original comments! They are important. A few sentences in your own words carry much more weight than a copy-and-paste job.

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Anne Elk
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 9:55 am 
I'm going to spend some time with all the reading material. While I understand the need for genetic diversity and expanded habitat, I'd have difficulty supporting this effort if the outcome is eventually going to devolve into a situation similar to what's happening in eastern WA with the re-introduced wolf packs. Not that griz prey on livestock, but what will the response be if a hiker or two gets mauled every season? Or will we be OK if the NPS closes off entire hiking districts if a griz is spotted in the area, or limits hiking to groups 4 and larger for safety? That's the m.o. these days in certain areas of Banff National Park.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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jdk610
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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 5:06 pm 
Interested in learning more about grizzly bear recovery in the North Cascades? This event, hosted by the Eastside Audobon Society, is a great opportunity to ask questions and alleviate fears. https://www.eastsideaudubon.org/calendar/2019/3/28/program-night-bbz7a-5b826

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PostTue Sep 17, 2019 7:00 pm 
jdk610 wrote:
"...A few sentences in your own words carry much more weight than a copy-and-paste..." job
The "copy and paste" carries no weight. Nor does having 10,000 people "sign" their names to an online petition to save the whales or wolves or penguins or porcupines - the bottom line is that those people at NPS (or USFS or BLM or USFWS or DNR or WDFW) are going to count the duplicate responses received - the ones generated through websites - as a single response. I should note that the incident up at SeaTac I described above is not the only time I have been told that by a planner or a compliance officer who was in the employ of a public lands management agency. Again, if you want your comments considered, you need to sit down and take the time to compose your own statement, and make it brief and to the point. Long-winded responses are, in the end, just like this post: long-winded.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Kim Brown
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 1:35 pm 
Can’t remember the name of the software, but there is a software developed for the NEPA process that looks for unique terms in even a form letter. I think – but am not sure – that it even detects the uniqueness of the unique term so that if 50 people use the same “unique” phrase in a form letter, it carries more weight than a form letter, but less weight than a Ski-inspired Blue Plate Special. It’s not mandatory to use that software, so if an agency doesn’t use it, the agency doesn’t use it. The human element in examining public comments is invaluable. For instance, if 100,000 people send a form letter opposing the plan and 500 send uniquely written letters supporting it – but don’t offer unique consequences/ideas not already considered – it might be nixed Volume of form letters do work, on occasion. For instance, the Hansen Creek logging plan was amended due, in part, to volumes of form letters sent as a result of a WTA blast, WTA's first foray into Form Letter Land. The USFS was already well aware that certain aspects of that sale wouldn’t be cool. The volume of letters drove it in. So while generally, a form letter counts as ONE opinion, because it is one opinion; nothing unique to even consider. I think agencies know the public fill out form letters with little or no research - the comments are uniformed comments, and it's sorta not playing fair (in my opinion). But volumes may be a gauge of some sort, which is why they're used by organizations.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Kim Brown
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PostWed Sep 18, 2019 1:36 pm 
Original post
jdk610 wrote:
Federal agencies recently re-opened the public comment period for North Cascades grizzly recovery. You have until October 24, 2019 to make your voice heard. If you’d like to comment in support of North Cascades grizzly recovery, Conservation Northwest provides some helpful guidance and key talking points. If you're interested in learning more about why it's important to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades, this page is a good starting point. Full disclosure: I’m a long-time member of this forum, and long-time supporter of wilderness and wildlife conservation. As such, I recently took a job working for Conservation Northwest, helping them with public outreach for North Cascades grizzly recovery. Posting here is part of that outreach.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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