Hells Canyon & The Middle Snake River App C/Chap 14 thoughts

After reading Chapter 14 and Appendix C , I came to the conclusion that our nation is still struggling with conservation of national resources. Cattle and sheep grazing and how it affected the environment were issues of the 19th and 20th century. Also, debates over state and federal regulation of lands still continue to this day. Natural resources such as timber, silver, and copper along with oil are still the focal point of heated debates. Do we mine our resources? or do we continue to rely on foreign countries many of whom do not share our social values or have our best interests in mind.

One man from Idaho played a major role not only on regional decisions of resource management and conservation, but on the national and even world level as well. Senator Frank Church was that man. Whether it was from over grazing, over fishing, poor mining policies or human encroachment, our region’s environment and natural resources were threatened in the 19th and 20th centuries. Frank Church helped to establish legislation that called for protection and reasonable recreational and historical perseveration of wilderness areas from Idaho to California. Church helped to pass the 1968 National Wilderness Act. As mentioned in App C, during the 1950’s many companies had great interest in access to Idaho and Washington’s natural resources including forest land and rivers. Power companies struggled with Native Tribes over the building of damns and fishing rights. President Eisenhower presided over policy debates of rights of private enterprise to these lands or federal protection. Private enterprise gained ground in the 1950’s and expanded into the northwest. Frank Church, with his environmental protection polices helped to create a balance of resource management and conservation by not only working with regional and national leaders but world leaders as well.

Frank Church showed just as much tenacity in dealing with our nations foreign affairs issues as he did with protecting Hells Canyon and other wilderness areas. Church worked with other political figures on our nations policies in Vietnam and the Middle East. He felt that many of our nation’s policies towards these nations were for access to natural resources. This can be argued but Church was active in dealing with our national issues of resource management both nationally and globally. He succeeded in creating an environment of more openness on our nation’s foreign affairs polices, and was truly a politician ahead of his time.

Frank Church acted on many of the issues that are discussed in both chapter 14 and App C. of Resource management and conservation. These issues are still the focal point of national and even global debates. It’s ironic that Senator Frank Church specialized in Asian social and political issues. His last job was practicing law in Washington D.C. with his focus being on Asian affairs. If Senator Church was alive today he would have plenty of material to examine when it came to natural resources in Asia. Much like over grazing from cattle and sheep, and abuse by mining corporations led to environmental problems in the Northwest, poor management of water supplies has left China in desperate need of water. China is in serious political debates with its neighbors, Vietnam and Thailand over water rights. Many regional experts even predict armed conflict is possible in the region over water rights. Senator Church was ahead of his time when it came to wilderness conservation and preservation. Though debate still continues over both of these issues, the contribution of one man did make a difference not only in regional resource management but national and global as well.