U.S. Rep. Greg Walden

[October 12th, 2005] Along with Hurricane Katrina, the exploiters blew in, too, ranging from con men with bogus charities to the cops who allegedly liberated Cadillacs from a dealership as the storm moved in.

Now the Rogue Desk would like to recognize another person who seems to be using Katrina for his own ends: U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.).

As chair of the House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Walden held a hearing last Friday on "restoration after recent hurricanes and other natural disasters."

The hearing's intent: to "examine the roadblocks and actions needed in the coming weeks and months to aid in the recovery of the timber and mitigate potential risk for wildfire and...insect infestation and disease."

Which sounds well and good, except that a prime "roadblock" Walden is pointing to his favorite bogeyman, environmental laws.

Walden is a co-sponsor, with Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), of a controversial Endangered Species Act "reform" bill that enviros say would make it much more difficult to protect rare critters on private land.

Two weeks ago the bill passed the House by a vote of 229-193; given some of its more troublesome provisions, it is unlikely to pass the Senate in its present form.

Walden, a champion of the logging industry, argues that since only 10 endangered species have been taken off the act's list of 1,300, the act has failed. Enviros respond that since only nine species on the list have gone extinct, the act has worked.

While Walden says he is just trying to make things better, his choice of what disaster response his subcommittee investigates seems a little self-serving.

On Sept. 20, environmental groups sent a letter asking Walden and three other Oregon reps to investigate how, in the wake of the massive 2002 Biscuit fire, the U.S. Forest Service improperly allowed clearcutting on 17 acres of protected federal land west of Grants Pass called the Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area. So far, Walden has not responded to the letter.