Ben Goldfarb is an environmental journalist based in Spokane, Washington, whose work has appeared in multiple publications on various environmental causes, and is even himself a book author. Mr. Goldfarb recently published an article in the High County News (HCN), When wildlife safety turns into fierce political debate, regarding the wildlife overpass issue in Island Park. Apparently, Mr. Goldfarb considers himself a thorough researcher as he touched on several issues, making sure he berated not only local residents he met in September, 2019, but also took aim at others involved in this controversy.
But let us start with his need to bloviate, using words in a pretentious manner, that were nothing more than insults, from the way Ken Watts dressed, mocking his writing skills, even speculating the reasons why Mr. Watts and his group met early to have breakfast. Also insulting was the description, "squats a subdivision", about residents who opposed overpasses in their area. None of these negative descriptive features were leveled towards his environmental friend Kim Trotter whom he also met at a restaurant, her spokespersons, or others who were involved in wildlife overpass studies. Foregoing corrections about his inaccuracies on ungulate deaths and wildlife vehicle collision (WVC) data, his nauseating but flowery overview of the Island Park area, actual wildlife overpass cost of $23 million, and support of organizational partners with Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), Mr. Goldfarb proceeded with everything he could to justify why rejection of wildlife overpasses was incomprehensible. But he fails to mention, or even admit, that these overpasses were a well coordinated effort between Y2Y, their now defunct Island Park Safe Wildlife Passage Initiative and Henry's Fork Legacy Project front groups, and Idaho government. While downplaying the effort for Island Park to be designated a national monument, he completely missed the amount of documentation that validated the funding effort to achieve this goal by the Obama administration and local groups. The effort far exceeded his lame description and was only dismissed because of its exposure and Obama leaving office. In a feeble attempt to describe Coordination as a "provision" in federal law, he even botched what Coordination really means. No, Mr. Goldfarb, it is federal law. Coordination laws are there for the purpose of protecting local jurisdictional authority. Mr. Goldfarb, in our form of government, a Republic, representation is from the bottom up, not top down. The federal government cannot just come in to execute some project, federal law states any action must be "coordinated" with local jurisdictions to ensure "consistency" with local land use plans. Courts have supported local jurisdictions in their legal right for Coordination when federal agencies have failed to comply. It is highly recommended that Mr. Goldfarb study our government system and how it works. Holding an advisory vote is another example of local jurisdictional authority, citizen authority if you will, that to Mr. Goldfarb's chagrin, wields "powerful influence". While Mr. Goldfarb describes Y2Y as a "wildlife group", the truth is Y2Y is an organization that collects millions of dollars from wealthy foundations and the government, with very specific goals of putting as much land as possible into protection through various activities. Described as "a germ of misinterpreted truth", one writer was accused of "hyperbolic claims". In actual truth, every word written about Y2Y, Ms. Trotter, connectivity, and corridors is backed by documentation. But you know that, don't you Mr. Goldfarb. Even the fact about Y2Y's International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) membership, a United Nations (UN) partner, is known to you, but you chose to phrase it under the UN only for a more cryptic delivery to the reader. Never underestimate citizen knowledge about Y2Y Mr. Goldfarb, there are no theories about what Y2Y and other conservation groups are doing. As for being a writer for "right wing" sites, they are no more right wing than your extreme left wing site, High Country News. No, Ms. Trotter, your Y2Y "large landscape connectivity" does not, and has never, protected the eastern Idaho way of life. It has been the citizens living in that area who have protected it, both wildlife and land. While you may find what is described as "attacks" as "specious", everything written about Y2Y and your activity had documentation to back it up. At no time were you "tarred as a carpetbagger", but rather as the Y2Y U.S. Program Director who was tasked with the job of getting overpasses into the transportation projects at Island Park, and who also did not live in the area. The colossal failure of Y2Y front groups to meet the overpass objectives have led to an Idaho Wildlife Federation front group, Henry's Fork Wildlife Alliance. They too will fail. And by the way, instead of your being open at the 2016 IPPC meeting about your involvement with previous studies, you chose to not disclose this information. In your stead, Ms. Bjerke and others have become your spokespersons. The true fait accompli was not animal detection systems, it was the planned and coordinated effort between Y2Y, Idaho Transportation Department, and Idaho Fish & Game for wildlife overpasses. So much more could be written about this bombastic article, so full of bias, distortions, fabrications, and errors. However, as a freelance writer, Mr. Goldfarb may have been paid for this purpose. A truth Mr. Goldfarb must learn to live with is that regardless of city or county population, authority on land use lies within those jurisdictions. It is local government jurisdictions that make decisions about land use, not well funded organizations. In spite of what Mr. Goldfarb chooses to either believe or not understand, corridors are used for connectivity, and land use restrictions are part of corridors. Even the Targhee Pass Environmental Assessment highlighted land use restrictions would be necessary around the overpasses. Keep your work in Washington Mr. Goldfarb, Idaho does not need, nor want, your biased perspectives that support conservation organization objectives. Idahoans know the truth, no amount of writing that you do will influence any of them, you are wasting your time and energy on Idaho issues.
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