| February 9, 2009
Slater Turner, Dear Mr. Turner The USFS is charged with the monumental mission of responsible management of our natural resources. You are tasked with managing the forest for optimum health and multiple usage benefits for all future generations. I would ask you to please consider the impacts of your decisions very carefully. Rager Ranger Station is a strong presence on the district. The personnel stationed there are very well trained and a valuable part of the natural resource management program.. They know their district well and are dedicated to proper management of the land. They have a good working relationship with the ranching community who are the permittees that utilize the surplus grazing on the forest. The range con responsibilities require close monitoring of range conditions and utilization plans to insure the success of the program. The permittees have a 100 year history of working closely with the range con, that accessibility is very important. The timber management crew is charged with planning timber stand health and productivity treatments that help to ensure the wellness of the forest. Your timber crew is a strong and productive team of professionals who provide a stabilizing presence for all timber users. Their presence is a deterrent to timber theft and other forest abuses. There is presently a large scale timber theft taking place on the northern edge of the Lookout Mt and Rager Ranger districts that would probably expand to the whole forest if Rager was closed down. Rager personnel are a constant presence and deterrent to all sorts of inappropriate activities on the forest. The Fisheries and wildlife team are responsible for the overall health of the flora and fauna of the forest. They monitor nest sites, population trends, habitat conditions, riparian areas and wildlife usages across the district. Their presence helps to deter illegal hunting / fishing activities and helps it insure a fair and equitable use of the resources. They monitor timber and range management activities to help insure a healthy forest. The presence of an on district archeologist helps to protect our national heritage. Rager has been blessed with numerous significant archeological sites, both ancient and homestead era that would be at risk of destruction if they were not properly monitored and protected. The regular presence of Rager staff moving about the forest day to day helps to protect this and all other resources of the district. For the past 23 years that I have worked with the Rager district they have been a steadying presence to the local community, the area ranchers and the transient hunting / recreational populations that make use of the forest. Rager has helped to provide a stable base for hunter contacts and emergency notification. They assist with search and rescue operations, emergency first aide / ambulance and forest information contacts. I have personally been involved with several life saving rescues that Rager personnel were involved with. They have saved lives and minimized damages to injured people because they were close enough to get to the scene during the “Golden Hour”. An ambulance from Prineville is a minimum of 2 hours from Rager, and would still have to drive over roads that they may or may not be familiar with to locations that may only be a mark on the map. Rager personnel are very familiar with their district. I have assisted Rager personnel with treating hypothermia, motor vehicle accidents, horse wrecks, fall victims, gunshot wounds, heart attack and stroke victims. They have provided an immeasurable service to the USFS and the public through their professional and caring efforts. The motivating factors behind the decision to close Rager seem primarily a matter of economics, however, I would urge you to examine how cost effective such a move really is. All of the above stated impacts aside, such a move will result in several hours a day lost to commute time. The commute from Prineville to the Rager would require between 3 and 5 hours of commute time each and every day for each and every employee who had business on the district. Some efficiency could be recovered through longer workdays, however fatigue and safety would soon become a factor. The road to Rager is at times a very treacherous experience, ice, snow, bright sunlight, darkness, traffic and wildlife all present challenges and dangers to the USFS employees who would be required to commute for their resource management jobs. Again I would ask you to take the decision very seriously. Think about the implementation of your decision, economics is a small part of your responsibility to properly manage our resources. Gary Soules 541-447-6267
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