Revolting Development

Bayview Idaho is a quiet little town tucked so far away you really have to be shun piking to even find it. It's the type of place outsiders crave when they want to escape the pressures of life in big, crime ridden, polluted metropolises .

Then comes a developer with his nose to the ground like a hound after a fox. "Aha!", says he. "I've found the perfect place. What luck! It's full of rubes just ripe for the pickin'!" He settles in.

He thumbs his nose at rules, regulations, permits and just about everything else one can think of in his quest to own the area. Then in the process disaster strikes. He successfully decimates one of the last healthy spawning beds for the struggling Kokanee Salmon. The caviar has hit the fan. Finally.

The people of Bayview have been voicing complaints about this interloper's tactics from the day he hit town but to no avail. However, in a sense he was right about assuming the area rubes could be had. It IS NOT the town folk! It's those who were in a position to monitor his activity, to issue his permits, to inspect his plans and work, even stop him and did not. Just as much anger, maybe even outrage should should be directed at them.

Now it may be too little too late. Huge damage has been done. The environmental impact is horrendous. The fish are dead, the fry crushed and the eggs smashed. Wild, spawning fish that cannot be replaced. How dare he. How dare he think the community would sit idly by and let him go about his business. How dare he come from the outlands and think he could force his will. How dare he!

He's from Arizona. Goes to show Californians aren't necessarily the bad guys. In fact, they just might like to join the lynch party!

What he didn't count on, I'm willing to bet, is the outrage of the people and their ability to get the word out. With one of the area's most prolific bloggers,Herb Huseland, in their midst and his connections with the local press the news did get out. Loud and clear.

Let it be a lesson to outsiders who misread how locals feel about this area. They love it and will fight like a mother lion to protect it. Beware. Folks everywhere are watching, listening, talking and reporting...