POSITION:
It is Federated Women In Timber’s (FWIT) position that a fundamental but
vastly underutilized partnership exists between the urban and rural sectors
of this nation; a partnership that policy makers and resource professionals
are in a position to nurture. It is the importance of this underutilized
partnership that prompts FWIT to bring this issue to The Hill for a third
year.
It is the position of FWIT that one of the
ways that such an effort (improving the urban-rural partnership) maintains
momentum is by keeping a relevant and positive dialogue out in front and in
focus. FWIT maintains its position that elected officials and resource
professionals are in positive leadership positions to mitigate polarization,
and to help nurture a mutual respect between urban and rural sectors of this
nation.
BACKGROUND:
Recognition of this intrinsic partnership
by lawmakers, resource professionals and industry folks has clearly expanded
over the past few years as dialogue and efforts to reconnect our urban and
rural sectors seems to have found some traction. The American Farm Bureau’s
Beautiful Science (www.agfoundation.org) exhibit at the Innovations facility
at Disney’s Epcot Center is an example of agricultural interests attempting
to bring farming information to an urban audience on a large scale. The
newly launched Partnership for the West (www.partnershipforthewest.org) is a
prime example of how elected officials and citizens are making a serious
effort to educate larger audiences about western rural America and its
contributions to this nation.
In largest measure, community outreach
programs from the federal government arena have been geared to economic
development for small communities and assisting them in dealing with the
rapid changes impacting them. These needs continue. Another need also
exists, however, and that is for federal government’s efforts to champion
education about the mutual contributions that urban and rural Americans make
to the other’s lifestyle. It is a partnership of mutual production and
consumption.
Increasingly, rural America is perceived
by urban folks as a place to recreate, not as a place where production
should occur. Two significant current assaults on rural occupations is the
effort to eliminate grazing from all public lands, and to eliminate
commercial logging from public lands. The current mantra of both of these
efforts is to reserve the public lands for wildlife and for habitat. This
misperception has and will continue to create huge public policy problems
and debates. Rural America’s political voice is often drowned out by the
sheer numbers of urban constituencies. Rural America is not free of its own
biases toward its urban counterpart. It frequently overlooks the market
relationship and sees itself as ‘providing’ for the needs of urban
folks. There is a distinct difference between the perception of ‘market
relationship’ and that of ‘providing.’ It is measured, unfortunately, by
contempt. Immeasurable amounts of intellectual, political, economic and
social capital are consumed while trying to craft laws and implement
regulations that reflect values of both arenas.
While such prolonged and agonizing debates
might produce some type of legislation, they do not begin to recognize what
is really generating such emotional and tension filled efforts. As a
nation, maturing in its legislative processes, we should be carefully
examining and addressing the root causes.
RATIONALE:
FWIT was formed for the purpose of
carrying the voice of forestry-based communities to the larger urban and
political arena, i.e., Washington, D.C. Public policies, which had been and
are consistently affecting rural communities negatively, necessitated a
'real face' be put on the receiving end of such decisions. This effort has
been relatively effective. Insight gained into the dynamics of urban-rural
arenas as they play into public policy has been invaluable.
Additionally, there are numerous natural
resource/agricultural related organizations that are experiencing increasing
difficulty in maintaining their presence anywhere near urban areas, or in
receiving a balanced day in the court of public opinion. This partial list
includes farms, ranches, processing and manufacturing plants, logging
operations and sawmills.
We will not belabor the accepted reality
that more and more urban citizens have a drastically diminished
understanding of where and how the products they consume originate.
RATIONALE:
Policy development in the natural
resource/agricultural arenas could be drastically facilitated if the level
of 'literacy of production' on the part of the urban American public could
be improved.
Federal agencies and elected officials
enjoy the trust and respect of many parts of the 'public'. Messages from
them would be received in a neutral fashion. They would resonate with the
public as reasonable and good for the nation. This would greatly mitigate
the constant 'special interest' rhetoric that creates polarization and
prevents learning about the issues. Familiarizing the federal resource
managers in how to communicate about their agencies’ role in the overall
national economy is going to produce professionals with skill levels to meet
21st century challenges. This is a serious weak link today.
Elected officials also have changing roles
which include a public dialogue about the connections between production and
consumption, between urban and rural, between laws passed and benefits
received. This type of approach will, FWIT believes, help to improve both
understanding and tolerance of differences on socio-economic issues.
CONCLUSION:
If public entities are going to make
public policies based upon public opinion, the public must have reliable
information to understand the consequences of proposed actions. These
public policy entities have a responsibility to help educate the public so
that an informed public can guide responsible resource management
decisions. FWIT members are willing to help make the concrete connections
to forge a viable and proud urban/rural American partnership.
kpj/WY/04
