There are some who say newspapers are not as important as they once were and will eventually go out of business. Others say that newspapers will continue as a central part of the community providing detailed and unbiased information to readers so that readers may make informed decisions and understand the context of events and issues facing our region.
I hope The Columbian will take the latter to heart regarding its periodic “public service announcements” for the Gifford Pinchot Task Force, an extreme environmental activist nonprofit which misleads the public. The Sept. 6 full-page ad stated “Working to prevent mining on Mount St. Helens.” As this newspaper has previously noted, there is no mining occurring on Mount St. Helens or within the national monument boundaries. The only potential mining, for exploration only, will possibly occur about 10 to 12 miles from the crater, and over a mile beyond the monument boundary on national forest lands, which is open for mineral claims. Hard rock mining is one of the most speculative natural resource businesses.
As a Skamania County commissioner, I would ask why mislead readers with such speculative “claims” about mining on Mount St. Helens?
Christopher Brong
Stevenson
