It’s all about the money

To the editor — This letter comes from a place far from the Yakima Valley. The drum that now beats on the Yakama reservation is now being heard across our nation. The cry for help from a small brave group of concerned people about the slow, insidious death of their Nation must not be ignored.

I once lived on the Yakama reservation. As a business owner, having married into a large corporate farming family, I spent 12 years there. The memories of the glorious vistas, the smells of the sage, the wild horses on Toppenish Ridge, are all still alive in my heart.

I now beat my drum from Delaware because I am deeply troubled by the coming doom of this great Yakama Nation. This death is slow, like an insidious cancer that dwells within the flesh, many times not rearing its ugly head until it is far too late.

The cancer that is now started are confined animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs. It’s a strange acronym and a far more difficult subject to digest. The accelerated arrival and implementation of large concentrated cow feedlots are the beginning of a serious terminal illness for which there is no treatment.  

And unfortunately, this anathema, this great doom, is all about the money. And when one small group of brave individuals beats their drum for help, standing up to large farming corporations, and governmental agencies, it is a cause so worthy of a miracle.

Perhaps the miracle will come when the large corporate growers of hops, fruit and vegetable crops finally realize that they, too, are now in jeopardy. When the wells are drained and polluted with nitrates, and the brown air that is now so filled with rotting stench is further compromised, and the land can no longer sustain crops because of pollutants. Imagine the ramifications; they would be well beyond the Alar incident.  Imagine the financial devastation to these corporations and to the entire Yakima Valley. 

It is all about the money, and the race to get those CAFOs in place before people get smart.

MELAINE MINEAR

Dover, Del.

Ban isn't tough enough

To the editor -- The good thing about Yakama tribal government is that every once in a while they act to protect their people without regard to political consideration. Unlike county government, mega-dairy and feedlot political contributions aren't a factor in doing the right thing.

It is well past time for Yakima County to dream the dream of electing fair and impartial politicians who would act for the greater good of all our county residents instead of shamelessly dancing to the tune of "good old boy" big agriculture. Kudos to the Yakama Tribal Council for protecting the health and well-being of their people in a way that county politicians would never do. Score one small victory for clean water and breathable air.

So, does the tribal ban on dairies go too far?

Ask the hundreds of county residents dealing with poisoned wells, contaminated air, dust, flies, rats and disease?

The truth is that the tribal ban on dairies and feedlots doesn't go far enough. With three-quarters of our state essentially empty, doesn't it just make good sense to locate these "self-regulating" mega-polluters away from populated areas?

People can no longer be considered "acceptable collateral damage" in the war for ever greater government subsidized profits.

ERIC ANDERSON

White Swan

Tribal ban is correct

To the editor -- I am very offended by the July 14 editorial, "Tribe's dairy ban goes too far."

You sound biased to me.

We, the people of the Yakama Indian Reservation, hold dear to us all the lives we live now. We don't want our air or water polluted. Without water, we will die. Maybe that's what this is really all about.

It is my opinion, there is no more discussion about dairies coming onto the reservation. The Yakama Nation Tribal Council has spoken for the people by passing the resolution to ban any new dairies.

The creator put us here to take care of Mother Earth. Right now, she is hurting and crying out for help. It is man, who has made her sick. Only man can save her. It is up to all of us to help her. Empty promises have been made about enforcement and regulations. We, the members of the Yakama Reservation, have to protect our beloved mother. No one else will. The Yakama Nation Tribal Council has spoken: "No more dairies!"

SELINA BEARD

Wapato

It's illogical

To the editor -- It would be both foolish and very expensive to put a dairy so far from the freeway and its distribution center. The extra fuel costs alone would be astronomical. It would be much better for the Sytsma family to put their dairy around Moxee, Selah or Naches and then put the Douglas wrecking yard right next to the dairy. Now that's logic.

JAMES E. PRATT

White Swan

You could be next

To the editor -- For those of you who believe we have gone too far by saying no to dairies, I ask this question: Would you want one next to your house? Before you answer this,you should come out and visit one. Ask the neighbors who live near a dairy how they feel.

The site the Sytsma Dairy has chosen for a dairy is dangerously close to Toppenish Creek, which flows through a major wildlife refuge and is home to thousands of birds and wildlife. This factory farm would threaten the fragile ecosystem miles along Toppenish Creek.

You should all hang your heads with shame for even suggesting we jepordize this fragile habitat, all to save a few cents on a glass of milk. These dairies are not as you envision them; they are not grandpa's cows out on grass. Many of these cows never see grass.

The purity of our air and water is essential to life on this planet. We should be devoting our energy to cleaning our planet -- not polluting it. So, beware! Your neighborhood could be next!

RICHARD BEARD

Wapato