Boren’s actions are ‘self-interested’

Editor:

In this season of range and forest fires, it is comforting to know that the Trump administration has the back of the ranching community. That is, of course, if you are a “gentleman” rancher – and an undersecretary of the Interior.

Yes, undersecretary Michael Boren, who manages the U.S. Forest Service and owns property in Idaho’s Sawtooth Basin, may be a cow’s best friend. I will pass on describing the monstrosity of the home he built upon his own “spread” (I avert my eyes every time I ride by).

According to reports in several media outlets, including the Salt Lake Tribune, a fire started near the Boren mini-ranch on July 12. On this day, firefighting crews were battling flames across the Intermountain West, including the 97,000-plus acre Cottonwood Fire in Utah, the largest blaze in the country. Boren’s seven-acre fire was about to consume the entire 480 acres of his playground, his helicopter landing pad and lunch for the herd. Accordingly, several aircraft were diverted, upon his personal request and direction, from more pedestrian missions, to extinguish the conflagration.

To put in context the serious nature of the spurious Boren meddling, a search of news reports informs us that six firefighting pilots have been killed this season, including a flyer who went down in our own Silver Jack Reservoir. This in addition to those firefighters who have lost lives on the ground. If the Boren fire had occurred in 2023, then perhaps we would have merely saluted the aircraft bombing the Lowline Fire in Ohio Creek and waved them on to Idaho, assured of their safety.

The very idea that Boren can command Forest Service resources for his own use is beyond outrageous. But then again, we must remember the basic qualifications to be a Trump appointee: rich, arrogant, entitled and obsequious; all in for the common folk except when their own wallet gets in the way. As the midterm elections approach, our local Republican leaders might want to contrast their stated concerns for responsible management of our valued resources with the self-interested actions of Boren.

David Haedt

Gunnison