President Obama: If A Tree Falls in a Forest

A recently uncovered speech delivered by President Obama after spending an afternoon in the Green Mountain National Forest, near Manchester, VT.

Good afternoon, everybody. Last night I had a chance to speak to the leaders of the House and the Senate and reached out to those who have interest in my touring of this national treasure.  I told both Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders that I would enjoy walking through their forest and thanked Welshy (US Congressman Peter Welsh) for his extraordinary leadership over the last two years in taking an interest in not only this Vermont forest, but all of our national forest and green-lands.

After what I’m sure was a long afternoon waiting here for me to return from the depths of the forest– and needless to say it was for me — I can tell you that some federal forests are more fun than others. Some are exhilarating; some are humbling. But every forest, regardless of whether it’s the Tongass National Forest in Alaska or the Choctawhatchee National Forest in Florida, which is in fact managed by the Apalachicola National Forest, have both shared characteristics as well as those which are quite unique, even if there are no national forest characteristics.

President Obama (left) and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack address the media from deep within the forest. (Photo courtesy D. Libby)

Over the last few months, I’ve had the opportunity to travel around the country and visit many of these forest, brush and grasslands that comprise these land management areas, whether they be for timber harvesting, livestock grazing, water or recreation and met the people who live and work near the mountain and/or plain.  I did some talking, but mostly I did a lot of listening. And this afternoon’s walk confirmed what I’ve heard from folks all across both Americas: People are frustrated — they’re deeply frustrated, both person and pine, with opportunities that they hope for their children and their grandchildren to both visit these areas, as well as to earn a sustainable living in these areas.  They want trees to grow both faster and to give their children the same chances and opportunities as they’ve had in their own life to benefit from the natural resources of our lands.

The men and women who look for us to solutions, don’t expect Washington to solve all the problems that plague our National Forests and Grasslands. There are many different problems and many different tree illnesses, such as the American Chestnut Blight – that many know is a fungus that has completely eliminated the American Chestnut as a commercially viable species.  There is the Aspen Canker and the Bacterial Wetwood also known as the slime flux where the tree tries to compartmentalize the infection and address this infection without Washington’s involvement.  We want to help those trees that require our intervention by making the investments in technology that will allow us to find innovative solutions to the problems and issues that plague not only the forest but the forestry service.

The Forestry service expects Washington working for them and not against them and citizens want to know that their tax dollars spent for this purpose are not wasted, leaving our children a legacy of debt and no forest.  This is why we at the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees these forests, under the direction of Secretary Tom Vilsack and Harris Sherman, the responsible Undersecretary are doing more than simply appropriating money to fight fires and using Smokey Bear campaigns to deter conflagrations in the deciduous and coniferous forest lands under the jurisdiction of the service.

The President's entourage tour the forest passing the Bartonsville Covered Bridge. (Photoshop courtesy of D. Libby)

Walking around today in this piece of forest land, outside of Manchester, and seeing the multitude of wildlife that populates these areas, such as white-tailed deer, beaver and moose, I came across a fallen tree, obviously ravaged by blight and disease.  This made me think of an old saying and I recalled how naïve it would be to simply say it and therefore simplifying the woes within the forest.  I think it’s more appropriate to say, that if a tree falls in the forest, and one is there to effectively communicate that it was not the wind that caused such a disaster, but Anthracnose diseases of hardwood trees, which are in fact widespread throughout the Eastern United States, then did it actually make a sound?

It is not simply for us in Washington to state that our nation forests are simply in dire straits and that trees are falling, but for Washington to actually come up to the fallen trees themselves to point out the problem and suggest the steps that implement a rebuilding on our economies.  This is what I’m doing here today and when I ran for office to tackle challenges like these and voice the concerns of the everyday people who live in rural forested lands in the Northeastern United States, as well as other locations within the United States, including Kentucky and Ohio, but not Rhode Island, Iowa and North Dakota – which do not have national forest lands in their states.

So today, I’ve come to the conclusion that not only do we need to improve our forested areas, but that we must find common ground with urban dwellers, as no group of people or political party can dictate where we go from here.  And I told John Boehner and Mitch McConnell last night I am very eager to sit down with members of both parties, of both rural, suburban and urban dwellers to figure out how we can move forward together.

I’m not suggesting this will be easy. There are no city bus routes for urban dwellers to take to enjoy our forests and see the issues that are plaguing these areas.  We won’t pretend that we will be able to bridge every difference or solve every disagreement, but maybe a Federal car-sharing website allowing a couple or family from say Needham or Great Neck who are taking a camping trip, to share a ride with an urban couple or family from Roxbury or Soundview who would like to do the same.  Because we are not venturing individually into the forest, but as American people.

None of the challenges we face in the forest land lend themselves to simple solutions or bumper-sticker slogans, like “Give a Hoot Don’t Pollute.” Nor are the answers found in any one particular philosophy or ideology, like funding scientific research to ensure our natural lands are protected. As I’ve said before, no person, no party, has a monopoly on wisdom. And that’s why I’m eager to hear good ideas wherever they come from, whoever proposes them. And that’s why I believe it’s important to have an honest and civil debate about the choices that we face, but first we have to educate the population.

This is why in addition to the US Forestry Car and Van Sharing Program, I’m instructing the US Forestry Service to produce a 6 DVD series simply titled “Forest: Resource, Fungus and Fire.  America’s Introduction to the all the natural wonders including trees, ponds, streams, rock formations, cliffs and bowls”.  I’m sure with this, we can make progress on the serious problems facing our forests and that’s going to require all of us, including me, to work harder at building consensus.

You know, a little over a month ago, we held a town hall meeting in Richmond, Virginia. And one of the most telling questions came from a small business owner who runs a tree care firm. He told me how hard he works and how busy he was; how he doesn’t have time to pay attention to all the back-and-forth in Washington. He wants to know if we can return to a healthy legislative process, so as I strap on the boots again tomorrow, I know that you guys got the forest under control? It’s hard to have a faith in that right now, he said.

I do believe there is hope for rebuilding our forests. As I’ve laid out to you here in Vermont, I do believe there’s hope for progress and believe that after educating and informing our populace to the blight, we will legislate a resiliency of our nation’s forests that have bounced back from much worse.  Look at Vermont, a state that was almost completely agricultural farm land, today it is seventy-seven percent forest.  As a nation that’s where we are at right now, a nation cut of it’s resources, people out of work and a political system defunct of logic. We are looking to take a step forward to what it was in the past.

And that’s something that we all need to remember right now and in the coming months. And if we do, I have no doubt that we will continue this nation’s long journey towards a better future for not only our national forests but all geological areas of this great nation of ours.

Thank you for reading this piece of fiction.  All photos are photo-shopped from alternate sources.

Advertisement