Published Tuesday, December 27, 2005
No one should be surprised that yet another fatal van accident involving migrant workers has occurred in Washington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest. What do you expect when workers have to travel 100 miles on narrow, winding, snowy, icy roads in darkness to get to and from remote forest work sites?
Lawmakers likely will focus on requiring seat belts and vehicle inspections. But the real problems are fatigue and the nature of travel on inherently dangerous roads.
Once again, the U.S. Forest Service refuses to take any responsibility. A spokesman expresses how sorry he is about injuries and deaths, but then says transportation safety is not a Forest Service responsibility.
We've heard similar excuses before. In 1993, a spokesman confronted with violations of labor and immigration laws told The Bee, "enforcement is not our bailiwick." The same spokesman in 2005 said, "We're the Forest Service. We're not the INS or the Department of Labor."
This is inexcusable. Those who work on national forest lands are the responsibility of the Forest Service. The agency can limit driving by setting up temporary camps for those who work at remote sites. These camps can be basic: 5-foot wall tents with ground tarps, cots, woodstove, cook stove and lantern.
The Forest Service has years of experience establishing camps for seasonal firefighting crews. It also designates temporary camps for private hunting parties. There's no reason it can't do the same for reforestation crews or those harvesting brush for the floral greens industry.
Members of Congress already have called for oversight hearings on the abuse of migrant forest workers and failure of the Forest Service to enforce federal laws. The latest accident is a natural outcome of the failure to provide accommodations for workers in remote areas - and yet another reason to hold hearings in January.