Blue Grouse and Mule Deer

I just returned from the annual Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho. ECOS is the association of state and territorial environmental agency heads.

On the last day of the meeting, I managed to find time for a hike in the mountains nearby. Large swaths of mountainside were bare and black due to the recent Castle Rock fire. Nonetheless, I ran into some friends. First, I came across a covey of blue grouse. One posed long enough for a photograph. I also managed to alarm a few mule deer. Mule deer have huge ears. I caught one on camera, peeking out from behind a tree with her listening gear on high alert.

I’ve been attending ECOS meetings for two years now and it seems to me I’m seeing fewer grouse and more mule deer at each meeting. That is, there is less grousing and more listening by everyone involved.

I like quantitative measures as much as the next person. (Okay, maybe more than the next person.) But so much of what we get done at EPA depends on relationships and relationships depend on people listening closely to each other, not just complaining about what’s wrong. Measures help focus attention and analyze operations, but, in the end, people, working together, make things happen.

The states and EPA will always have disagreements we need to identify and address. We’ll always need some grousing. But we really tap the best in our partnership when we open our ears, listen to each other, and then act in concert. I’ve pointed out some examples of this partnership in the past (see, for instance, my postings of August 7 and September 4). Today, the state/EPA relationship seems stronger than ever and there is great potential for us to do an even better job of protecting the people and environment we serve. We just need to keep our ears on.