By The Chronicle
A recent decision by the Washington Department of Natural Resources Board has Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, squawking up a storm out on the coast.
The DNR Board selected Option D from six proposals as they work toward creating a Habitat Conservation Program to protect the robin-sized sea birds. Walsh previously joined 10 other lawmakers in sending a signed letter to the DNR urging them to select Option B, which they argued would protect the birds while inflicting minimal economic setbacks to coastal communities that are dependent upon logging. Walsh has even gone so far as to call the marbled murrelet drama the “Spotted Owl II.”
Marbled murrelets spend most of their time on the ocean but fly inland in order to nest in old-growth forests along the Pacific Coast. They have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1992.
Option B would have applied to 60,722 acres of seabird habitat while Option D will include all of those acres plus 50 to 100-meter buffer zones called “special habitat areas.” In total, Option D will cover 620,000 acres while Option B would have covered 590,000 acres.
“I’m deeply disappointed in the decision the Washington Natural Resources Board has made, choosing Option D from among the six different options. At a quick glance, the differences between Option D and Option B may seem technical and small. But, they’re not. They’re significant — and will hurt smaller counties, cities and school districts that are already suffering from the loss of the timber industry,” wrote Walsh in a press release. “The board’s explanation for this unfortunate decision is that DNR bureaucrats had stated that Option B would not pass muster with the Feds. But the Feds have not indicated this is so.”
Walsh cautioned that although studies were undertaken to understand the projected impact on local economies, he believes those studies offer little of substantive value.
“As we’ve seen time and again, these studies don’t really conclude much. They’re often just distractions,” he wrote.
Walsh pointed out that Washington used to depend on large revenues from timber sales to support public schools, local police, public safety departments and infrastructure projects.
“Those resources are vanishing. But there’s still time to turn this trouble around. One bad decision by the DNR Board isn’t the last word on this matter. There’s still process and the chance for public comment remaining, before the HCP takes final form,” added Walsh. “The 11 co-signers on my letter urging Option B, legislators from both sides of the aisle and various parts of the state, know how important it is to prevent ‘the next spotted owl’ from happening. They understand that our working timber lands must stay working.”
