Sen. Murray, Rep. Randall reintroduce Wild Olympics bill

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Rep. Emily Randall (D, WA-06) reintroduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, legislation that would permanently protect more than 126,500 acres of Olympic National Forest as wilderness and 19 rivers and their major tributaries — a total of 464 river miles — as Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Designed through extensive community input to conserve ancient forests and pristine rivers, protect clean water and salmon habitat, and enhance outdoor recreation, the legislation would set aside the first new wilderness on Olympic National Forest in over four decades and the first-ever protected wild and scenic rivers on the Olympic Peninsula.

With a strong foundation of local support, the bill has made steady progress each successive Congress — passing the House with bipartisan support twice before and passing out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last Congress for the first time in the bill’s history.

“Every year, the movement behind our Wild Olympics legislation grows stronger — and last year we got closer than ever to passing our bill through the Senate,” said Sen. Murray. “The Olympic Peninsula, from its old growth forests and free-flowing rivers to its diverse ecosystems and beautiful landscapes, is a crown jewel of Washington state and our legislation would permanently protect key areas for generations to come. This bill also supports the Peninsula economy, ensures continued access to world-class outdoor recreation on the Olympic Peninsula, and conserves critical habitat and water sources for salmon and steelhead recovery.

“Wild Olympics is a true grassroots effort that’s been in the works for over a decade — including collaboration from sportsmen, shellfish growers, conservationists, Tribes, local leaders in business and government, timber communities, and more — and I’m proud to be partnering with my friend Representative Randall this Congress to carry it forward. I’m going to keep doing everything I can to build the support and momentum we need to get Wild Olympics passed into law.”

Rep. Randall echoed Sen. Murray’s comments.

“The forests, rivers, and wilderness of our region shape how we live, work, and play. And for communities around the Olympic Peninsula, access to these resources can make or break local economies,” said Rep. Randall. “This bill protects the remote wilderness we treasure while ensuring access where it is essential for livelihoods, recreation, emergency response, and cultural practices. Protecting our natural resources also means protecting local economies, livelihoods, and Tribal Sovereignty. I’m grateful to all who have shaped this bill and Senator Murray for her leadership to secure the future of the community we proudly call home.”

Sen. Murray and former U.S. Reps. Norm Dicks and Derek Kilmer spent years gathering extensive community input on the Olympic Peninsula to craft the carefully balanced legislation, which was first introduced in 2012. It would permanently preserve ancient and mature forests, critical salmon habitat, and sources of clean drinking water for local communities, while also protecting and expanding world-class outdoor recreation opportunities like hiking, camping, boating, hunting, and fishing. No roads would be closed, and trailhead access would not be affected.

Aberdeen Forest Products Consultant and Former Timber CEO Roy Nott said in his July 10, 2019 testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee, “My own experience as a CEO and Entrepreneur is that our area’s natural treasures — which provide world-class outdoor recreation, clean water and our area’s high quality of living — are what give us a competitive edge over other regions in attracting and retaining the talented people new companies require. Wilderness and wild and scenic river protections would help protect and grow the local jobs that depend on our ability to compete for talent against other regions, and they would enhance our recruitment efforts as we work to grow new businesses in the future. And as a former timber industry executive, I appreciate that (the) final compromise proposal was scaled-back to ensure it would not impact current timber jobs.”

The bill’s reintroduction comes on a recent wave of support and new local endorsements rallying behind the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act against the backdrop of increasing threats to public land.

The new additions bring the total number of local Olympic Peninsula and Hood Canal region endorsements to more than 800 endorsers, including the Quinault Indian Nation, Quileute, Lower Elwha Klallam and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribes; over 30 local sportsmen organizations and fishing guides; the mayors of Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Ocean Shores and other local elected officials; businesses and CEOs; farms and faith leaders; conservation and outdoor recreation groups; and many others. Additionally, more than 13,000 local residents have signed petitions in support.

Bill Taylor, President of Taylor Shellfish Farms (Shelton), said “The Wild Olympics legislation will help protect our state’s shellfish industry, including hundreds of shell fishing jobs in Hood Canal alone — and many more in related industries like processing, shipping, and sales. It protects the rivers and streams vital to the health of our hatcheries and to the health and restoration of Puget Sound. Our oyster beds depend on the clean, cold, silt-free water that drains off Olympic National Forest into Hood Canal. Protecting these watersheds allows our industry to grow, expand and continue to benefit the economy and ecology of Washington State.”

Ashley Nichole Lewis, Bad Ash Outdoors (Taholah), Sportsmen For Wild Olympics and member of the Quinault Indian Nation, said “Wild Olympics protects the Olympic Peninsula’s ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and salmon streams for the future. It will protect fishing, boating and hunting access without closing any roads, but it also permanently protects some of the last healthy upstream salmon and steelhead habitat left on the peninsula.”

State Representative Steve Tharinger, 24th Legislative District (Sequim), also lent his support: “It is easy to see and understand the ecological value of the Wild Olympics idea, conserving clean and free-flowing rivers, but what is sometimes missed is the economic value that maintaining places like Wild Olympics brings by attracting people to the special outdoors of the Olympic region. I want to thank REI and Patagonia for engaging local community leaders like myself to help design the map, and for recognizing that encouraging people to get out and enjoy the special places in the Wild Olympics proposal brings economic benefits to the communities I represent.”

Fred Rakevich is a retired logger and 49-year veteran of the timber industry out of Elma.

“I am a retired logger who worked for 50 years in the timber industry,” he said. “I have also fished and kayaked most of the major rivers in the Olympics. I was born and raised in Grays Harbor, but have traveled halfway around the world. In all my travels, nothing impressed me more than the natural beauty of the Olympic Mountain Range and the clear running waters that begin their journey flowing toward the lands below. Timber is and always will be part of the Olympic Peninsula’s proud heritage. But our ancient forests and wild rivers are the natural legacies we will leave to our children and grandchildren. The bill protects our natural heritage while respecting our timber heritage.”

Casey Weigel, owner and head guide of Waters West Guide Service out of Montesano, and member of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics, said “Through hard work and our passion for our rivers and fishing, my wife and I have grown our small business enough to be able to help three other year-round and seasonal local guides support families, who love fishing just as much as we do. I support the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act because our rivers and our salmon are our lifeblood and, without them, businesses like ours, the local jobs they support, and the dollars they bring into our local economy would dry up. The Wild Olympics proposal would simply make the current safeguards protecting our rivers on the Olympic National Forest permanent. That’s all it does. It doesn’t change access or cost timber jobs. And if it did, I wouldn’t support it, because my family works in the timber industry. There are many challenges facing our rivers and salmon, with lots of debate and millions of dollars spent trying to help restore clean water and habitat downstream. But one basic, simple piece of the foundation we can put in place now that won’t cost any of us anything, is to permanently protect the healthy habitat on the federal lands upstream against any misguided attempts to develop them in the future. That’s why I am a proud supporter of the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. For Our Future.”

Opposition

In a press release from 2020, American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) President Travis Joseph had the following to say regarding the “Wild Olympics” legislation:

“AFRC represents Washington forest products manufacturers, family-owned logging companies and the thousands of workers they employ on the Olympic Peninsula. For years, we have provided substantial feedback and specific recommendations to minimize the impact of the Wild Olympics proposal to local businesses, forest health, and rural communities — including public safety risks created by wildfire. While marginal changes have been made to the Wild Olympics legislation, most of our industry’s concerns have not been addressed.

“Wild Olympics proponents have made false claims that this wilderness bill is non-controversial and does not impact working forests. By definition, wilderness explicitly bans — forever — science-based active forest management that can help achieve important conservation goals. It also bans certain forms of access and activities the public enjoys, like riding a mountain bike. In our view, putting arbitrary lines around a dynamic, at-risk ecosystem and prohibiting any and all forms of responsible, sustainable management won’t deliver the restoration, resiliency, and true conservation Washingtonians expect and deserve.”