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| Volume 9, No 1 | Olympic Park Associates -- Founded in 1948 | Winter, 2001 |
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Congressman Dicks Favors Removing Both Elwha Dams
Dicks convened a meeting on January 11 in Port Angeles with representatives of the Elwha Coalition. "This is a major priority for the state of Washington," Dicks stated, and continued by saying, "Obviously, I will continue to support this project and I know that Senators Murray and Cantwell will be there with me." The Elwha Coalition has met several times since the dams were officially purchased by the Department of Interior in February 2000. The coalition includes representatives from all parties with an interest in and concerns about the dams and their effects. Its major agenda is seeking consensus for recommendations for Congressional appropriations to cover costs related to removal of the dams. Congressman Dicks, the ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Committee, strongly advised the Elwha Coalition that it is imperative for all parties to agree on a "credible" dollar amount required, and to work to keep costs at a minimum. To meet Port Angeles's financial needs for its water requirements, Dicks suggested that the city should also seek alternate sources of money rather than expecting Congress to cover all of its water costs. Overall funds required for the Elwha Dam Removal and Ecosystem Restoration Project include:
Representing the environmental contingent of the Elwha Coalition were Tim McNulty and Polly Dyer from Olympic Park Associates; Shawn Cantrell, Director of the Northwest Friends of the Earth; and Bill Robinson, head of Northwest Steelhead and Trout Unlimited. Elwha Tribal representatives included Tribal Chairman Russell Hepfer, other members of the Tribal Council, the Tribe's manager, and its fishery scientist. Present from the City of Port Angeles were the Mayor, members of its City Council, the City Attorney, and City Manager Mike Quinn. Representing Daishowa were Harry Grant, Attorney with Riddell Williams, Seattle, and Terry Bracy, Daishowa's Washington DC lobbyist. Orville Campbell was also present from Fort James Corporation, the last owner of the dams (before the deed was transferred to the U. S. Department of Interior). To express your thanks to Rep. Norm Dicks: PIERCE COUNTY KITSAP COUNTY TOLL FREE NUMBER Congressman Dicks's Web Page |
Contents
In Memory of David R. Brower Credo There is but one ocean though its coves We seek a renewed stirring of love for the Earth. We would celebrate a new renaissance. We may see that progress is not the David R. Brower | ||
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NPS Goes With the Flow On the Hoh Responding to concerns raised by Olympic Park Associates and Protect the Peninsula's Future, the park services withdrew from an earlier decision to rip-rap two eroding sections of the Hoh Road. Park crews will reroute the road sections away from the river, allowing the river to meander. Rip-rap, or large boulders placed to "stabilize" river banks, are known to accelerate downstream erosion and have destructive impacts on wild salmon and steelhead. Spawning areas for spring and fall chinook salmon — both stocks of concern — overlap in the project area. With this decision, the National Park Service reverses a long-time practice of rip-rapping river banks. Of the park's six iles of road in the Hoh Valley, nearly a mile is alrady armored with rip-rap. Trees to be removed from the reroute will be retained on site for salmon habitat restoration projects. A total of 103 trees will be removed, eight are 36 inches in diameter or larger. Independent Scientific Panel Weights in on Mountain Goat The Conservation Biology Institute of Corvallis, Oregon completed a review of mountain goat science in Olympic National Park last summer. The report, which was requested by Congressman Norm Dicks, confirmed that mountain goats are not native to the Olympic Mountains. However, the study also concluded that goats may not pose a significant threat to park resources. The scientists suggested that meadow damage may have been caused by wind or water erosion. OPA questioned the report's contention that the park service failed to prove that the goats were having an impact on alpine plant communities. We pointed out that scientists on the panel disagreed over the quality of the park service's research. One assessed it was "as good as research done elsewhere under similar conditions," while another renounced it as "bad science at its worst." A 1992 review by a committee of scientists with direct expertise in the field confirmed that non-native goats were indeed impacting alpine plants, plant communities, and soils. Mountain goats are not threatened in Washington, but at least eight species of plants and nine of animals in the Olympics are found nowhere else in the world. OPA contends that if the scientists can't agree, we must make sure we err on the side of ecosystem protection. Olympic National Park has compiled more than 25 years of research documenting goats' impacts on fragile alpine plant communities. A new environmental impact statement is now in progress. Eleven conservation organizations have petitioned the park service to remove goats from Olympic. |
Environmental Review Begins for Proposed Elwha Quarry Just when the largest salmon restoration process in the Northwest is getting off the ground on the Elwha River, a Forks gravel company wants to swing a wrecking ball at the project. Puget Sound Surfacers proposes to mine 90,000 tons of rock and gravel from the shoulder of McDonald Mountain, a stone's throw from the Elwha. The 43-acre site fronts the Elwha Road a mile from the Olympic National Park boundary. In 1998 Clallam County required an environmental impact study (EIS) for the project. After a stumbling start (the County moved to void the permit process a year later for "inactivity"), bids closed in January for consultants wishing to conduct the environmental study. Whoever is selected has their work cut out for them. The County rightly determined that the project poses major threats to air, water, wildlife, and recreation. If developed, the quarry could degrade spawning habitat on the nearby Elwha River and impact tourism to Olympic National Park. At the very least, the prospect of loaded dump trucks contending with bicyclists, horse-riders, and cars on the narrow park entrance road is troubling. Meanwhile any hope for an environmentally sensitive operation looks dim. In 1999 Mike Shaw, co-owner of Puget Sound Surfacers and the proposed Elwha quarry, was fined $1,325 by the state Department of Ecology and ordered to cease all mining near Sequim. Shaw's gravel pit was located in a residential area and an aquifer recharge area where mineral extraction is prohibited. In the words of a Clallam County prosecutor, Shaw operated "with wanton disregard for local and state regulatory review and permit requirements." Shaw's lawyer is currently contesting a state order to restore the area. Olympic Park Associates joined the Elwha Klallam Tribe, the Department of Interior, and more than 300 petitioners in expressing opposition to the Elwha Road quarry project. "Olympic National Park is a world-class natural area bringing more than four million visitors a year to the Peninsula and contributing $250 million annually to the Peninsula's economy," OPA pointed out to the Clallam County Board of Commissioners. "Any commercial activity that threatens the natural integrity or scenic beauty of the park, the Elwha River, or the surrounding natural environment must be weighed carefully." The EIS process may take a year or longer. OPA will be involved with the scoping and review. | ||
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Roadless Area Plan Is a Victory for Conservationists, A Thorn In the
Side for Bush Wildland advocates celebrated in December when Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck signed the final decision to protect 58.5 million acres of roadless areas — nearly a third of national forest lands — from road building and logging. Dombeck included a contested 9.3 million acres in Alaska's Tongass National Forest in the action as well as 85,600 acres in Olympic National Forest. Tongass protection will not begin until 2004, and limited "stewardship" logging will be permitted in other areas of the national forests. But the final decision is a major improvement over the draft EIS the Forest Service released last summer, which granted much weaker protections to 43 million acres. Readers of this newsletter will recall that the draft proposal allowed continued commercial logging and mining in roadless areas and exempted the Tongass National Forest (Forest Service Roadless Area Proposal Falls Short, Voice of the Wild Olympics, Summer 2000). OPA and other environmental groups requested a full ban on all environmentally damaging activities, including road construction, logging and mining on all roadless lands, including the Tongass. Your letters, and the letters of 1.7 million others, and testimony delivered at more than 600 public meetings, did the trick. We convinced the agency to do the right thing. And we sent a strong message to Congress that any attempt to undo this measure would be costly. The rule still leaves the contentious issues of non-inventoried roadless areas (some 72,000 acres in Olympic) and destructive off-road vehicle use to be determined by local forest plan revisions. The Olympic National Forest Plan is scheduled to be revised in 2005. President Bush has criticized this initiative and promised to review it. On February 5 Bush placed a two month delay on enactment of the rule. That means the Forest Service will not implement the roadless policy until May 12 (it was initially scheduled to go into effect March 13). But if the President is going to try to convince Congress or the American people that roadless protection is a bad idea, he has his work cut out for him. Roadless areas contain less than one quarter of one percent of the nation's timber and an even smaller fraction of oil and gas reserves. And the initiative enjoys overwhelming public support, as Republican polls have shown. In fact it has inspired the most public response of any federal lands initiative to date. To reverse the decision would require a full NEPA process with hearings, environmental impact statements and lots of public review. If you wish to send your thoughts on this issue or other issues to President Bush, you can reach him at president@whitehouse.gov.
Forest Service Closes Problem Road in Dungeness With three Dungeness River fish stocks listed as threatened under the endangered species act (chinook, summer chum, and bull trout), the Forest Service made a sound decision to close the East Crossing Road (2860) in Olympic National Forest. The road washed out in several places as a result of severe flooding during the winter of 1998-99 (See Forest Service Road Failures Threaten Endangered Salmon, Voice of the Wild Olympics, Fall, 1999). At the urging of OPA and other conservation and salmon advocate groups, the Forest Service chose to close and rehabilitate 4.8 miles of the 2860 road while retaining road access to the lower Dungeness trail and trail access to the Gold Creek trail. The only significant recreational resources lost are the ten campsites at East Crossing Campground. Under the proposed action road access to the upper Dungeness trail head, which serves Buckhorn Wilderness and Olympic National Park, remains assured. And access to the popular Dungeness Forks Campground remains open. The action represents a sound approach for salmon, for water quality, and for a reasonable balance of recreation opportunities. |
Olympic Coast Clean Up -- April 28, 2001 Dear Friends of the Olympic Coast, You are invited to participate in another grand adventure this year: to remove debris from Olympic National Park beaches the weekend of April 28, 2001. Like last year's clean up, this effort is energized by a partnership of community service organizations, businesses and government agencies.* Volunteers will comb 60 miles of Olympic National Park coast from Shi Shi Beach on the north to South Kalaloch Beach. Marine debris will be hauled off the beaches and piled at trailheads or cache sites for disposal. This community/volunteer effort will help preserve the natural beauty of this unparalleled Washington wilderness resource. Last year 360 volunteers removed 17 tons of debris! Volunteers are urged to select a beach and register their participation by April 16, 2001. Beach access will be from the usual locations, thus respecting the wilderness character of the National Park. Beaches easily accessible by car or a short hike are appropriate for a one-day outing. Some beaches will require a single overnight stay. More remote beaches will require a several day commitment from volunteers familiar with no-trace wilderness backpacking skills. Emphasis of the 2001 clean up will be on remote, difficult-to-reach wilderness beaches. Because of their remoteness, many of these beaches have never had a thorough clean up. Hardy wilderness-savvy volunteers are needed. Volunteers will cache debris at sites identified by Olympic National Park staff. ONP staff will manage removal of debris from the cache sites at a later date. Volunteers will register at one of five field operation sites including the Forks Information Center, Oil City trailhead and ranger stations at Mora, Ozette, and Kalaloch. At these sites volunteers will receive information about the beach they will be working. Volunteers at designated research monitoring beaches** will record data about the debris they collect. The information will provide a snapshot record of the coast and help identify sources of the debris. The data will be used for oceanographic research of interest to naturalists and marine scientists from the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Olympic National Park. Interested? Check item #7 on the form. To register or receive more information contact *Partners include Clallam Bay-Sekiu Chamber of Commerce, Forks Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Trail, Lost Resort, Northwest Wilderness Conference, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic Coast Sanctuary Advisory Council, Olympic National Park, Olympic Park Associates, Olympic Peninsula Audubon, Pack and Paddle Magazine, City of Port Angeles, Quileute Tribe, REI, Starbucks, The Mountaineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lacey Office, Volunteers for Outdoor Washington, Washington Trails Association, and many volunteers.
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