NOG Comments on Snake River System Future (January 30, 2017)

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration, referred to as the Action Agencies, intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the Columbia River System operations and configurations for 14 federal projects in the interior Columbia Basin.

The three agencies will present a reasonable range of alternatives for long-term system operations and evaluate the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts on flood risk management, irrigation, power generation, navigation, fish and wildlife, cultural resources and recreation.

Comments received during the public scoping period (September 30, 2016 - February 7, 2017) provided anyone who was interested an opportunity to help the agencies identify issues and concerns that could be analyzed in the EIS.

The North Olympic Group submitted comments as a supplement to The Sierra Club Chapter comments emphasizing the need to realistically consider removal of the Lower Snake River dams and the need for salmon recovery. Read our comments here.

CLALLAM COUNTY TLAC UPDATE—THE END (November 2016)

by Bob Sextro

After 10 months of meeting and hearing much data and detail from DNR about timber and timber harvests of Clallam’s timber trust lands, the 20 appointed members of the Trust Lands Advisory Committee (TLAC) got down to actually deciding about the main reason it was formed.They finally asked should the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) seek reconveyance of the trust lands back from DNR for management by the county.The TLAC meetings in November and December took roll-call votes on the question of reconveyance and several other questions formulated out of thin air by the TLAC executive committee—all timber industry people.  The two biggest omissions of needed detail and information during these 10 months were:1) representatives of Grays Harbor county never attended a TLAC meeting to present their experience of managing their own timber lands (the only county in the State to do so) and 2) the actual details and steps needed to reconvey the trust lands from DNR to Clallam county were not presented and discussed. READ MORE

There are 4 minority reports for some of the questions voted on at TLAC. These were sent to the Clallam County Commissioners and the Executive Committee of TLAC for producing the final report. Read each report here: Minority Report #1,  Minority Report # 2,  Minority Report # 3,  Minority Report # 4