Thurston County Planning Commission members on Oct. 15 reviewed a staff‑proposed schedule to update the county’s Critical Areas Ordinance and heard multiple public commenters urge stronger protection for wildlife corridors, climate resilience and long‑term monitoring.

The commission’s work plan schedules discussions of “best available science” and code drafting from November 2025 through spring and early summer 2026, with wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, geologic hazards, frequently flooded areas and critical aquifer recharge areas each receiving dedicated review, staff said. Department briefings, mapping tools and a public engagement plan are included in the timeline.

Why it matters: CAO revisions will define how Thurston County regulates wetlands, streams, slopes and habitat and therefore shape where and how development and conservation occur in the unincorporated county and some urban growth areas. Public commenters and commissioners framed the issue as both an ecological and a community safety concern — from habitat connectivity to reducing wildlife‑vehicle collisions and protecting groundwater.

Public commenters urged commission members to prioritize wildlife corridors and to fold climate projections and monitoring into the CAO. “Wildlife corridors are essential for the movement and survival of various species,” said Phyllis Farrell of the South San Sierras Club. Betsy Norton of the South Sound Bird Alliance asked the commission to adopt baseline monitoring so the county can evaluate whether regulations achieve stated outcomes over time: “If the CAO requirements are failing to meet these goals, why are they failing and how can the new rules be crafted so they’re more effective?”

Several commissioners and staff responded with examples and resources. Commissioner Kevin Pestinger pointed to recent work in Utah showing reduced collisions after corridor investments and urged staff to examine the safety and economic return on corridor protections. Commissioner Sandy Kiser noted the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and a recent Washington State Transportation Commission presentation on statewide wildlife corridor mapping and highway impacts. Staff said they would incorporate corridor mapping and state guidance into the fish and wildlife habitat conservation area discussion scheduled for March–April 2026.

Staff also described technical support and mapping resources planned for the schedule. For geologic hazards, staff proposed a December session with the state Department of Natural Resources to review new lidar‑based landslide mapping. For November staff will present an overview of state guidance and best available science that will inform later code drafting.

Commissioners and members of the public pressed staff on monitoring and metrics. Staff said the county is preparing a grant proposal to develop a program‑level ledger for tracking “no net loss” and pursuing net gain, describing it as a resource‑intensive effort that would measure environmental outcomes across permits, plans and programs rather than at a single permit counter. “No net loss is really all we can require at a permit counter,” staff said; a community‑scale credit/debit ledger, staff added, would require new funding and cross‑program coordination.

Floodplain mapping, invasive species and reconciliation with other programs drew sustained discussion. Commissioners and public commenters urged clearer education materials about what “100‑year floodplain” means and questioned the county’s practice of automatically adopting new FEMA maps without a public process. Staff said FEMA maps are the baseline but that the county also maintains other flood hazard designations (for example, high groundwater hazard areas) and can investigate options beyond FEMA at the commission’s direction.

Public commenters raised management of invasive plants and aquatic invaders; staff identified roughly 20 species on the Thurston County noxious‑weed list and noted difficulties landowners face when conservation work requires permits.

Several speakers flagged interactions between the CAO and other regulatory programs. Commissioners and staff discussed the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) and the county’s Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Staff said the SMP review remains pending with the state Department of Ecology and that the CAO update will aim to clearly delineate where SMP jurisdiction applies and where CAO rules apply, even if the SMP is not finalized before CAO adoption.

The commission and staff discussed public engagement: staff said they are preparing a public outreach plan that will include opportunities beyond regular commission meetings, including targeted engagement for different stakeholder groups and mid‑process open houses.

What’s next: staff will bring a finalized schedule to the commission in November and present state guidance and best available science at the Nov. 19 meeting. The commission will revisit geologic hazards (including DNR landslide mapping) in December, frequently flooded areas and aquifer recharge areas in January, wetlands and fish and wildlife habitat topics in March–April and aim to move code drafts and a public hearing in the late spring/early summer 2026 timeframe.

Ending: The commission left the meeting with several community priorities identified — wildlife corridors, climate‑informed rules, clearer permit processes for voluntary conservation, and monitoring metrics — and staff committed to incorporate those priorities into the CAO schedule and public engagement plan.