Whatcom County task force sets review schedule for forest resilience plan, plans Aug. 11 approval vote

The Whatcom County Forest Resilience Task Force on May 12 set a timeline for final review and adoption of its draft Forest Resilience Plan, with members told they will get a version for final review on July 28 and that the task force plans to vote on the plan at its Aug. 11 meeting.

Melanie [consultant, planning team] told the group members would have “2 weeks to review the content” during the review cycle and that the draft would then go to a review committee to consolidate comments. She said the group’s rules require a majority vote to approve the plan and that, if the plan is not approved unanimously at the Aug. 11 meeting, dissenting members would have an opportunity to file a minority report; she also said there would be three weeks between the Aug. 11 meeting and the date the final draft must be submitted.

The timeline matters because the task force must complete review, consolidate edits and finalize draft actions and threat statements before the July 28 final review. Task force members and subcommittees were asked to confirm or finalize goals and objectives and to provide any pending edits by the end of the week so consolidation work can proceed.

Discussion and next steps

Melanie described the schedule and review process and urged members to use the two-week review window that follows each distribution of the draft plan. She said: “you will have 2 weeks to review the content, and then it'll go to review committee to consolidate all of the comments.” Later she reiterated the final-review calendar, saying members “will get the version for final review on July 28.”

Members pressed for clarity about what happens if the Aug. 11 vote is not unanimous. Oliver [task force member] asked, “if it's not unanimous, what is the time frame on a minority group responding to the results.” Melanie answered that there would be three weeks between the August 11 meeting and when the final draft needs to be submitted.

Several members requested tools to track changes. Abe [task force member] said he was “comfortable doing that” but asked that changes be made visible (for example with track changes or clear marking) so the group can see where wording has been modified from previously approved material.

Roles and immediate responsibilities

The task force asked a small consolidation group (Jen, Ellen, Brandy, Tom and Oliver) to gather and organize the goals, objectives and draft actions submitted by subcommittees and to propose consolidated categories for the plan. Melanie said Triangle (the consultant team) will circulate a compiled list of goals and objectives to the consolidation-group representatives and that those representatives should confirm or send corrections by the end of the week.

Formal actions

At the start of the meeting the task force approved the April 14 meeting summary. Jen [task force member] moved to approve the summary, a member seconded, and the chair called the vote; the motion carried.

What’s next

Between now and the July 28 final-review distribution, subcommittees were asked to refine draft actions and to categorize critical threats; the consolidation group will focus first on consolidating goals and objectives so the task force can discuss categories and structure at the next full meeting on June 9. If the Aug. 11 motion to adopt the plan fails to reach unanimous approval, dissenting members will be allowed to file a minority report in the weeks between Aug. 11 and the final-submission deadline.