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Conservation group asks Tumwater council to demand environmental impact study for Olympia Airport master plan
Summary
Betsy Norton of the South Sound Bird Alliance urged the council to require an environmental impact statement for the Olympia Airport master plan, saying the plan could remove habitat designated as critical for the ESA-listed Mazama pocket gopher and for streaked horned lark protections negotiated with federal agencies.
Betsy Norton, representing the South Sound Bird Alliance (formerly Black Hills Audubon Society), urged the Tumwater City Council during public comment to request an environmental impact study for the Port of Olympia's airport master plan, citing risks to federally listed species and designated critical habitat.
Norton said the airport property contains the last stronghold of the ESA-listed Olympia pocket gopher (Mazama pocket gopher) and provides habitat for the streaked horned lark. She said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated about 600 acres of the airport property as critical habitat in 2014, and that portions of the airport master plan could remove as much as 340 acres (about 56% of…
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