Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Conservation groups press Thurston County to adopt climate mitigation, wildlife corridors and stronger aquaculture protections
Summary
Black Hills Audubon Society and other commenters urged the county to incorporate the county climate mitigation and adaptation plans into Thurston 2045, to protect wildlife corridors and legacy forests, and to reassess aquaculture practices including geoduck impacts.
Environmental organizations and industry representatives used the April 26 hearing to press Thurston County to strengthen climate, habitat and aquaculture language in the comprehensive plan.
Betsy Norton, speaking for the Black Hills Audubon Society, asked the commission to "adopt the actions and timeline from the Thurston County mitigation plan and the Thurston County adaptation plan into all the appropriate chapters of this 2045 comp plan." Norton called for measurable goals, timelines and stronger protections for wildlife corridors, legacy forests, prairies and freshwater and marine ecosystems.
Charlotte Persons added that the housing chapter should explicitly address climate impacts on building methods and emergency preparedness and asked the county to "preserve forests and prairies" and to "update development code standards so they're sized to be effective under the extreme weather expected from climate change."
Justin Stang, a policy analyst for the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, and citing written comments from Taylor Shellfish, asked the county to revisit how the draft classifies environmental impacts of shellfish farming, particularly geoduck, and offered to work with staff to clarify the draft language.
Speakers also asked the county to track implementation through the proposed Appendix B action plan and to adopt measurable metrics so progress on mitigation and adaptation can be monitored. No changes were adopted at the hearing; environmental groups said they will provide written comments before the April 27 deadline.
