Department of Ecology hears local concerns over forest practice buffers, Mount St. Helens sediment and flood risk

Department of Ecology staff met with Cowlitz County commissioners and local stakeholders to discuss pending state rulemaking and sediment‑management priorities tied to Mount St. Helens and the Toutle–Cowlitz river system.

The meeting revisited two overlapping issues: a Forest Practices Board package that would expand buffer protections on non‑fish‑bearing streams, with a board decision scheduled for Nov. 12; and local efforts to manage sediment and flood risk from Mount St. Helens, including a comprehensive flood hazard management plan.

Why it matters: County speakers said the ecology rule could affect private forest landowners across the county and termed it a potential “taking” of privately managed forestland. Separately, commissioners and local stakeholders urged faster, multi‑agency action on sediment removal and broader flood‑hazard planning because they contend existing river capacity is reduced and poses a public‑safety risk.

Forest Practices Board rulemaking and local pushback John Keatley, a small‑woodlands owner in Castle Rock, told Ecology staff the proposed buffer package is effectively “a huge taking of private property,” saying the changes could prevent harvesting and reduce land value for small and industrial owners. “I have not read any predicted quantitative result that this will lead to either more fish, bigger fish, or more species of fish,” Keatley said, urging the board to weigh economic and property impacts.

An Ecology representative described the agency role as gathering and presenting information to the Forest Practices Board and said Ecology is “taking in the most information that we can to make an informed decision.” The staff reiterated that the agency’s board representative is the central region director and that the final vote is made by the Forest Practices Board.

Sediment, public safety and the push for a county flood plan Commissioners and attendees pressed Ecology on sediment coming from Mount St. Helens and its downstream effects on flood risk for Castle Rock, Kelso and Longview. County leaders described prior workshops and a collaborative letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging coordinated federal action. County staff encouraged renewed attention to a comprehensive flood hazard management plan — a multi‑benefit tool they said could support federal funding applications and a coordinated strategy for sediment and flood mitigation.

Ecology staff said they had been coordinating with the county and could offer resources and examples of completed flood plans from other jurisdictions. They also recommended further meetings with county planning staff and said the agency would follow up with the county and with the Forest Practices Board representative to convey local concerns ahead of the Nov. 12 vote.

What was unresolved Speakers asked Ecology whether there is direct empirical evidence that broadening buffers on non‑fish streams would lower temperatures sufficiently to materially improve salmonid outcomes downstream; Ecology staff said the agency is reviewing available science but that the board process considers many inputs and tradeoffs.

Ending Ecology staff agreed to convey county concerns to the board representative and to continue collaborative planning work; commissioners said they would press for federal support on sediment management and to advance a county flood hazard plan as a strategic tool to leverage state and federal funds.