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…