Washington State Residents -- Act Now To Protect Aquatic Resources on Private Forestlands in Washington State

January 14, 2010

Teanaway River Basin, Kittitas county, Washington. Photo courtesy Kara Whittaker, Washington Forest Law Center, 2009.

Contact your Washington state representative today to let them know that you oppose House Bill 2505 which would weaken the federally-approved statewide Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) which limits the impacts of private forest practices on a host of aquatic species.  The Forest Practices HCP finalized in 2006 was designed to protect salmon, other wild fish and a suite of amphibians from harmful practices on private forestland in Washington.   HB 2505 attempts to cut a special deal for some forestland owners.

In May 2006, the State of Washington adopted restrictions on forest practices that limit the amount of harm that is legally allowed to a host of fish and amphibians with habitat on private timberlands. These restrictions are part of the HCP that was intended to be in place for 50 years. Today, less than four years after the HCP was adopted, the Washington Farm Forestry Association is attempting to circumvent the rules, which were approved in a federal process under the Endangered Species Act allowing limited impacts on wild fish and amphibians.

Spawning Sockeye Salmon. Photo by Scott Church

House Bill 2505 should be opposed because it imposes un-necessary costs and is bad policy.  The bill will cost the state hundreds of thousands of unnecessary taxpayer dollars to reevaluate its impact on the terms of the federal HCP.  It is poor public policy because it would jeopardize the validity of the entire Habitat Conservation Plan that took decades to negotiate.   What’s more, the Governor is likely to veto this bill in order to comply with state law, indicating that prolonged debate in the legislature also amounts to wasted time and taxpayer money.

Find your legislator on the Washington State Legislature website and join us today in letting your state legislators know you oppose the restructuring of the Statewide HCP, and you support abiding by the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

John L. O'Brien Building
Room JLOB 247-A
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Telephone: 360-786-7144
Fax: 360-786-7018
Toll-Free Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000

Committee Members

Blake, Brian (D) Chair - Room JLOB 331 - (360)786-7870
Ormsby, Timm (D) Vice Chair - Room LEG 122F - (360)786-7946
Chandler, Bruce (R) - Room LEG 427B - (360)786-7960
Smith, Norma (R) - JLOB 417 - (360)786-7884
Jacks, Jim (D) - Room JLOB 322 - (360)786-7924
Kretz, Joel (R) - Room LEG 335A - (360)786-7998
Liias, Marko (D) - Room JLOB 434 - (360)786-7972
McCoy, John (D) - Room LEG132A - (360)786-7864
Nelson, Sharon (D) - Room JLOB 338 - (360)786-7952
Pearson, Kirk (R) - Room LEG 132C - (360)786-7816
Rolfes, Christine (D) - Room JLOB 336 - (360)786-7842
Van De Wege, Kevin (D) - Room JLOB 316 - (360)786-7916
Wamick, Judy (R) - Room JLOB 403 - (360)786-7932