QUILCENE — Old-timers, shellfish farmers, loggers, conservationists, property owners, government leaders and land-use defenders gathered some 200-strong last week to express a cacophony of views from angry opposition to vehement support of the Dabob Bay Natural Preserve proposal.
While many at the Thursday meeting in Quilcene told state Department of Natural Resources officials that they were on the right track, others told them to leave conservation to the people.
Some asked to extend the public comment and information period, saying they needed more time to consider the matter that first went before the Jefferson County residents at a May informational meeting, also in Quilcene.
The proposal to protect much of the remote, sparsely developed and habitat-rich bay known for its name-brand oysters is backed by the Washington Natural Heritage Program, a state advisory group that studies and recommends Resources ecosystems for preservation.
Add acreage
The proposal would add up to 3,565 acres of upland and 2,440 acres of aquatic lands to the natural area preserve boundary and involve complicated land swaps of steep, unstable, nonproductive Resources timberlands for productive uplands.
The land swap is intended to stem the loss of county junior taxing district revenues, such as those to fire and water districts.
The state Legislature allocated $5 million in 2005-2007 to preserve the land.
The funds will be used to preserve forest lands owned by the state by compensating Resources for timber value and land value. The portion allocated for land value is then used to acquire additional trust lands.
When the Resources natural areas program acquires land from a willing seller, it makes a payment to the county in lieu of taxes on that land, so that the county does not lose revenue.
The lands with steep slopes proposed to preserve adjacent to Dabob Bay and would not be harvested under current forest practices.
Jefferson County would revenue would increase through payments in lieu of taxes, Resources said.
Jefferson County commissioners have pledged to work with Resources to ensure no loss of funds to junior taxing districts by doing an inter-grant exchange of lands to keep the applicable trust acreage whole within each respective junior taxing district.
Preserve now 195 acres
The Dabob Bay preserve now protects 195 acres of coastal spits and estuary habitats with native vegetation, riparian, marine and wildlife habitat.
Native Olympia oysters, which pollution and over-harvesting nearly wiped out in the 1800s throughout the Northwest, still can be found in the bay.
The pristine bay is at the heart of the state’s largest concentration of oyster farms along Hood Canal.
The proposed expansion area includes coastal bluffs and shorelines that provide sediment and woody debris that conservationists say is needed for continued healthy ecological function of the coastal spits, benefiting the Dabob shellfish industry.
Resources representatives from Forks and Olympia heard 35 people express support and 29 speak out against the proposal in Quilcene.
Among those backing the preserve was Ryan Dicks, Dabob Bay property owner and son of longtime U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, whose 6th District includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
“It makes sense for DNR to do forestry,” said Dicks, calling the bay “one of the last beautiful places around.”
His brother, David Dicks, is executive director for Puget Sound Partnership, an organization charged by Gov. Chris Gregoire with rehabilitating the Sound, including threatened Hood Canal, from which Dabob Bay ebbs and flows.
Dabob Bay property owners in the proposed natural area included well-known Quilcene nature photographer Keith Lazelle and his wife, Jane Hall.
Lazelle urged Resources to support the expansion, saying he was pleased that economic benefits would come without additional restrictions or losses of state land trust funds to junior taxing districts.
Hall called Dabob “a very special, pristine place.”
Tarboo Bay property owners Emily and Carlos Quintana also voiced support, saying they bought their 15 acres to preserve the trees.
Tom Pepper, shellfish farm manager for Rock Point Oyster Co. with beds in the proposed preserve site, spoke on behalf of the Steele family, the operation’s owners.
“They believe the expansion of Dabob Bay Natural Area is one of the ways to keep the waters of Dabob and Tarboo bay a pristine estuary, which in turn will make it possible for them to run their family farm for generations into the future,” Pepper said.
Heidi Eisenhour, Jefferson Land Trust executive director, said the expanded boundary designation would not impose additional regulatory or restrictive requirements on privately owned land that may be within the boundary.
Natural areas are acquired through gift or purchase from a willing seller, she emphasized.
Other conservation organizations with representatives supporting the proposal were Admiralty Audubon and The Nature Conservancy.
Rick Olsen, who has owned an oyster business on Dabob Bay since 1982, railed against government intervention, however, saying he relocated to Washington “after the state of Oregon forced us out.”
“If we left it up to the state, it would be a stinking desert,” he said.
“Don’t be fooled folks, this is a taking. Me and Joe the plumber, we’ll get by,” he said to chuckles and applause.
Opposing groups included Port Angeles-based North Olympic Timber Action Committee, the Washington chapter of American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, and the Olympic Stewardship Foundation, which is based in Jefferson County.
Jim Hagen, an activist with the stewardship foundation, said the state process is flawed.
“This gives the impression that a favored few have special access to the decision-making process the rest of us don’t, and have an inside track not available to the average citizen,” Hagen said in an e-mail to the Peninsula Daily News after the hearing.
“The same people who received this early notice are the ones telling the rest of us that we are misinformed, and that we have nothing to worry about.
“That really builds trust, doesn’t it? There was also a huge gap in open participation.”
He said that a “middle meeting” should have taken place after the May meeting “to consult with all who are interested in this proposal where DNR could have shared in public the comments submitted after the May meeting.
“What they basically did was come up with an expanded proposal in DNR offices, outside of public view, with perhaps the same favored interest groups who receive advance notice on hearing dates so they can prepare for the opposition.”
Others raised concerns about shoreline access being limited and if it would add to the difficulty of securing a building permit in the county.
County regulations
Port Townsend-area real estate agent Teren MacLeod said she wanted more assurance that the natural area preserve would not increase county regulations and lead to loss of county revenue.
Her husband, Norm MacLeod, decried government intervention.
“From the comments tonight, I think that it shows that we don’t need to be saved from ourselves.”
He encouraged Resources officials to “take these lessons back with you” because there were far more problems on the Interstate 5 side of Puget Sound.
Lorna Ward, a Quilcene community leader and resident for more than 70 years told officials: “How in the world do you people think this land got to be the way it is?”
As a longtime resident, she said, “I’ve seen all this. I’ve seen it taken care of.”
The state’s Natural Areas Program includes 126,000 acres in 81 sites.
Lands management activities undertaken by Resources for school construction generate revenues that are put in a statewide trust.
Local trust lands do not necessarily fund local school construction.
Timber harvest revenues from Jefferson County trust lands often fund school construction in distant parts of the state.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
