PORT ANGELES — Two Clallam County lawmakers favor forming an advisory committee to study the management of forest trust lands.
Action would be taken without the support of one of the three commissioners.
Mike Chapman, dean of the board, said the people should decide whether or not the county assembles a committee to examine the possibility of seeking reconveyance of state Department of Natural Resources trust lands back to the county for management.
“What are we afraid of?” Chapman asked in a Monday work session.
“Nobody should ever be afraid of asking the voters for their support.”
Two support panel
Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach said they would support the formation of the committee as recommended by the Charter Review Commission. No vote was taken during the work session.
The composition of the group will be discussed in another work session Monday.
Such a committee would be only the beginning. A change in management would require an act of the state Legislature.
“I trust the wisdom of our citizens,” said McEntire, chairman of the county board and a member of the state Board of Natural Resources.
“But anything that the citizens vote on needs to be carefully crafted and thoughtfully introduced so that the voters have all the information that they need to make a well-informed choice, yes or no, on any question that’s presented to them.”
Charter commission
The elected Charter Review Commission voted 10-4 this summer to ask commissioners to form an advisory committee to examine the “history, issues, benefits, challenges and advantages” of reconveyance.
If the committee finds that reconveyance is not in the county’s best interest, it would work with DNR on how it is “promptly and adequately fulfilling its trust land objectives to Clallam County, its taxing districts and its citizenry,” according to a letter approved by a majority of the Charter Review Commission.
Arrearage
The catalyst for the advisory committee is arrearage — timber that DNR was supposed to sell but didn’t in the past decade.
Members of the Charter Review Commission have said arrearage contributed to the closure of three West End mills and cost the county and its junior taxing districts millions of dollars.
Forks City Attorney/Planner Rod Fleck, a charter review member and critic of DNR’s management of trust lands, recommended a 14-member committee composed of representatives of the Port of Port Angeles, School District Association, junior taxing districts, Society of American Foresters, Grange, League of Women Voters, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Olympic Forest Coalition, North Olympic Timber Action Committee, city of Forks and one appointee by each commissioner.
“At first blush, it looks pretty comprehensive, but I want to make sure that I’ve thought about this for at least a week before we bring this back,” McEntire said Monday.
“But I don’t see any reason not to vote in favor of creation of the committee structured if not identically then pretty close to what has been suggested here by the provider of the homework.”
McEntire to recuse self
After the committee is formed, McEntire said he would recuse himself from its dealings to preserve his ability to represent 21 timber counties on the Board of Natural Resources without the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Peach, a retired forester, said the new committee should identify the precise effect of arrearage on individual junior taxing districts.
That, Peach said, would “influence how much they want to engage in the issue.”
Chapman argued that bypassing the voters to establish a trust lands committee is “fraught with lots of political peril.”
He warned three members of the Charter Review Commission who were present at the meeting that interests from the opposite side of the political spectrum would “use this as a blueprint.”
“You’re going to be faced with policies regarding climate change, environmental activism, more protections of land,” Chapman said.
“Then you’re going to be saying, ‘Why didn’t we put this before the voters?’”
Charter review commissioners present were Glenn Wiggins, a former Port Angeles mayor; Sue Forde, former county Republican chairwoman; and Connie Beauvais, who is running for a Port of Port Angeles seat in the Nov. 3 general election.
Chapman, a 15th-year politician, predicted that a supermajority of voters would support the formation of a trust lands advisory committee.
“You put this on the ballot, and 65 percent are going to say, ‘Yes, it’s a great idea,’” Chapman said. “And then we know.”
Complicated issue
Wiggins said the Charter Review Commission decided that the trust lands issue is so complicated that it needs to be studied by the advisory committee before it goes to the voters.
“We thought it was more responsible to investigate this subject,” Wiggins told Chapman.
Said Chapman: “The Legislature puts constitutional questions before the voters all the time.
“Anybody who ever says that it’s too complicated of an issue for the public to understand is really disrespectful of the electorate.”
Pushing reconveyance, Chapman added, could drive a wedge between the county and DNR.
“I’m a public supporter of Commissioner [of Public Lands Peter] Goldmark and the DNR,” Chapman said.
“I think they’re doing a great job. So you’re putting me in a tough spot.
“I personally am not interested in setting up a committee.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
