PORT ANGELES — Two of the three Clallam County commissioners attended this month’s Commissioners Conversation meeting early Monday, where they discussed steps the county should take in addressing climate change.
It’s an issue the commissioners unanimously agreed in June needed more attention. At the time they passed a resolution authorizing the county to take action on climate change.
During the meeting Commissioner Mark Ozias outlined his proposal for public outreach and discussed steps the county can take as it looks for ways to address climate change.
“We have an obligation as a county to consider how we can reduce our climate footprint, but how do we best engage the community,” Ozias said. “We need to let the community know we’re paying attention to this and we’re working on doing something about it.”
While no decisions were made Monday, commissioners will discuss climate change again during their work session Feb. 4.
Not in attendance at the meeting was Commissioner Bill Peach, who said in a voicemail that he was looking forward to the discussion, but his car was covered in ice and he knew there would be ice on U.S. Highway 101 between Forks, where he lives, and Port Angeles.
Peach did attend the 9 a.m. work session that followed the discussion.
Ozias started the discussion by noting that following the National Climate Assessment — which predicts the Northwest will become drier, face rising sea levels and have more wildfires — Peach had discussed climate change and forest fires.
Peach said during his campaign for re-election that humans have a “minuscule” contribution to climate change.
Peach said he would have liked to bring research to the meeting, including information that fires were the second-greatest emitters of carbon dioxide in Washington state in 2017.
“That was one way that Commissioner Peach was able to latch into this subject, which personally, I was really excited to hear,” Ozias said.
Ozias presented an outline for “Clallam County Climate Change Week,” a week in which commissioners would tour the county discussing climate change impacts.
Dates aren’t set, but he suggested the county could meet with the Quileute Tribal Council to learn about how climate change affects tribal fisheries and could visit the Olympic Natural Resource Center in Forks for a presentation about the effect of climate change on the forest products industry in Clallam County.
It was also suggested to have a presentations on how the annual smoke from summer forest fires affects Clallam County residents, and tours of the site of the future Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir and the recently-flooded area along 3 Crabs Road near Sequim.
Commissioner Randy Johnson said Ozias’ plan was a good start, though he didn’t know if it needed to be more inclusive or less inclusive.
Johnson noted that the outline as is only calls for meeting with one tribe and no cities.
Johnson said that no matter how the county moves forward there needs to be metrics to determine how successful efforts are and the cost-effectiveness of the efforts.
“We’re not a wealthy area,” Johnson said. “All these are things we need to do, but we can’t do them all and we’re not funded to do them all.”
Ozias also suggested the county should form a committee made up of different demographics. He said the group should involve not only the people who are passionate and regularly attend meetings, but should include others with different beliefs as well.
“We have a hard time … with civil engagement these days,” Ozias said. “Climate change is an issue around which we have a particular challenge in talking in a meaningful way.”
He suggested using a model that he said has been proven effective in other rural communities. The format is called a “Jefferson Dinner.”
It involves parties from diverse backgrounds sitting at one table and discussing a topic.
It’s a process Peach said he supports.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
