A contentious division between growth supporters and salmon protectors was well defined Tuesday during a lengthy public hearing on Clallam County’s proposed Elwha-Dungeness Watershed Plan.
More than 100 county residents, fish biologists, elected officials and business and government representatives jammed the courthouse’s county commissioners meeting room, voicing their views of the plan.
More than four years in the making, the plan addresses Clallam County’s water conflicts between people and wildlife — a growing issue in an area of mounting population.
This is especially true in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, the county’s fastest-growing sector.
After more than three hours of hearing testimony from nearly 30 residents — most opposed to plan approval without further study time — and support from state, tribal, county and city representatives, the commissioners decided to discuss the watershed plan again at their 9 a.m. work session Monday.
At that time, they will consider setting possibly two more hearings on the plan — one at night and one in Sequim, said Commissioner Chairman Steve Tharinger, D-Dungeness.
Five-inch-thick document
Several speakers Tuesday urged delaying the plan’s adoption from two weeks to three months so the public can absorb the five-inch-thick document’s contents for further comments.
The plan, which covers watersheds between the Elwha River and Dungeness Bay, will allow for better management of precious water resources, possibly freeing up the state’s tight grip on granting water rights for new development, plan supporters say.
Realtors, on the other hand, fear that the plan’s guidelines will be made into state Department of Ecology regulations that will stymie future county residential and commercial development.
