To view the large map of proposed Olympic National Forest wilderness designations and other surrounding land uses, click here: http://tinyurl.com/pdnwild .
A draft land and scenic river preservation proposal has been put forward by U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Patty Murray as an alternative to a similar plan by Quilcene-based Wild Olympics.
The Path Forward on Olympic Watersheds Protection Proposal cuts nearly in half — to 20,000 acres — the amount of private land that Wild Olympics is proposing that could be purchased for additions to Olympic National Park.
Two of four public workshops on the proposal will be on the North Olympic Peninsula.
A Port Townsend meeting will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the chapel building at Fort Worden State Park Conference Center, 200 Battery Way in Port Townsend.
A Port Angeles meeting will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Museum at the Carnegie, 207 S. Lincoln St.
A Hoquiam workshop is planned the following day, Dec. 4, and another is planned in Shelton on Dec. 2.
Dicks’ and Murray’s plan, which was announced Tuesday, would:
■ Designate about 130,000 acres of new wilderness on U.S. Forest Service land.
That’s 4,000 acres less than the Wild Olympics plan.
■ Add 23 river systems within Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest to the federal Wild and Scenic River System, increasing protections
According to a map supplied by Murray’s office, the rivers inside the park and national forest appear to be the same as those proposed by Wild Olympics and include the Bogachiel, Hoh, Sol Duc and Elwha rivers.
“Designation neither prohibits development nor gives the federal government control over private property,” according to www.rivers.gov.
“Recreation, agricultural practices, residential development, and other uses may continue,” the website says.
“Protection of the river is provided through voluntary stewardship by landowners and river users and through regulation and programs of federal, state, local, or tribal governments.”
■ Allow Olympic National Park — on its own — to buy up to 20,000 acres through willing-buyer, willing-seller arrangements compared with the 37,000 acres proposed for additions to the park by Wild Olympics in its 2-year-old proposal.
The park cannot now buy land within its general management plan without congressional approval.
Three areas designated for possible sale on the map provided by Murray’s office are at Lake Crescent and on the park’s western tip in Jefferson County near Grays Harbor County in an area designated as the Queets Corridor.
■ Remove most of the state Department of Natural Resources land that was included in the Wild Olympics proposal.
Murray spokeswoman Meghan Roh, spokeswoman for Murray, D-Bothell, said Tuesday that details of the plan beyond the joint statement and map she provided were unavailable.
No legislation has been drafted on the plan, and Murray’s office plans to release more detailed information on it at a later date, she said.
George Behan, a spokesman for Dicks — a Democrat from Belfair who represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties — did not return a call for comment Tuesday morning.
The Wild Olympics Campaign is supporting the Dicks-Murray plan, Wild Olympics Chairwoman Connie Gallant of Quilcene said Tuesday.
The differences between the Dicks-Murray plan and the Wild Olympics proposal didn’t bother longtime wilderness advocate and author Tim McNulty, who sits on Wild Olympics’ board as vice president of Olympic Park Associates.
He said the Wild Olympics plan provided the framework for the new proposal.
“This is a phenomenal announcement,” McNulty said Tuesday.
“They are proposing something that to me sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic opportunity to protect watersheds, fish and wildlife habitat, wilderness and park lands on the Peninsula. This is really wonderful news.”
Carol Johnson, director of the North Olympic Timber Action Committee, said jobs would still be lost under the Dicks-Murray plan.
“It really doesn’t do anything. It’s like throwing a starving man a bone when he really needs a steak,” Johnson said, adding that the plan “will further curtail timber harvest.”
Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes did not return calls for comment.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
