Tribe to speak on land transfer

Published 4:40 pm Monday, April 6, 2026

PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners will hear a presentation from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe next week regarding an effort to transfer the ownership of the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge and the Protection Island Wildlife Refuge from the federal government to the tribe.

During their work session Monday, commissioners discussed the land transfer the tribe is working on with U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, D-Port Orchard.

The land transfer would be 608 acres for the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and 299.8 acres for Protection Island.

The discussion Monday was to provide specific questions for the tribe to be able to address during their presentation, Commissioner Mark Ozias said.

Commissioners received an email from Jamestown S’Klallam CEO/Chairman W. Ron Allen a couple of weeks ago stating the tribe would be interested in the county providing a letter of support for the land transfer.

The county has heard from many residents concerned with and opposing the land transfer. A group called Clallam Freedom Alliance, led by Rose Marschall of Port Angeles, has started a petition against the land transfer at change.org/SaveWildlifeRefuges, which had 1,215 signatures Monday morning.

Since the refuges are owned by the federal government, the only action the county commissioners could take would be to either send a letter for or against the land transfer or to do nothing.

The presentation next week will be an opportunity for the commissioners to hear more about what the tribe’s goals are and what their plans are, Ozias said. It also will be a time for the commissioners to vocalize some of the concerns they’ve heard from the community.

The county has not received anything from the federal government regarding the land transfer.

County Administrator Todd Mielke said many comments have been received from the community, and he shared what he called the general “flavor” of the comments.

“I think what they’re saying is, well, wait a minute, it seems like the federal government’s now ‘selling’ public lands without consulting me as a citizen,” Mielke said. “And what does this look like for me in the future? Is it going to change? Do I still have the ability to have free access to these public lands that my tax dollars paid for?”

He said the tribe’s presentation should address that issue.

Commissioner Mike French said he wants to know the historical cultural value of the area to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.

“I think that that would be extremely relevant,” French said. “I think it would be useful information for me to have, and I don’t know, frankly, as much as I probably should.”

The area is currently under a co-management agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the tribe, French said.

“I’m just curious how that’s worked and if that model is in existence in other places,” French said.

If the land transfer goes through, French said he wanted to know what that would mean for the general public as far as access for shellfish, crabbing and fishing.

Commissioner Randy Johnson highlighted that he has received many emails regarding the land transfer and they have all been negative.

“I’m trying to figure out how the citizens of this county benefit versus the current activity or the current way we’re organized or that the land is organized versus it all going to the tribe,” Johnson said. “So what is the net benefit? And then, if there is an issue for all the citizens relative to access, how is that guaranteed in the future if the transfer goes through?”

Johnson also questioned how the tribe plans to manage the lands.

That entire area seems to burn every 70 or 80 years, Johnson said, but an endangered species lives there which stops certain kinds of management activities.

The county is at the very beginning of this process, Ozias said.

“We’ve been asked to provide a letter of support, so this is our next step in developing enough information so that we can determine how to move forward with that request,” Ozias said.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.