By urging our state legislators to support House Bill 2170/Senate Bill 5999, we can break free from choosing between aggressive timber cutting and funding public services like school construction, libraries and fire districts.
That legislation empowers the state Department of Natural Resources to conserve older forests and selling carbon credits, allowing older trees to sequester carbon and providing ecological and climate benefits.
State Sen. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, is supporting this proposed improvement to 19th-century laws.
Streams like Ennis Creek, “our last best chance of a salmon stream in Port Angeles,” are under threat because of too much reliance on timber instead of this more balanced approach.
A timber sale of 180 acres where Ennis Creek flows across steep land with fragile soils is under consideration.
Our fish are having enough trouble surviving. Our tax dollars are providing such critical improvements as fish passage.
Costs for those where Ennis Creek goes under U.S. Highway 101 may be $35 million or more.
It’s time for 21st-century improvements to state revenue sources.
Please write legislators today and urge support of HB 2170/SB 5999.
Robbie Mantooth
Co-founder, Friends of Ennis Creek
Port Angeles