Thank you to the PDN for reporting on Clallam County Superior Court’s rejection of the Earth Law Center’s lawsuit against the Department of Natural Resource’s harvest of the Power Plant timber sale.
The DNR has done their part to enhance salmon habitat by successfully completing their Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan in 2021 and removing all major man-made fish barriers from miles of habitat in the Olympic Region.
DNR state lands foresters and scientists ensure environmentally responsible management while providing income to underfunded beneficiaries like our Port Angeles School District.
The Port Angeles City Council and some other local lawmakers have taken an irresponsible stance by claiming that timber harvest in the Elwha will reduce summertime flow and endanger drinking water supply.
Over 80 percent of the Elwha watershed is in Olympic National Park and off-limits to harvest.
Summertime flow in this watershed is most dependent upon shrinking reserves of snowpack and glacial ice mass within Olympic National Park.
Incremental changes to timberland management in the lowland portion of the watershed are unlikely to measurably increase the Elwha’s summertime flow.
If the city is seriously concerned about water supply, it should consider alternate sources of water or new reservoirs.
Reed Wendel
Port Angeles