CLALLAM BAY — More than 60 residents gathered Monday in the wind-chilled parking lot of Clallam Bay Community Park — many grasping shovels to show their support for digging a channel from the Clallam River’s mouth to the bay.

Residents told state fisheries and county officials that their solution would save the popular park from further destruction left in the aftermath of last week’s river flooding, stormy seas and extreme high tides.

Heavy surf last week breached Clallam Bay Spit, wiping a parts of a old-road trail leading from the park’s bridge. High seas also pulled trees and plants and destroyed picnic areas.

The breach punched through a new mouth to the river at the park’s bridge, allowing surf to continue to eat away at the park’s once-placid shoreline.

The damage forced the park to be closed Dec. 30 to public access.

Tense confrontation

The meeting began as a tense confrontation between residents and Anne Shaffer, state Department of Fish and Wildlife area marine habitat biologist, but ended with group leader Don Baker heading for Port Angeles to obtain applications for permission to cut the channel legally.

Residents had already begun digging a channel with shovels last weekend, and continued to labor after Monday’s gathering — regardless of whether the dig was illegal.

Brian Fairbanks, an enforcement officer with the state fisheries out of Forks who attended the meeting, said: “It would be a violation to dig without a permit.”

Fairbanks declined to say if he would make any arrests if residents continued to dig the channel by hand.

Six were spotted digging out the channel Monday after the meeting.

Baker told officials that the channel had been cut for 85 years by different private interests, including logging and mill sectors.

County commissioners

While the illegal digging continues, Baker and others are expected to approach Clallam County commissioners to ask that the park’s condition be declared an emergency.

The request is expected to take place at the commissioners’ 10 a.m. meeting today in Room 160 at the County Courthouse, 223 E. Front St., Port Angeles.

A county declaration of emergency could allow a permit to cut the channel.

“All we want to do is move some sand,” Baker told Shaffer.

The state marine biologist said that could be done, but she was not in favor of it.

“From Fish and Wildlife’s perspective the river is in pretty good shape,” Shaffer said, adding that she did not believe the park’s damage constituted an emergency.

Her remarks were met with moans and groans from the Clallam Bay residents.

Shaffer, however, said her opinion was “irrelevant.”

“If the county deems it an emergency, then we can move forward,” Shaffer told Baker. “. . . I have to have something in writing.”

County Administrator Dan Engelbertson said the county has had an emergency proclamation ready since Friday, but “it’s not a silver bullet” for avoiding the state permit process.

Engelbertson said an emergency declaration provides for an expedited state permitting process and eliminates the bidding process for contracted work.

‘Longer-term’ permits

While Clallam Bay residents called for a short-term fix for the park and river, Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles — whose district includes Clallam Bay — said historically the county has asked for a “longer-term” hydraulic permits. Those have not been approved, Doherty said.

Doherty explained that the process had to include all agencies connected with the park because the state owns the bridge and the spit, but county owns and parking lot and the riverfront beach downstream of the parking lot.

Doherty said he wanted to consult with all agencies involved in the park and its shoreline before taking action.

“We are waiting for technical advice from fisheries before we can sign an emergency proclamation to move ahead,” Doherty said.

Because Makah tribal officials also attended the meeting, Doherty said he wanted to take their views into account as well.

Joel Winborn, Clallam County parks director, said he was contacting state officials Monday for their views on the matter and could not attend the Clallam Bay meeting.

No bridge protection

At the meeting, residents asked why no action had been taken to protect the bridge after a September permit was issued.

Winborn explained that the permit to place woody debris east of the bridge to protect it was questioned by the state Department of Natural Resources after DNR officials pointed out that property ownership was unclear.

“The hangup with DNR came about. But with the high tides I don’t think it would have done a lot of good,” Winborn said of the plan to protect the park’s bridge.

“We have filled out paperwork for DNR and awaiting their response.”

The bridge on Monday was still structurally sound, state and county officials said.

Winborn said he would expect to get direction from the commissioners today, “but technically it’s state property and it’s not like its something we can attack.”

The county and state share management of the park.