Commissioners to schedule meeting on NHA proposal

The Wahkiakum County board of commissioners will schedule an evening public forum on a proposal to form the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area (NHA).

Proponents say the designation would bring private and federal money into the region that would be distributed through a revolving loan program to people wanting to maintain and preserve industry and business unique to the heritage of the area.

The proposal has drawn opposition from citizens afraid it will lead to tight governmental control over land use.

Commissioners took public comment on the issue Tuesday and added some comments of their own.

Sandi Benbrook-Rieder of the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce presented a page prepared by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), which prepares information for Congress and the federal government.

"An evaluation of 24 NHAs from 1984 to 2004 by the non-partisan US Government Accountability Office concluded that despite concerns about private property rights, heritage area officials, Park Service headquarters and regional staff, and representatives of national property rights groups that we contacted were unable to provide us with any examples of a heritage area directly affecting, positively or negatively, private property values or use," the information said. (See GAO-04-593T March 30, 2004).

On the other hand, opponent Lily Kolditz presented commissioners copies of a letter she sent to Cathlamet Mayor George Wehrfritz listing instances in which NHA activities had affected land use issues. Examples include:

--The Cane River NHA in Louisiana. The federal government purchased two parcels, one 42 acres, the other 18 acres, and created the Cane River Creole National Historical Park within the Cane River NHA, and

--During the creation of the Augusta Canal National Area in Georgia, the National Parks Service (NPS) refused to approve local management plans until zoning laws were tightened.

She also commented that the Park Service uses surrogates to control local land use. These surrogates include a local management entity and local non-profit, nongovernmental organizations such as historical societies and the local Chamber of Commerce. The surrogates lobby county commissioners for land use changes and restrictions.

Commissioners Blair Brady, Dan Cothren and Lisa Marsyla said they had spent a lot of time in the past week on the NHA issue.

"I've had a lot of phone calls, a lot of dialogue," Cothren said.

Brady commented that he has concluded the NHA wouldn't have the adverse impact that the opponents predict.

However, he said, "the residents of my district are overwhelmingly opposed to it. They put me into office, therefore, I will vote no on this issue."

Marsyla said she, too, has been researching the issue. She added that she had told constituents the board should hold at least one public meeting in the evening to take public input.

"I'm for that; we can do that," Cothren said.

Brady said he felt it wasn't necessary to hold a meeting in western Wahkiakum County because the residents are overwhelmingly opposed.

Commissioners asked Clerk Marsha LaFarge to schedule the meeting; the date is yet to be announced.