Commissioner's Report

The Wahkiakum County Commissioners met on Tuesday, Feb. 11, for their regularly scheduled meeting and appointed Robert Johnson to the Johnson Park Board. Jamie Davidson and Forrest Mora were appointed to the Wahkiakum County Planning Commission, District No. 2. The time had come to reauthorize Wahkiakum County’s Associate Development Organization (ADO), which supports and coordinates community and economic development services. The Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce was appointed once again as the county’s ADO.

The Commissioners approved a letter to be signed and sent to Washington State Senator Jeff Wilson, requesting his support for an amendment to the state’s Shoreline Management Act, RCW 90.58.580. In the letter, the Commissioners urged lawmakers to extend relief from hardships affecting property owners due to shoreline restoration or habitat improvements to rural landowners. The act “establishes buffer zones landward of streams, wetlands, and floodplains.” Currently, RCW only provides hardship relief for urban growth areas, and rural counties like Wahkiakum have been omitted from the current wording of the act.

Members of the Wahkiakum Conservation District discussed the Voluntary Stewardship Program, which the county has the opportunity to join through Washington State. The program enables landowners and rural counties to protect natural resources and would allow the Conservation District to hire an additional staff member.