HomeMy WebLinkAbout052620_cabs01County Administrator's Briefing
JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Philip Morley, County Administrator
DATE: May 26, 2020
RE: DNR Proposed RCO Application to Acquire Property in Dabob Natural
Resources Conservation Area
STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Board of County Commissioners will consider taking a
position on the Washington State Department of Natural Resources' (DNR's) proposed
Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant application for funding to acquire two property
assemblages of eligible privately owned lands within DNR's Dabob Natural Resources
Conservation Area boundary. Acquisition is from willing sellers only.
ANALYSIS: DNR has reached out to Jefferson County for its input about DNR submitting a
RCO grant application for two assemblages: one near the western shore of Dabob Bay, and
another on the western shore of Thorndyke Bay, as shown in red on the attached DNR map (the
area within an orange circle is not part of the application).
As background, an email from DNR and an email from the Northwest Watershed Institute (a
strong proponent for acquiring lands eligible for inclusion for designation as NRCA lands), are
enclosed.
The deadline for DNR to submit its application is before June 1, 2020, so the County would need
to respond before then if it wishes to take a position.
FISCAL IMPACT: County Assessor Jeff Chapman will be providing information about the
assessed valuation of these assemblages. Properties taken out of private ownership shift their
share of property tax obligations to be spread among all the remaining private properties within
the County, thereby making a very slight increase to those tax bills. Becoming publicly owned
as part of a Natural Resource Conservation Area also forecloses future potential for new
development on those properties that would otherwise to property tax revenues above the 1 %
annual limit imposed by the state.
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners consider
DNR's proposed RCO grant application, along with information provided by the Assessor, and
develop a County position for communication back to DNR and the RCO.
VIEWED BY -
Philip Wrfey, Cou rator
Date
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MAP LEGEND
2020 WWRP Priority Parcels
2018 WWRP Grant
2018 TLT
2014 WWRP Grant
® Contracted to Acquire in 2020
RNAP Boundary
NRCA Boundary
Natural Area Preserve
Natural Resource Conservation Area
Lands Eligible for Inclusion
Granted Trust Lands
Forest Board Trust Lands
WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife
Other Federal
Dabob Bay Natural Area
Working Map - 02/25/2020
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Philip Morley
From:
Kennedy, Douglas (DNR) <Douglas.Kennedy@dnr.wa.gov>
Sent:
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 4:50 PM
To:
Greg Brotherton; Kate Dean; David Sullivan
Cc:
Philip Morley; Peter Bahls;jeffbocc; PAVOLA, CURT (DNR)
Subject:
RE: DNR grant proposal for Dabob Bay
Attachments:
DabobBay_Working Map wOther WWRP Pcls_5_5_2019.pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments
or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
Dear Commissioners Dean, Sullivan, and Brotherton:
I appreciate your time this afternoon, and I understand how incredibly busy you all are right now. I'll be brief!
We are planning to pursue grants through the Recreation and Conservation Office that would allow us to purchase lands
in the Dabob and Thorndyke area for the purpose of conservation (in the attached map, the parcels outlined in RED).
This includes the parcels Mr. Bahls mentioned in his earlier email. Our plans for 2020 no longer include the parcels inside
the ORANGE circle, which were recently purchased by another party for residential use.
As the grants are due June 1, we want to make sure that all of you are aware of our plans and have had a chance to
confer with us about how and why we are interested in these properties. If you have any questions at all regarding our
plans or this process, please feel free to give me a call at (360) 790-0858. At your convenience, please confirm your
receipt of this email by replying directly to me.
Once again, thank you for your time and attention.
Take care,
Doug Kennedy
Conservation Section Manager
Conservation, Recreation, and Transactions Division
Washington Department of Natural Resources
Cell: (360) 790-0858
Douglas.Kennedy@dnr.wa.gov
From: Peter Bahls <peter@nwwatershed.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2020 1:07 PM
To: Greg Brotherton<GBrotherton@co.jefferson.wa.us>; Kate Dean <KDean@coJefferson.wa.us>; David Sullivan
<dsullivan@coJefferson.wa.us>; jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us
Cc: Kennedy, Douglas (DNR) <Douglas.Ken nedy@dnr.wa.gov>; Philip Morley <pmorley@co.jefferson.wa.us>
Subject: DNR grant proposal for Dabob Bay
Honorable Board of County Commissioners,
I am writing to urge your support for an upcoming DNR proposal to apply for a state WWRP Riparian Habitat
grant for the purpose of acquiring some very high priority conservation lands that are located within the
boundaries of the Dabob Bay Natural Area. Within these boundaries, DNR is seeking to acquire conservation
lands from willing sellers. DNR is planning to apply for grant funding for two important areas:
1) Thorndyke Bay — about 380 acres of saltmarsh wetlands, mudflats and riparian forest immediately around
the Bay. This near pristine estuary has long been recognized as one of the highest priority conservation
area in all of Hood Canal. Most of the ownership proposed for acquisition is Pope Resources (now
Rayonier). An additional 1S acres owned by Joth Davis, a shellfish grower on Thorndyke Bay who supports
the project, is also included. See attached photo.
2) Inholding at the Anderson Creek and Shoreline restoration on west side of Dabob Bay — this —5 acre
residential property is at the end of Piper Road. This is the area where NWI and DNR, over the past
decade, have acquired surrounding parcels and conducted a major shoreline and stream restoration
project. This is the only inholding remaining within in the larger shoreline/stream valley restoration
area. The landowners, Rick and Julie Olson, lease nearby tidelands from NWI for shellfish growing and are
close to retirement and interested in selling. After acquisition, the structures will be removed and stream
restored as part of the overall project. See attached photo.
Douglas Kennedy, cc'd above, was recently hired as DNR's Conservation Section Manager and is your direct
contact for the grant. In accordance with new state laws, DNR is seeking a reply by phone or email from one or
more Jefferson County Commissioners prior to June 1. Doug will follow up later today with additional details
about this proposal.
Please give DNR your support for this important conservation opportunity!
Thanks
Peter Bahls, Executive Director
Northwest Watershed Institute
3407 Eddy Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
360-385-6786
www.nwwatershed.o