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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDabob Bay Natural Area Boundary Expansion ProposalDabob Bay Natural Area Boundary Expansion Proposal Peter Bahls, Director, Northwest Watershed Institute Jefferson County BoCC August 7 2023 Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands Washington Department of Natural Resources MS 47001 Olympia, WA 98504-7001 November 28, 2020 Re: Dabob Bay Natural Area Expansion Dear Commissioner Franz: HOOD CANAL I would first like to thank you and the staff at DNR for your efforts over the years to protect Dabob Bay. ENVIRONMENTAL The successful expansions of the Dabob Bay Natural Area in 2009 and 2016, and subsequent land COUNCIL acquisitions and Trust Land Transfers, have been important in keeping potential over-development and logging from impacting the water quality of this important shellfish farming area in the state. Rock Point Oyster Company has been in business since 1921 and has farmed oysters and clams at our Dabob Bay tidelands since 1945. Dabob Bay also supports two of the largest shellfish hatcheries in the Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands world and the shellfish industry is the largest employer in the rural south part of East Jefferson County. Washington Department of Natural Resources DNR’s partnership here has helped keep this remarkable bay and its diverse habitats, water quality, and MS 47001 shellfish businesses healthy. However, critical work remains to be done and your leadership is essential. Olympia, WA 98504-7001 I am writing to urge you to expand the Dabob Bay Natural Area to protect globally imperiled forest types November 20, 2020 that have been discovered by DNR’s botanists on the east shoreline of Dabob Bay and along the Toandos Peninsula. DNR is obligated to protect these rare older types of forests under their Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification. In addition to preserving imperiled plant communities, these Heritage Re: Expansion of the Dabob Bay Natural Area to protect Globally Imperiled Forests Forests have many benefits that would be destroyed by converting them to tree plantations: their ability to support a high diversity of species dependent on older forests, store carbon, resist wildfire, and protect Dear Commissioner Franz: downstream water quality in streams and Dabob Bay. We, the undersigned conservation organizations strongly urge you to expand the Dabob Bay In particular, Rock Point Oyster Company supports the protection of the state lands north of Coyle Road. Natural Area boundaries to protect several globally imperiled forest plant associations that This area includes steep slopes, unstable ravines and several tributaries to Tarboo Creek that drains into have been discovered by DNR Heritage botanists on state timberlands slated for logging. Tarboo Bay. Conserving this area as part of the Natural Area would help ensure that landslides and sediment do not damage our shellfish beds, as has occurred from previous DNR logging activities on the slopes around Dabob Bay. Dabob bay is a crown jewel of Hood Canal: with rich ecological diversity and supporting a world-renowned shellfish industry that is one of the county’s largest employers. Since 2009, Thank you for previously putting three planned timber sales in this area on hold: Coyle Sorts, Silver DNR has played a leading role in protecting this estuary – expanding the Dabob Bay Natural Lining, and Thorndyke Junction. The proposed logging of globally imperiled forests here is not consistent Area in 2009 and again in 2016 to better protect the ecosystem as a whole. Conservation with the broad cooperative effort by DNR and dozens of project partners to conserve the legacy of Dabob efforts at Dabob Bay have been broadly supported by citizens, landowners, shellfish businesses, Bay for all Washingtonians. and local, state, federal and tribal governments. Total acres in existing boundary (all ownership types, uplands only, not aquatic Total acres imperiled and/or older forest 917.2Overlap of two forest types in proposed boundary 226.8 acres446.5 acresAcres of Older, structurally complex forests in proposed boundary697.5 acresAcres of WNHP imperiled forest in proposed boundary2,615.6 acresAcres of DNR land only in proposed boundary 3,839.7 acresboundary onlyproposedTotal acres in 4,114.92 acresboundaryexistingAcres of DNR land in 7,659.5 acreslands)