Wild
and Scenic Rivers
What is it about The Wild and Scenic Rivers
Acts’
inclusion into the Wild Olympics campaign that is troubling? Why are we
being disarmed by the "No Dams" statement,
because it is so obvious and redundant that a river in the park would
need such protection that it is beyond comprehension.
Note:
The Elwa
Dam was just removed and it is becoming obvious that a huge amount of
environmental damage has occurred sending rippling effects to many
species (such
as the swans of the upper lake that disappeared.) This is
anything BUT a non-issue, and may prove the most damaging part of it
all.
Once a river is designated; it goes through a bureaucratic
process which then puts it into one of three categories: Wild, Scenic,
and Recreation. Its
control is to be determined by the Dept. of
Interior or Agriculture depending. It specifically says: AFTER IT IS
DESIGNATED it
will then be decided.
This guarantees that anything that is said prior to
inclusion, about whether ANY
part of ANY river is
to be Wild, Scenic or
Recreation, is meaningless..
They are given one
year to do this
and three more
for a management plan.
A new management plan for
the park? It is REQUIRED.
Specific words like rip-rap and diversions
are found. New regulations will be applied. Fine, it ends at the park
line? Well not quite. Once
named, lands can be added by the WILLING
PARTNER AGREEMENT. Well, that is the forest service,
isn’t it? It is now out of the park.
The Scenic Rivers Act;
all by itself, allows the act itself to buy lands.. So THEY CAN NOW BUY
LANDS
INDEPENDENT FROM, THE WILD OLYMPICS ACT, 1/4 mile on each
side
of the river and if the piece of land is larger? they can buy the
whole thing with the
extra not
tallied into their limits. Surely they will negotiate a
deal with Rayonier easily enough. They will buy the land that
can’t be logged! Everybody
should know they already are not
allowed to log it! Don’t they? Yet they will likely
be paid
for the timber anyway. Sweet deal.
For the Quinault river; it is only a few miles from the
park line down to the county line on the South Shore of the river. The
other side is
Park line, all the way to the lake as dictated by high water. AS you
continue; ask yourself if you
want to play poker with congress?
Establishment of Wild and Scenic
River boundaries:
-from the Intra-agency Wild
and Scenic Rivers
Co-ordinating Council.
"....have a legally established boundary. Generally,
however, this
responsibility is left to the managing agency to be completed following
designation".
"an interim boundary will be established with-in 1/4 mile of the
ordinary high water mark on each side of the river."
"the boundary also defines the area in which the managing agency
has
land acquisition authority."
"besides acquisition,
other protection tools such
as locally adopted
and enforced zoning laws, donations of easements to land
trusts and
co-operative agreements,
are techniques to be
considered."
But wait a sec! This is WILD OLYMPICS! They are also asking for
all
DNR land! The local counties are all being asked to join in the
fun.
What a party they will have.
EXCEPT WE ARE NOT INVITED.
The
Clearwater, Queets, Humptulips, Hoh, Bogachiel and Wynoochie areas; of
which we are well acquainted,
will be severely impacted.
Forget
what Wild Olymics Campaign supporters say. None of them will be held
accountable and they will all
be long gone before many
citizens realize what has really happened.(Sara Crumb is the first to
exit)(Maria Cantwell is up for re-election in 2016 and remains in the
shadow.)
A
loss of
camping, fishing and river access sites will result. This is what
really happens in Wild and Scenic Areas. Forget about
cutting firewood or picking mushrooms. Did you know mushroom picking is
prohibited in the park? Forest service graciously allows one
gallon. No permits for picking more will be allowed in
wilderness.
As for the Quinault part of the wilderness, which you
might accurately describe as our back yard; is a mess and this act
guarantees it will stay that way. Some wilderness areas will be; a
cluster of cell phone towers at the top, with a gated road up the
middle! The wilderness
even comes with an elevated
fire danger. DOUBLE
DANGER because one
wilderness will abut the other as the road between the two is
de-commissioned.
The forest service planning rule
revision issued on 2/10/2011 stated goal is “ to promote
vibrant communities.” Oh well, they can always
revise
the revision. It will be far easier than unlocking a wilderness.
Will the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act further inhibit us from protecting
our homes
and land on South Shore?
S1278 restrictions on water
resources projects
"No department or agency of the united states shall assist by loan,
grant, license, or otherwise in the construction of any water resources
project that would have a direct and adverse effect on the values for
which such river was established."
and once again from the intra-agency
council....."shall be
preserved in a free flowing condition."
The ONP does not admit to the damage they caused at Finley
Creek. What if congress also mis- designates this area as worthy of
wild and scenic? without considering this ecological destruction? there
would be no watershed restoration (this is
also in accordance with the governance rules set forth for all
World Heritage Parks within
a biosphere area as named by the UN) .
We demand they fix it and all other
ecological damage they have caused to the Olympic Peninsula. No act
should even be considered before this is done. They now have an
estimated $500
million maintenance backlog for ONP (2014). There was no plan to fix
anything
until we hollered loud and clear and silently with our visual signs
placed where a home was destroyed and where the property it
sat on was swallowed by the Parks planned river diversion.
Lets go back to Wild and Scenic; there
is a CONDEMNATION
CLAUSE. “When the
private property becomes fully encircled,” . The proposed
wilderness adds to this imbalance, A wild and scenic boundary applied
here simply removes
the people.
S1277
land
acquisition-
"...grant of authority to acquire state and Indian lands."
"...lands owned by the state may be acquired only
by
donation or exchange."
Note: Congress refers to this as deed swapping. A
no cost transaction. What they don't tell you is that Federal Land
acquisition for public purposes RAISES YOUR FEDERAL TAXES! Year after
year after year!
"...nothing shall
preclude the use of condemnation to clear title or
acquire scenic easements as are reasonable....necessary
to give the public access to the
river."
Note: allowing
public access through your private property
"...authorized to accept donations of lands and interests."
"... the secretary shall pay full market value."
Note: Interior always kicks
you while your down. All throughout history, each time the dollar has
been devalued, land grabs follow. Pennies to the dollar is the
"New" 2014 deals of the day.
There is
presently nothing even remotely related to fair market value in a
broken economy. What can replace what an owner considers his own
personal interest? The value of such interest cannot always be replaced
by money. An example may be the value of a healthy soil a farmer has
cultivated for a lifetime. What can replace our clean water and air? or
quality of life we experience daily?
With another layer of added bureaucracy, a
stagnant time of policy implementation that will delay and likely
prevent activity? the answer to our #1 question must be yes. This is
bad for us. What happens upstream comes
down. You
don’t need the cost of condemnation, if the river does
it for you. -muddyshoes
Wild and Scenic update notes :
After a year of hearing
John Owen (Owen is D.C.'s planted "Wild Olympics" scout) swore up
and down about boundaries and wild and scenic
ending at the park line, now what
I originally accused him of
(B.S.) at the Quinault Library has happened!
What
he said means nothing.
The politicians Dicks and Murray responded with their own proposal: The Real One (that was
previously conjured)
They were not the
same. They wanted to rush this through congress, before
even had the
chance to read the bill. Now read the CONDEMNATION
CLAUSE again. HEY PEOPLE.....
We are just about ready to be encircled. We can be bought out and
condemned at any time with
this act through "Wild and Scenic". So, John Owen is
correct when he says Wild Olympics will not do this. BUT
Wild and Scenic
will. Dicks and his staff refuse to recognize this as a threat. But what do those who live in the concrete
jungle, of their choice, know? Is
this the punishment we get for our
resistance to this plan.
ENCIRCLEMENT?
For Wild Olympic supporters to
claim a
petition of a mere 4500 signatures as any kind of mandate to a pop. of
230,000 is totally
ridiculous.
Kilmer swallowed Wild Olympics bait. It wasn't the insignificant
signatures of course. It was the lobbyists. Kilmer ignored the
majorities of people. The green party bought him off. The big
government backed takers such as the $billion$ Sierra Club
holly-wood-urr's joined kilmers back patting crew to come back in
2013 to swing the deal. On America's charge card.
Wilderness and Wild and
Scenic
Together
Completely Encircles Us
"The
line will end at the park boundry on South Shore". Mr. Owen and
the entire congressional delegation will swear to this.
The Park owns the entire Northshore of the Quinault River
acording to
the high water rule. Refer back to Wild and Scenic review:
It states that when the
govt. is in this
position it exerts full W&S regulations on both sides of the
river.
AT the recent
bishop center meeting at Grays Harbor
College; Will, a new entity from Senators Murrays' staff, actually
tried
to deny this also. The others already know and are lying or avoiding
the truth. We have confronted them with it. Can't they read the
law? or would they rather not?
Private Property Rights is the
Foundation of Democracy
and
A Free People