1 / 13

Clark County and the Endangered Species Act

Clark County and the Endangered Species Act . February 11 th , 2008 John Tyler Clark County Endangered Species Program. Today’s Presentation. Brief overview of the ESA listings What has Clark County done in response? Where are we today? Where are we going?

kalin
Download Presentation

Clark County and the Endangered Species Act

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Clark County and the Endangered Species Act February 11th, 2008 John Tyler Clark County Endangered Species Program

  2. Today’s Presentation • Brief overview of the ESA listings • What has Clark County done in response? • Where are we today? • Where are we going? • How does this influence land use planning in Clark County?

  3. Westward Expansionism, profound land use implications • Salmon are indicators of environment, economy, culture • Declining populations; approximately 16 mil fish in 1900 • Current pop. ave. fluctuates 1-3 mil fish; 90% hatchery

  4. Threatened Species • ESA listed species in the Lower Columbia River, Clark County. • Chinook, • Coho, • Steelhead, • Chum, • Bull Trout.

  5. Clark County’s Response to the ESA • Assess land use regulations for consistency with the ESA. • Use this information, and Best Available Science when updating regulations as required by GMA. • Establish an environmental baseline against which current - future condition can be measured. • Partner with LCFRB and others to develop and implement Watershed (WRIA) and Salmon Recovery Plans.

  6. Recently Revised Ordinances • ESA issues incorporated in the revision of: • Habitat Conservation Ordinance, • Wetlands Protection Ordinance, • Flood Hazard Areas Ordinance, • Geologic Hazard Areas Ordinance, • Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas Ordinance. (Currently being Revised) • Stormwater and Erosion Control Ordinance.

  7. Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (LCFRB) • LCFRB worked cooperatively with relevant stakeholders. • It has no authority to override governmental decisions at any level. • Reasonable expectations that plans will be put into action • 2006, NMFS adopts the LCFRB - Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Plan. • Interim recovery plan for the Washington side of the Columbia River.

  8. Where are we Now? • Having Completed these; • Revised - revising land use ordinances. • Established an environmental baseline. • Partnered with LCFRB and others on the development of the WRIA and Recovery Plans. • We are now in the Implementation Phase. • Recovery and WRIA Plans.

  9. Clark County’s Responsibilities as Defined in the Recovery Plan • Protect floodplains from development impacts. • Identify - correct passage barriers. • Ensure septic systems don’t pollute streams. • Implement regional Watershed Plans. • Assist in protecting and enhancing fish habitat. • Ensure ordinances adequately protect habitat. • Ensure county operations comply with the ESA. • Ensure Comp Plan protects watershed processes. • Manage for recreation and fish use. • Monitor implementation and effectiveness.

  10. Desired Outcomes of Implementation • Better environmental response to mitigation actions. • More effective - coordinated restoration activities. • Statutory compliance. • Clean Water for a variety of beneficial uses. • Listed salmon and steelhead recovery.

  11. Example of the how it can work • The recovery plan has detailed information. • Organized by reach and ‘limiting factors’. • Data can be used to consolidate mitigation activities. • Project impact mitigation based on watershed needs. • Easily identifiable mitigation activities that have significant environmental outcomes.

  12. Things to Consider • Understanding how the Recovery and WRIA Plans work, can help identify mitigation opportunities for proposed development projects. • The greater number of mitigation ‘limiting factors’ that are addressed by all interests; public and private • The sooner recovery of listed salmonids will occur when compared to having this work done solely by the public sector.

  13. Contact Info • Clark County’s Endangered Species Program’ (360) 397-2022, or http://www.clark.wa.gov/esa/index.html • The Lower Columbia Fish recovery Board, http://www.lcfrb.gen.wa.us/default1.htm

More Related