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County Land Ownership. Owner: Acres: Percentage: Federal 847030 79.5 WA State 84906 8.0 Pri . Timber (tax at harvest) 103753 10 Reduced, or no tax. 11309 .7 Pri . Property taxed 19251 1.8. 98% Protected and Heavily Regulated.
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County Land Ownership Owner: Acres: Percentage: • Federal 847030 79.5 • WA State 84906 8.0 • Pri. Timber (tax at harvest) 103753 10 • Reduced, or no tax. 11309 .7 • Pri. Property taxed 19251 1.8
98% Protected and Heavily Regulated. 90% = Federal regulated: • Gifford Pinchot National Forest 80%: • Mt. St. Helens National Monument - Mt. Adams Wilderness Area • Trapper Creek Wilderness - Indian Heaven Wilderness 19% County. • Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. 10% of County. • Pierce National Wildlife Refuge - Frantz National Wildlife Refuge. • 3 National Fish Hatcheries. • Spotted Owl Critical Habitat. 59% of County. 8% = WA State regulated: • Beacon Rock State Park. 2 WA State Fish hatcheries. • Department of Natural Resource lands.
Demographics • Population: 11,137 • Average Median wage Income: $ 32,539 • Local Govt. wage Income: 32% • Acc. and food services wage Income: 15% • Unemployment rate: 11.5% (3/2013)
2010 - 2013 County Budgets: • reduced from $ 50 Million, to $ 25 Million total. • 100 permanent and temp employees have been laid-off. • 4/10 hour work days to reduce costs, which provide the bare minimum of WA state required services. Funding Sources: 86% work specific federal, state, contract, and grant funds, 14% non-specific generated by the County itself. (SRS $1.8 million) Labor Costs: 87% No 2014 SRS authorization at current level: 25 less employees.
“All we are asking is the right to control our own destiny, create more family-wage jobs for our citizens and provide stable and adequate funding for our schools and other public mandated services.” • Reauthorize SRS, until federal forests are healthy forests, providing jobs and revenues to Counties. • Full conveyance of the Wind River Nursery site (400 acres) from the Forest Service to the County. Support the Biomass Heat and Power project, and, a new Carson sewer system. • Build a new Federal Office Building at the new Bonneville Industrial site, Port of Skamania County; for all federal government agencies. USFS, FWS, COE, BPA, CRGNSA, BIA, USGS, etc. Direct the Forest Service to move their Forest Supervisor and Mt. Adams Ranger District Headquarters to, at or near Stevenson, WA, where employees will become part of the social and economic community of this County (in compliance with NEPA, 42 USC 101 (a);and NFMA, Section (e)(1)(C)). Currently there are only a handful of National Forest employees who live in this County. Nearly all reside in other Counties. 80% of Skamania County is the Gifford Pinchot NF, and over 2/3 of the entire forest.
Healthy forests, provide jobs and revenues to Counties. • Require the Forest Service to manage for Plantation Restoration and Sustained Yield. 30 years of thinning possible. • Authorize 25% of all receivable federal funds generated on federal forest lands to Skamania County, including all “stewardship” contracting, Once established, SRS would not be authorized, • When land is transferred, from private to federal ownership, require in-kind exchange of current federal lands to Skamania County for public services or private property development. • Amend NEPA and ESA to streamline and expedite the environmental assessment and final decision making process, and minimize the current extremely lengthy unproductive litigation process.
