If a listing occurs, it will be a key moment for most of Thurston County because another layer of federal review will be necessary for development applications — for residential, agricultural and business projects.
“It’s a game-changing issue for our community if the species is listed by the feds,” says David Schaffert, chief executive officer for the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce. “The stakes are very, very high. This is a wealth killer for Thurston County.”
Schaffert is right that forthcoming actions by the state and U.S. fish and wildlife agencies are central to growth and development in Thurston County.
We’re not talking about a small patch of prairie land in the central part of the county. Soils conducive to pocket gopher habitat dominate South Sound, so a federal listing could result in federal review for most every project in the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater, in the urban growth boundaries around those cities and in many rural portions of Thurston County.
Michael Cade, executive director of the Thurston County Economic Development Council said some would-be developers have already bypassed Thurston County and taken their projects elsewhere because of the uncertainty surrounding development rights in South Sound and the impacts of a potential federal listing.
That’s why it’s imperative that federal and state officials get this right – that they base their findings on sound science and set an appropriate level of protection. There is too much riding on the outcome for this to devolve into a political battlefield. Sound science must drive decisions.
And in that regard, a recent $45,000 scientific study sponsored by the economic development council, chamber and local school districts, provides a lot of new information to help federal and state officials make their pocket gopher decisions.
Linda Krippner, an ecologist from Seattle-based Krippner Consulting, found far more gophers and much more habitat than was previously known. Basically, the more Krippner looked, the more gophers and habitat she found. She concluded, by drawing in information from previous studies and new data from more current development projects, that some of the key assumptions made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in launching the federal listing process, were not accurate.
For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s 2010 assessment said pocket gopher populations are in decline because of losses to their prairie habitat.
In her peer-reviewed analysis Krippner found that the Mazama pocket gopher species is not limited to prairie habitat.
Another example: U.S. Fish and Wildlife said the gophers were not found in historic (1944) locations. But Krippner found plenty of evidence that the gophers were found in nearly all historic locations.
Thirdly, the federal officials concluded that there aren’t sufficient regulatory mechanisms in place to protect gopher populations. Again, Krippner found evidence to the contrary, that regulatory processes at the state and county level are protecting gophers.
Krippner’s work adds a whole new level of information for federal officials to consider as they move forward. Some action must be taken by the federal government by the end of September. In fact, the feds must take action on 251 different species over the next four to five years.
Krippner’s study is not geared toward this state’s Growth Management Act or even the county commissioners’ efforts to identify critical areas in the county. Krippner’s findings are specifically targeted to federal officials and their decision whether the pocket gopher needs additional protections guaranteed by a threatened or endangered species listing.
The message here is two fold:
Krippner’s work adds a lot of baseline and conflicting data to the decision-making process. Her peer-reviewed findings merit serious consideration by state and federal officials so that they can get the right decision – a decision based on sound science and analysis.
Secondly, there is a whole lot riding on the ultimate decision for every person in this county. The potential economic upheaval could rival the impact the spotted owl listing had for the timber industry.
That’s why it’s imperative that South Sound residents pay close attention and hold government officials accountable, because the future of this community will be shaped by forthcoming rulings.
