Olympic Peninsula Tribes, Sportsmen teams, enterprise leaders, and native officers cite advantages to native economic system, clear water, and salmon restoration
Contact: Connie Gallant, Chair, Wild Olympics Marketing campaign: connie@wildolympics.org
Media Assets:
Wild Olympics Media Picture Gallery of The Proposal
Video: Voices from the Wild Olympics
QUILCENE, Wash. (July 14th, 2022) –The Wild Olympics Coalition cheered a significant bi-partisan vote in Congress right this moment that helped advance essential public lands and rivers laws ahead, together with the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act sponsored by Senator Patty Murray and Consultant Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06), which handed with a variety of different public land payments as an modification to the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act. The Wild Olympics laws would completely shield greater than 126,500 acres of Olympic Nationwide Forest as wilderness and 19 rivers and their main tributaries – a complete of 464 river miles – as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Designed by intensive neighborhood enter to guard historic forests and clear water and improve outside recreation, the laws would designate the primary new wilderness within the Olympic Nationwide Forest in almost 4 many years and the first-ever protected wild and scenic rivers on the Olympic Peninsula.
The bi-partisan vote in favor of the laws included robust assist from Washington Rep. Adam Smith, Chair of the Home Armed Companies Committee, who supported the modification to the NDAA. The Wild Olympics laws was handed by the Home earlier this congress and has had a listening to and a mark-up within the Senate Vitality and Pure Assets Committee. The NDAA provides one other alternative to advance the invoice in each Homes of congress. The same legislative technique was utilized in 2014 by Senators Murray and Cantwell and Representatives Reichert and DelBene to connect laws to broaden Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers within the Alpine Lakes and Ilabott Creek, the final main wilderness & wild and scenic payments for WA, which have been handed within the 2014 NDAA.
“As somebody who grew up on the Olympic Peninsula, I discovered first-hand that financial progress and environmental safety go hand-in-hand,” stated Consultant Kilmer. “Including this sensible, balanced technique to right this moment’s invoice will assist us shield a number of the most environmentally delicate locations on the Peninsula. It would additionally guarantee we are able to maintain and develop jobs in our pure useful resource industries and different sectors. I’m grateful for the years-long collaboration to create a proposal that works for people throughout the neighborhood – together with Tribes, sportsmen, conservation teams, timber communities, enterprise leaders, shellfish growers, and everybody in-between.”
“Wild Olympics has introduced Washington state households and communities from all walks of life collectively to guard lovely outside areas all of us love, and I’m excited to see this invoice proceed to earn bipartisan assist,” stated Senator Murray. It’s due to the assist and enter from Tribes, native residents, companies, shellfish growers, sportsmen, religion leaders, conservation teams, and so many others that this invoice and this effort have come so shut to creating it over the end line—we’ve managed to construct as broad of a coalition as attainable to get this completed. I’m glad Consultant Kilmer is making regular progress on this within the Home, and I’m going to maintain working within the Senate to maintain up this momentum and make sure that we’re capable of protect these wild and scenic areas on the Olympic Peninsula and assist protect the salmon populations there for present and future generations.”
Senator Murray and Consultant Kilmer spent years gathering intensive neighborhood enter on the Olympic Peninsula to craft the fastidiously balanced laws. It will completely protect historic and mature forests, vital salmon habitat, and sources of fresh ingesting water for native communities, whereas additionally defending and increasing world-class outside recreation alternatives like climbing, tenting, boating, looking, and fishing. No roads could be closed, and trailhead entry wouldn’t be affected.
Senator Murray and Consultant Kilmer labored extensively with native and regional timber pursuits to take away any at present viable timber base from the proposal to make sure the laws would haven’t any influence on current timber jobs, as confirmed in a 2012 Timber Affect Research by the revered unbiased Forester Derek Churchill.
Aberdeen Forest Merchandise Advisor and Former Timber CEO Roy Nott stated in his July tenth 2019 testimony earlier than the Home Pure Assets Committee, “My very own expertise as a CEO and Entrepreneur is that our space’s pure treasures- which give world-class outside recreation, clear water and our space’s top quality of living- are what give us a aggressive edge over different areas in attracting and retaining the gifted folks new corporations require. Wilderness and wild and scenic river protections would assist shield and develop the native jobs that depend upon our means to compete for expertise in opposition to different areas, and they’d improve our recruitment efforts as we work to develop new companies sooner or later. And as a former Timber Business Govt, I respect that Senator Murray and Rep Kilmer’s last compromise proposal was scaled-back to make sure it could not influence present timber jobs.”
The Home passage comes on a latest wave of assist and new native endorsements rallying behind the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The brand new additions convey the entire variety of native Olympic Peninsula & Hood Canal area endorsements to greater than 800 endorsers, together with the Quinault, Quileute, Elwha and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribes; over 30 native sportsmen organizations and fishing guides; the mayors of Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Ocean Shores and different native elected officers; companies and CEOs; farms and religion leaders; conservation and outside recreation teams; and lots of others. Moreover, greater than 12,000 native residents have signed petitions in assist.
TESTIMONIALS
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Chairman Ron Allen: “As acknowledged within the Northwest Indian Fisheries Fee’s “Treaty Rights at Threat” report, “Salmon restoration is predicated on the essential premise that we are able to shield what habitat stays whereas we restore beforehand degraded habitat circumstances. Sadly, important investments in restoration will not be realized as a result of the speed of habitat loss continues to outpace restoration. The ensuing internet decline in habitat demonstrates the federal authorities’s failure to guard the Tribes’ treaty-reserved rights.” In an period the place we’re witnessing unprecedented rollbacks of environmental safeguards on federal public lands, the Wild Olympics laws would completely shield a number of the healthiest, intact salmon habitat left on the Peninsula. It’s our heritage and cultural rules to guard the lands and waters Nature gives, in addition to the pure sources she sustains. Due to this fact, we do proceed to assist and urge swift passage of the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.”
Decrease Elwha Klallam Tribe Chairwoman, Frances Charles: “The Decrease Elwha Klallam Tribe (“Decrease Elwha”) strongly helps the proposed Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and appreciates Sen. Murray’s and Rep. Kilmer’s sponsorship of this essential laws. We imagine that it represents a good compromise between doubtlessly competing pursuits of preservation, financial use, and recreation. This laws creates 126,600 acres of recent wilderness and nineteen new wild and scenic rivers designations within the Olympic Nationwide Forest, the Olympic Nationwide Park and Washington State Division of Pure Useful resource-managed land. For Decrease Elwha, crucial side of those new designations is the elevated safety for salmon habitat. And we respect that it expressly acknowledges the basic pursuits and experience of all treaty tribes within the restoration of fish habitat. This is a vital complement to our ongoing successes, together with our federal and State companions, in restoring Elwha River fisheries within the aftermath of dam elimination.”
Invoice Taylor, President of Taylor Shellfish Farms (Shelton): “Senator Murray and Consultant Kilmer’s Wild Olympics laws will assist shield our state’s shellfish trade, together with a whole lot of shellfishing jobs in Hood Canal alone – and lots of extra in associated industries like processing, transport, and gross sales. It protects the rivers and streams very important to the well being of our hatcheries and to the well being and restoration of Puget Sound. Our oyster beds depend upon the clear, chilly, silt-free water that drains off Olympic Nationwide Forest into Hood Canal. Defending these watersheds permits our trade to develop, broaden and proceed to learn the economic system and ecology of Washington State. We’re grateful for his or her management.”
State Consultant Steve Tharinger, twenty fourth Legislative District (Sequim): “It’s simple to see and perceive the ecological worth of the Wild Olympics concept, conserving clear and free-flowing rivers, however what is usually missed is the financial worth that sustaining locations like Wild Olympics brings by attracting folks to the particular open air of the Olympic area. I need to thank REI and Patagonia for partaking local people leaders like myself to assist design the map, and for recognizing that encouraging folks to get out and benefit from the particular locations within the Wild Olympics proposal brings financial advantages to the communities I symbolize.”
Ashley Nichole Lewis, Unhealthy Ash Outside (Taholah), Sportsmen For Wild Olympics and Member of the Quinault Indian Nation: “Wild Olympics protects the Olympic Peninsula’s historic forests, free-flowing rivers and salmon streams for the long run,” Nichole Lewis confused. “It would shield fishing, boating and looking entry with out closing roads, nevertheless it additionally completely protects a number of the final wholesome upstream salmon and steelhead habitat left on the peninsula.”
Fred Rakevich, Retired logger and 49- yr veteran of the timber trade (Elma): “I’m a retired logger who labored for 50 years within the timber trade. I’ve additionally fished and kayaked a lot of the main rivers within the Olympics. I used to be born and raised in Grays Harbor, however have traveled midway all over the world. In all my travels, nothing impressed me greater than the pure great thing about the Olympic Mountain Vary and the clear operating waters that start their journey flowing towards the lands beneath. Timber is and at all times will probably be a part of the Olympic Peninsula’s proud heritage. However our historic forests and wild rivers are the pure legacies we’ll depart to our kids and grandchildren. Senator Murray and Consultant Kilmer’s invoice protects our pure heritage whereas respecting our timber heritage. I thank them for his or her considerate management, and future generations will thank them too.”
James Thomas, President & CEO Thermedia Corp/MasQs (Shelton): “The Wild Olympics laws would assist shield the excellent lifestyle that is a vital motive folks select to reside, work and play right here in Mason County with the gorgeous backdrop of the Olympic Mountains in our yard. The traditional forests, wild rivers, and scenic great thing about the Olympics are the inspiration of our excessive “High quality of Life” that pulls guests, entrepreneurs, new residents, and funding in our communities, strengthening our native economic system. The truth is, these spectacular public lands have been the ultimate determinant after I selected the Olympic Peninsula as the brand new house for my medical machine manufacturing firm. Greater than ten years later my coronary heart nonetheless sings after I spherical a nook or high a hill and the Olympics come into sight. I applaud Senator Murray and Consultant Kilmer for working to guard the Peninsula’s financial future.”
Casey Weigel, Proprietor & Head Information of Waters West Information Service (Montesano) and member, of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics: “By laborious work and our ardour for our rivers and fishing, my spouse and I’ve grown our small enterprise sufficient to have the ability to assist 3 different year-round and seasonal native guides assist households, who love fishing simply as a lot as we do. I assist the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act as a result of our rivers and our salmon are our lifeblood and, with out them, companies like ours, the native jobs they assist, and the {dollars} they convey into our native economic system would dry up. The Wild Olympics proposal would merely make the present safeguards defending our rivers on the Olympic Nationwide Forest everlasting. That’s all it does. It doesn’t change entry or price timber jobs. And if it did, I wouldn’t assist it, as a result of my household works within the timber trade. There are a lot of challenges dealing with our rivers and salmon, with a lot of debate and thousands and thousands of {dollars} spent attempting to assist restore clear water and habitat downstream. However one fundamental, easy piece of the inspiration we are able to put in place now that received’t price any of us something, is to completely shield the wholesome habitat on the federal lands upstream in opposition to any misguided makes an attempt to develop them sooner or later. That’s why I’m a proud supporter of the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. For Our Future.”
State Consultant Mike Chapman, twenty fourth Legislative District (Port Angeles): “I’ve been very excited concerning the financial & leisure alternatives Wild Olympics will convey to the Olympic Peninsula. With REI and Patagonia’s assist, our nook of the world is now attracting guests from throughout. Wild Olympics is our future, for recent air, clear water, pristine forests, and future generations!”
Harriet Reyenga, Unbiased realtor for Windermere Actual Property (Port Angeles): “The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act will shield and promote the identical spectacular public lands and top quality of life which might be serving to to drive progress and create native jobs in actual property, building, and lots of different sectors of our economic system right this moment. Our historic forests, salmon, rivers, and wonderful landscapes are the north Olympic Peninsula’s aggressive financial benefit over different areas. We must always do all we are able to to guard and promote these pure treasures. The Wild Olympics laws will do each.”
Dave Bailey, Previous President of the Gray Wolf Fly Fishing Membership in Sequim, WA & co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics: “Folks suppose that as a result of our salmon streams on Olympic Nationwide Forest seem as they’ve at all times been, that they’re secure. Sadly, that’s the furthest factor from the reality. There are decided threats underway to roll again present safeguards and open these delicate spawning streams to small hydropower improvement, industrial clear-cutting and extra highway constructing as soon as extra. That’s unhealthy for fish, recreation, and sportsmen. This laws is vital to protect what we now have.”
Douglas Scott, Proprietor of Unique Hikes and The Out of doors Society (Hood Canal): “Exterior my door, the river, forests and mountains of the Olympic Peninsula beckon me to hike and climb. Within the Northwest nook of the contiguous United States, removed from the hustle and bustle of the massive cities, our glacial-fed rivers, stuffed with salmon and surrounded by majestic eagles always encourage thousands and thousands of locals and guests to the area. Every year, over 4 million outside recreation fanatics head to the area, hoping to discover a slice of pure magnificence in pristine forests and impossibly attractive river valleys. As an creator, tour information and advocate for the Olympic Peninsula, I’ve witnessed the significance of nature and outside recreation within the Pacific Northwest. Due to the assist outside fanatics from all walks of life, passing the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act will assist make sure that much more of the gorgeous surroundings will probably be protected and accessible for all. I’m proud to Assist the Wild Olympics. Come go to and fall in love with the great thing about rainforests, wild rivers, and breathtaking adventures and you’ll too.”
Contact: Connie Gallant, Chair, Wild Olympics Marketing campaign / connie@wildolympics.org
Wild Olympics Marketing campaign / PO Field 214, Quilcene, WA 98376
