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Page A-2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, June 21 2012
By NATALIE JOHNSON
nah:die(~masoncounty.com
After several months
of discussion, the Port of
Shelton commission voted
2-1 Tuesday to ask for bids
for about 100 acres of Tim-
ber at its Johns Prairie
site.
While the commission
is not committed to selling
the timber, commission-
ers Dick Taylor and Tom
Wallitner agreed to ask
for bids to see what timber
companies would be will-
ing to pay for the trees.
Commissioner Jay Hupp
disagreed, and gave a pre-
sentation citing his rea-
sons for not supporting a
timber harvest on the land.
"What we've heard over
the past couple of months
has all been oriented to-
ward harvest," he said.
Hupp argued that the
trees have room to grow
before harvesting, and
that the port could double
its money if it waited ten
years to harvest the trees.
Port staff has estimated
the timber to be valued at
about $575 per 1,000 board
feet, based on current mar-
ket conditions.
"In my mind it makes no
sense to cut it down and
simply put the money in
the bank," he said.
Port staff has identified
seVeral potential uses for
any money earned through
a timber harvest. These
uses include fortifying the
port's reserve fund or pay-
ing to connect to and ex-
tend the City of Shelton's
Johns Prairie water line to
port businesses.
Hupp said he thought
the timber was worth
between $200,000 and
$300,000, but port execu-
tive director John Dobson
said the number could be
higher if the organization
went out to bid.
"From what we're hear-
ing you might be surprised
at the number," he said.
Hupp also expressed
concern that the invasive
Courtesy pnoto
The Port of Shelton is considering harvesting
trees on 100 acres of its property on Johns
Prairie for timber. About 20 percent of the
trees are affected by laminated root rot, as seen
in these photos.
scotch broom would take
over if the land was clear-
CUt.
Port staff and its timber
consultant, North Wind
Forest Consultants, have
also argued that clearcut-
ting is needed to control a
laminated root rot problem
in the stand.
Based on his analysis of
several photographs of the
stand of trees, Hupp said
the root rot might only
affect 10 percent of the
trees.
Port staff has estimated
the number to be closer
to 20 percent in the past.
Hupp suggested managing
the rot in pockets rather
than cutting the whole
stand.
In previous meetings,
port staff has argued that
with a stand density of 75-
85 trees per acre. thinning
further would diminish fu-
ture growth of the trees.
Taylor addressed Hupp's
concerns after the presen-
tation.
"There are assumptions
made that are just that --
assumptions," he said.
Taylor said he was not
necessarily in favor of
clear-cutting either.
"I think we need to know
what the value of the prod-
uct is," he said. "Then we
can make an educated de-
cision."
The commission briefly
discussed including com-
ing up with a minimum bid
amount, but then agreed to
wait to surplus the timber
until it approved a bid.
"At what net value
would it be worth cutting?"
Hupp asked.
Hupp expressed concern
that the port could damage
its reputation with timber
companies by asking for
bids only to decide not to
sell the timber.
"We've got the cart be-
fore the horse," he said.
"This organization puts
its credibility on the line
when it does something
like this."
Robin Hood Village Resort faces fines
By KEVIN SPRADLIN
~
.~cv#t. .:.ma,~on(:o~nty.com
Darin Barry never
thought he'd receive so
much grief over putting an
RV in an RV space.
But it seems that what is
a recreational vehicle to one
federal agency is a "struc-
ture" to the Washington
State Department of Ecol-
ogy.
Barry, owner of Robin
Hood Village Resort in
Union, has been assessed
$12,000 in fines for what
state officials said is a fail-
ure to comply with shoreline
permitting requirements.
Barry had placed four
rental RVs along the Hood
Canal shoreline property,
which he has owned since
2006.
In a news release, De-
partment of Ecology offi-
cials allege that Barry has
violated the voter-approved
Shoreline Management Act,
which aims to "help protect
shore areas and water qual-
ity (and) to manage shore-
line development."
Hood Canal is a shoreline
of statewide significance, of-
ficials said.
Paula Ehlers, manager of
the agency's shorelands pro-
gram, said in a news release
that officials attempted "to
gain voluntary compliance
first. Well before a notice of
correction was issued, Ecol-
ogy attempted to advise the
park owner of the shoreline
permitting requirements."
Ehlers said Barry
stopped advertising the four
shoreline units for rent "but
he has not complied with
the principal requirements
of the notice -- either ap-
plying for necessary shore-
line permits or removing
the units."
Barry said that is, in
part, because the rules
seem to keep changing as
time passes.
"The Department of Ecol-
ogy assumes you're guilty
until you can prove your
innocence, initially accus-
ing me of developing the RV
spaces that have been there
for 50-plus years," Barry
said in a written statement.
"Once they discovered the
county permitted and ap-
proved a septic holding
tank for these RV spaces
installed a few years back
... they changed their argu-
ment to their definition of
the word development."
That's when, Barry said,
.the Department of Ecol-
ogy started calling an RV a
structure "even though the
federal government calls
a recreational park trailer
an RV and the Department
of Transportation licenses
them as a vehicle."
The initial $12,000 isn't
the only fine Barry faces.
The state could impose a
$1,000 penalty per day for
each of the four units, as
each of the unpermitted
units is considered a sepa-
rate violation.
Barry alleges the state is
simply trying to outlast him
-- and outspend him -- in
the situation.
"I'm determined to play
this out," Barry said, noting
that "this experience has
changed my life forever."
Barry can appeal the
penalties to the Shoreline
Hearings Board.
County unemployment rate slightly up
STAFF REPORT
pr@ma,~,oT~couT~ty.com
The Washington State Employment
Security Department released state and
county unemployment rates for May this
month.
Mason County's May unemployment
rate was 10.9 percent. That rate is up
slightly from April's 10.4 percent. In May
2011, the county's unemployment rate was
11.2 percent.
Neighboring counties' unemployment
rates varied, with Kitsap County at 7.8
percent, Jefferson County at 10 percent,
Grays Harbor County at 13.7 percent, the
highest in the state, and Thurston County
at 8.1 percent.
The preliminary statewide unemploy-
ment rate that has not been seasonally ad-
justed is 8.4 percent.