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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
July 30, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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July 30, 2020
 
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Page A—2 — Shelton-Mason Journal — Thursday, July 30, 2020 Plenty of work remains, on watershed restoration plan Environmental effects, scope remain challenges By lsabella Breda /sabe//a@masoncountycom The Kennedy—Goldsborough Water— shed Restoration and Enhancement Committee has less than one year to complete a plan that outlines projects to offset domestic groundwater con- sumption with a net ecological benefit. “A lot of the ideas have fecused on consumptive use — how much water we pull out of the watershed for de- velopment and what projects can be used to create net zero impact on the ecosystem,” said Kevin Shutty, Mason County commissioner and Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Com- mittee member. The Legislature passed the Stream- flow Restoration Act, RCW 90.94, in 2018- The water-resource manage- ment law requires residents near 15 watersheds serving rural areas to develop plans that mitigate effects to iii—stream flow from nearby housing developments. According to the Department of Ecology, the Kennedy-Goldsborough ' committee has until J anuary to devel— op the watershed plan. According to Mason Conservation District project outline, the Kennedy— Goldsborough Watershed encompass— es about 240,000 acres, and includes Clary, Uncle John, Campbell, Cran- berry, Deer, Goldsborough, Johns, Malaney, Mill, Schneider and Skoo- kum creeks; Hammersley, Totten and Little Skookum inlets; Shelton Har- bor and Oakland Bay. The watershed spans Mason County and includes part of north Thurston County. “The county is focused on identify- ing projects that would count toward the mitigation of future development and trying to keep this process pro- spective rather than in retrospect,” Shutty said. “We are looking to the future —- where do we anticipate (resi- dential) growth and how do we offset the environmental impact.” Some of the ecological ef- fects associated With develop- ment that are addressed within the“ draft plan include damming wet— lands and converting ‘forestland to agricultural or residential uses. In order to mitigate those ecological effects, the committee will have to out- line potential funding sources. During the July 9 committee meet-. ing, representatives from the Squaxin Island Tribe proposed increasing new permit—exempt well fees to $1,500 per connection to help fund the restoration plan. We deliver , or Uflltllll ? , items Wanna a" Wat Shatter: ’ slate Route The Kennedy-Goldsborough watershed spans Mason and North Thurston counties. Some issues identified in the draft plan are low streamflow and Section 2.1 of the draft plan states that the tribes “possess the earliest priority rights to water within the Kennedy—Goldsborough Watershed.” The fees are currently $500, Shutty said. “Consumptive water use reduces streamflow,” the draft plan states. “Pumping from wells can reduce groundwater that would otherwise have discharged naturally.” Campbell Creek and its tributaries and Goldsborough Creek have been listed by the state Department of Ecol- ogy as “impaired” for high tempera- tures. . Low streamflow allows the sun to rising water termperatures Graphic courtesy of Mason Conservation/“District watershe‘ct is “an important and pro- ductive system for endangered and threatened salmonoids.” A HISTORY OF RESTORATION The Watershed restoration and im- provement planning process has been years in the making. Shutty said one early success of these watershed management discus- sions was the move to put forward a plan to put the Evergreen Mobile Home Park on Shelton Springs Road on sewer to help mitigate potential seepage into Johns Lake. “Even though the plan is notgfinal— ized we’ve been able to go after proj- permeate through to lower levels of ects early,” Shutty said. water, heating the stream itself. “Higher temperatures are exac- erbated by low stream flow,” section 2.3.3 ofthe draft plan states. According to the draft plan, the NORTHWEST V ROCK, ms. mun grown: nunnnv llfllll mm \ \___ ____,_‘__‘__. 'x...\.......__..._.. _ x. ‘ ‘ x. c OPEN MflNDAY-FBIDAY, 7AM-4PM 951 W. KAMIlBHE IANE IN SHELION \ y _‘ 2.... \C-_._.~ NWBUBKJHIM C Smle Conn. Reg. No. NORlHRl033N0 Other watershed plans date to 2014. The Hood Canal Coordinating Council prepared an Integrated Wa— tershed Plan in 2014, which outlined objectives including developing a liafibriiled riod. ' evolve,” Shutty said: “ * * “ Kev/n Shutty Mason County commissioner stormwater retrofit plan, creating outreach and communication tools to raise awareness and implement salm- onoid conservation and management plans. Section 2.2.1 of the draft plan sug- gests the current plan is building off the 2014 integrated watershed plan, among others. Though watershed management plans are nothing new in an area dominated by streams, tributaries and bodies of water, this project aims to be all-encompassing during a 20—year pe- Climate forecas‘ts regarding stream- flow still need‘to 'be completed, but a 2018 study projects a rise'in water temperatures of 7.2 degrees. “Water temperatures affect salmonoid surviv- al, growth and fitness,” section 2.3.3 of the plan states. “Frankly whether you are a propo- nent or opponent of climate change, We need to be mindful of it and address issues while giving ourselves the flex- ibility to adapt as science and needs saw/Mm « Meetings are the second Thursday of every month, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; links to meetings are available in the agenda posted at www.ezview. wa.gov/site/alias__1962/37326/Wa- tershed_restoration_and_enhance— ment_-_wria_14.aspx. . Stakeholders in the plan include the Skokomish and Squaxin Island tribes, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the City of Shelton, Olympia Master Builders, Washington State Department of Health, Mason PUD 1, Mason and Thurston counties, Mason Conservation District, Mason-Kitsap Farm Bpreau and the Washingto Chapter of the Sierra Club. " The Department of Ecology and Squaxin Island Tribe did not respond to requests for comment by the Jour— nal’s deadline. “There’s a long way to go,” Shutty said. ‘ ‘ Also Servmg: Olympia - Lacey Tumwaier ' Tenino - Yelm Tacoma - Moniesano Aberdeen McKenna ' Gig Harbor Cenlralia Chehalis ' Longview ' Vancouver - Roy