To Tumwater and Olympia Councils and the Port Commission:
Species are now disappearing at a faster rate than at any time in human history. Budd Inlet is ground zero. In response, the City of Olympia has given a green light to a waterfront development that will set a precedent. In a few years the length of West Bay will be five story buildings 50 feet back from the water’s edge, half of which is a paved esplanade. Surely Federal Laws will not allow this? Wrong. Look at the numbers.
Meanwhile, what’s happening in Tumwater? An enormous warehouse will be built between I-5 and the airport. This will be in keeping with the current operating paradigm; trucks and airplanes. A train can carry the equivalent of 500 trucks. There is no runoff from tires on pavement. The damage to the environment is immeasurably less with a train. Why are we still growing the truck and giant warehouse paradigm?
To build this warehouse we’re looking for spots of land within the area of planned development where no endangered species are currently found. This spot of land will be surrounded by endangered pocket gophers and other species that will now have a reduced range but so be it. If we do find endangered species at the time we’ll write up a Habitat Conservation Plan. A three part front page Seattle Post Intelligencer series in September of 2005 characterizes Habitat Conservation Plans as “tools of extinction”. Other studies have arrived at similar conclusions, the following from the journal Science:
“Abstract: The number of threatened and endangered (T&E) species in the United States is increasing monthly and critical habitat is constantly being destroyed. The number of newly listed T&E species greatly outweighs the number recovered from threatened extinction, and the federal and state governments demonstrate little desire to step in on behalf of species at risk. These ecological crises faced by endangered species (1) may be exacerbated by the application of one aspect of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)—Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs). Many T&E species will be at a crossroads over the next few years and the strength and use of the ESA will determine their fate.” (2)
If the Habitat Conservation Plan were science based it would have begun with an observation — pocket gophers that rely on the site are threatened with extinction — then moved to a hypothesis — we can create habitat for pocket gophers elsewhere as mitigation. Then would come the test. We’d actually try it. Only then would we arrive at a conclusion. None of this has happened. There is no synthesis of ideas.
We have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to advocate for viable solutions. Whether that means preserving critical habitat, creating wildlife corridors, or reevaluating development plans, we must make it clear that economic growth should never come at the expense of ecological destruction.
Perhaps we can ensure that our community grows in harmony with the natural world, not against it. While development is an inevitable part of “progress”, we must ask ourselves: At what cost? The disappearance of species will continue to ripple through the biosphere, diminishing the richness and quality of life.
Harry Branch is a retired vessel captain who writes about urban estuaries at garden bay blog.
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