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Methow Valley News February 3, 2000 Endangered Species Coverage Olympia trip leads to unscheduled meeting By Lee Hicks Making a 12-hour round trip to Olympia may have reaped some political capital for the Methow Valley delegation that spoke on fish and water issues before the state House and Agricultural Committee. The trip by about a dozen Valley residents got the attention of Gov. Gary Locke’s chief of staff, Joe Dear, who sat in on the Tuesday (Jan. 25) committee meeting. It also led to a gathering two days later of key state and federal agency participants in endangered species and water discussions. Rep. Linda Evans Parlette appears to have been the catalyst, working with bi-partisan chairmen of the ag-ecology and natural resources committees. Parlette engineered a Thursday session that included Okanogan County Commissioners Dave Schulz and Ed Thiele, who were in town for another meeting besides the hearing; Bob Turner, state director of National Marine Fisheries Service; Tom Fitzsimmons, director of the state Department of Ecology; Jeff Koenigs, director of state Fish and Wildlife; Curt Smitch, the governor’s natural resources advisor; Democrat Rep. Kelli Linville of Bellingham and Republican Gary Chandler of Moses Lake, co-chairs of the ag-ecology committee; and Democrat Rep. Debbie Regala of Tacoma and Republican Jim Buck of Joyce, heads of the House Natural Resources Committee. "Everybody was quite positive," Parlette said. "It seems if we can come up with some type of agreement as part of the 2514 process (local watershed planning) we can accomplish our goals." "We’re trying to get money over to the Methow to prove that numbers are correct—or that they are wrong—whether instream flows are correct or whether they are wrong." Parlette said the process will need to come together quickly for legislators to put together bill packages to assure funding. Among House bills now in the pipeline are measures that would allow funding for developing habitat programs, grant loans to private landowners for fish projects, and make it more attractive to contribute trust water rights. One bill, HB 2966, set for a hearing at 8 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 3) would allow changes in points of diversion without having to give up seniority in the water right over new applications. Opinion | Sports |
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