For Immediate Release

 

Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Announce New Endorsements & Film Featuring Prominent Local Guide Ashley Nicole Lewis

 

New Short Film “Salmon Streams for Our Future” Highlights Rivers in Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, Support from over 30 leading Hunting & fishing organizations & guides, Sportsmen Petition

 

Aberdeen WA, August 14th, 2018 - Today the coalition of Olympic Peninsula hunters, anglers, and guides of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics released a new short film featuring prominent local fishing guide Ashley Nicole Lewis called ”Salmon Streams for Our Future”  <https://vimeo.com/284809681> to spotlight the headwaters, rivers and salmon streams that would be protected under the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. It highlights the long list of support for Wild Olympics from local hunting & fishing organizations and Guides, and an interview with Ashley explains how the legislation is vital to protecting the land and waters from the increasing risks of development and habitat degradation and would help protect fishing for future generations. The short film closes with a request to other sportsmen to sign the Sportsmen For Wild Olympics Petition to help protect salmon streams for our future & enhance hunting & fishing access.

 

The group also announced signatures from over 600 Olympic Peninsula & Hood Canal area sportsmen & women on their petition to Congress in support of the Wild Olympics legislation. The signers urge lawmakers to keep the ancient forests & free-flowing rivers wild, stating “Wild Olympics would permanently protect critical habitat, headwaters & salmon streams on Olympic National Forest that are currently threatened by extreme "public land-transfer" & "Logging Without Laws" legislation & the new push for small-hydro development on our rivers. These sensitive spawning grounds are at risk as private industry & small hydro developers try to roll back temporary safeguards for our public lands. Only full, Congressionally-designated Wilderness & Wild & Scenic River safeguards will permanently protect salmon streams for our future.” The new support comes on the heels of endorsements by over 30 leading hunting and fishing organizations & local guides who have sent letters or signed petitions to Sens. Murray & Cantwell & Rep. Kilmer urging action to safeguard this area.  These include: 

 

Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Northwest Guides & Anglers Association

The Washington Wildlife Federation,

Izaak Walton League (Gr. Seattle Chapter) Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, (Washington Chapter)

Association of Northwest Steelheaders, 

The Gray Wolf Fly Fishing Club (Sequim)

SAGE Fly Rods

Waters West Guide Service (Montesano)

Doug Rose Fly Fishing (at request of family)

Bad Ash Fishing (Tahola)

Washington Council of Trout Unlimited

Little Stone Fly Fisher (Port Townsend)

Johnson Guide Service (Sequim)

The Wild Steelhead Coalition

Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics (Forks)

Able Guide Service (Seiku)

Washington River Fishing (Hoodsport )

Mike Z’s Guide Service (Forks)

Brazda’s Fly Fishing

Angler’s Obsession (Forks)

Sea Run Pursuits

Peninsula Sportsman Guide & Outfitting Service (Port Townsend)

Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters (Port Angleles)

Piscatorial Pursuits (Forks

 

BACKGROUND, THREATS & ACCESS:

Many area hunters and anglers have long been supportive of the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (S. 483/H.R. 1285) legislation reintroduced last year by Sen. Murray and Rep. Kilmer, and participated in the four year public process initiated by local stakeholders and the lawmakers to craft a balanced protection plan for upper watersheds on Olympic Forest. The final revisions to the compromise proposal ensure it will not close roads or cost timber jobs. The bill would essentially simply make permanent current Forest Service safeguards for certain remote areas of Olympic National Forest containing critical backcountry spawning habitat, ancient forests & salmon streams – some of the healthiest, least degraded habitat left on the Peninsula.

 

The Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Leaders have also updated their website to help dispel some of the myths about Wild Olympics & access, highlighting the fact that it will not close one single mile of the 2,250 miles of roads on Olympic National Forest and that Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers protect and enhance hunting & fishing access (Click Here to Read Wild Olympics Protects & Enhances Access Without Closing Roads).  

The sportsmen are concerned that without immediate action on this issue, extreme logging and public land transfer legislation before Congress and the renewed push for small-hydro project development in Washington State are putting the remote backcountry headwaters and salmon streams on Olympic National Forest at risk.  (Click here to read the Sportsmen for Wild Olympics threats report, “Olympic Peninsula Rivers at Risk”).

 

TESTIMONIALS

Ashley Nicole Lewis of Bad Ash Fishing Guide Service “Conservation for me on the Olympic Peninsula means that the next generation and generations to come can come out here and experience the way that I experience it and the way my grandpa experienced it when he fished out here and that forever we always have this – what is wild and what is the Olympic Peninsula and our culture today.”

Dave Bailey, Past President of the Grey Wolf Fly Fishing Club in Sequim, WA and a co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics says the group is releasing the short film to show people that the threats to local salmon streams are real and that Wild Olympics is broadly supported in the local sportsmen community. “People think that because these areas appear as they’ve always been, that they are safe.  That is the furthest thing from the truth. There is a determined effort in Congress to roll back safeguards on our public lands and open these sensitive spawning grounds to small hydro development, industrial clear-cutting and more road building once more.  That's bad for fish, game, and sportsmen.  Wild and Scenic Rivers are managed to protect and enhance the values that make them eligible for designation that include recreational pursuits such as sportfishing. Only Congressionally-designated wilderness and Wild and Scenic River safeguards will permanently protect core backcountry elk habitat and critical salmon and steelhead spawning grounds against future development.  The Wild Olympics legislation would give our fish, wildlife and salmon streams the gold standard of protection they deserve.” 

Aaron O’Leary, head guide of Angler’s Obsession (Forks, WA),  puts it plainly; “Supporting Wild Olympics will help preserve the salmon and steelhead fishing on the Olympic Peninsula for future generations.” 

 

Roy Morris, Jr., and Owner/Head Guide for Able Guide Service out of Seiku & a co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics: “Wild Olympics will not only protect water quality and fish, but enhance public access.”

Casey Weigel – Owner & Head Guide of Waters West Guide Service in Montesano said “Through hard work and our passion for our rivers and fishing, my wife and I have grown our small business enough to be able to help 3 other year-round and seasonal local guides support families, who love fishing just as much as we do. I support the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act because our rivers and our salmon are our lifeblood and, without them, businesses like ours, the local jobs they support, and the dollars they bring into our local economy would dry up. The Wild Olympics proposal would simply make the current safeguards protecting our rivers on Olympic National Forest permanent. That’s all it does. It doesn’t change access or cost timber jobs. And if it did, I wouldn’t support it, because my family works in the timber industry. There are many challenges facing our rivers and salmon, with lots of debate and millions of dollars spent trying to help restore clean water and habitat downstream. But one basic, simple piece of the foundation we can put in place now that won’t cost any of us anything, is to permanently protect the healthy habitat on the federal lands upstream against any misguided attempts to develop them in the future. That’s why I am a proud supporter of the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. For Our Future.”

 

Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide Bob Triggs of Port Townsend (& a co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics). "We must not lose this critical opportunity to conserve and protect the headwaters and watershed forests that are vital to our wild fish, birds and wildlife. It is far simpler and less expensive to conserve the wilderness habitat that we have, rather than to attempt to restore these places later. The value of some wild places cannot be measured in money."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For General information, visit www.SportsmenForWildolympics.org.

 

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Broad Coalition of Rural Americans Cheer Wild Olympics Act Reintroduction as Local Endorsements Increase

by  | Mar 1, 2017 | News Release |

Broad Coalition of Rural Americans Cheer Wild Olympics Act Reintroduction as Local Endorsements Increase

Citing benefits to local Olympic Peninsula jobs, economy, clean water & salmon, more than 700 local businesses, elected officials, farms, faith leaders, sportsmen, conservation & recreation groups now backing Wild Olympics

QUILCENE, Wash. – The Wild Olympics Coalition today cheered the reintroduction of the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by Senator Patty Murray and Representative Derek Kilmer to permanently protect more than 126,500 acres of Olympic National Forest as wilderness and 19 rivers and their major tributaries, a total of 464 river miles, as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Designed through extensive community input to protect ancient forests, clean water, and enhance outdoor recreation, the legislation would, if enacted, designate the first new wilderness on Olympic National Forest in nearly three decades and the first-ever protected wild and scenic rivers on the Olympic Peninsula.

The Wild Olympics Coalition also unveiled today over 150 new endorsements from local Olympic Peninsula elected officials and businesses rallying behind the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The new additions bring the total number of local Olympic Peninsula businesses, CEOs, elected officials, farms, faith leaders & sportsmen, and conservation and outdoor recreation groups to more than 700 endorsers, including the mayors of Port Townsend, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores & Elma, among many others. The new endorsements by local Olympic Peninsula business owners, mayors and city councilmembers from all four counties of the Peninsula were collected over the last several months on a sign-on letter addressed to Senator Murray and Rep. Kilmer. More than 12,000 local residents have signed petitions in support.

The new endorsements come after Local Olympic Peninsula Economic Leaders recently announced a new partnershipwith REI & Patagonia to promote the Wild Olympics Campaign in REI’s flagship store and online to encourage their customers to visit the spectacular Olympic Peninsula.  As part of the partnership, local elected officials from the Olympic Peninsula, the Wild Olympics Campaign, outdoor recreation groups, REI, and Patagonia unveiled a new Destination Wild Olympics” MAP, highlighting some of the great recreation places in the Wild Olympics proposal. The map was designed with extensive input from local Olympic Peninsula business owners, economic development leaders and local elected officials, who announced their support for the initiative, calling it an amazing economic opportunity for the Peninsula.

TESTIMONIALS

Bill Taylor, President of Taylor Shellfish Farms, Shelton “Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer’s Wild Olympics legislation will help protect our state’s shellfish industry, including hundreds of shellfishing jobs in Hood Canal alone – and many more in related industries like processing, shipping and sales. It protects the rivers and streams vital to the health of our hatcheries and to the health and restoration of Puget Sound. Our oyster beds depend on the clean, cold, silt-free water that drains off Olympic National Forest into Hood Canal. Protecting these watersheds allows our industry to grow, expand and continue to benefit the economy and ecology of Washington State. We are grateful for their leadership.”
 
James Thomas, President & CEO Thermedia Corp/MasQs – Shelton “The Wild Olympics legislation would help protect the outstanding way of life that is an important reason people choose to live, work and play here in Mason County with the stunning backdrop of the Olympic Mountains in our backyard. The ancient forests, wild rivers and scenic beauty of the Olympics are the foundation of our high “Quality of Life” that attracts visitors, entrepreneurs, new residents and investment in our communities, strengthening our local economy. In fact, these spectacular public lands were the final determinant when I chose the Olympic Peninsula as the new home for my medical device manufacturing company.  Ten years later my heart still sings when I round a corner or top a hill and the Olympics come into view.   I applaud Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer for working to protect the Peninsula’s economic future.”
 
Fred Rakevich – Retired logger and fifty-year veteran of the timber industry, Elma “I am a retired logger who worked for fifty years in the timber industry. I have also fished and kayaked most of the major rivers in the Olympics. I was born and raised in Grays Harbor, but have traveled half way around the world. In all my travels, nothing impressed me more than the natural beauty of the Olympic Mountain Range and the clear running waters that begin their journey flowing toward the lands below. Timber is and always will be part of the Olympic Peninsula’s proud heritage. But our ancient forests and wild rivers are the natural legacy we will leave to our children and grandchildren.  Senator Murray and Representative Kilmers bill protects our natural heritage while respecting our timber heritage. I thank them for their thoughtful leadership, and future generations will thank them too.”
 
Casey Weigel – Owner & Head Guide of Waters West Guide Service in Montesano and a member of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics. “I am a full-time Professional Guide, and owner of Waters West Guide Service in Montesano, Washington on the beautiful Wynoochee River. Our home waters here also include the Satsop and Humptulips rivers and other Olympic Peninsula rivers and their tributaries. Through hard work and our passion for our rivers and fishing, my wife and I have grown our small business enough to be able to help 3 other year-round and seasonal local guides support families, who love fishing just as much as we do. We fish year round for trophy Salmon, Sturgeon, Steelhead, and Trout in Washington rivers, lakes, and bays. I support the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act because our rivers and our salmon are our lifeblood and, without them, businesses like ours, the local jobs they support, and the dollars they bring into our local economy would dry up. The Wild Olympics proposal would simply make the current safeguards protecting our rivers on Olympic National Forest permanent. That’s all it does. It doesn’t change access or cost timber jobs. And if it did, I wouldn’t support it, because my family works in the timber industry. There are many challenges facing our rivers and salmon, with lots of debate and millions of dollars spent trying to help restore clean water and habitat downstream. But one basic, simple piece of the foundation we can put in place now that won’t cost any of us anything, is to permanently protect the healthy habitat on the federal lands upstream against any misguided attempts to develop them in the future. That’s why I am a proud supporter of the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. For Our Future.”
 
State Representative Mike Chapman, 24th Legislative District – Port Angeles “I have been very excited about the economic & recreational opportunities Wild Olympics will bring to the Olympic Peninsula. With REI and Patagonia’s support our corner of the world is now attracting visitors from all over. Wild Olympics is our future, for fresh air, clean water, pristine forests and future generations!”

Sarah Muszynski, Owner, Blue Horizons Paddlesports , Lake Cushman “As an outdoor recreation business owner and an avid outdoorsman, my livelihood and lifestyle depend on clean, free-flowing rivers. Visitors to Olympic National Park and businesses like mine annually contribute $220 million in local economic benefits and support 2,708 jobs. This economic benefit depends on access to the high quality natural resources the Olympic Peninsula is known for and protection of those resources. Visitors from around the world come to experience the place we call home. Protecting these resources is an investment in our region’s economic future, and the smart thing to do.”
 
Dr. Bill Roof, President and CEO, Intellicheck Mobilisa, Inc., Port Townsend “The Wild Olympics legislation sponsored by Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer would permanently protect the stunning natural treasures that serve as a key tool local companies like Intellicheck can use to recruit talented, highly skilled employees who contribute to the Peninsula’s economy.  Our ancient forests, rivers and streams offer priceless natural amenities that make the Northwest a wonderful place to live and give “The Evergreen State” its well-deserved name.  These natural resources provide clean water, scenic beauty, solitude, fish and wildlife habitat, world-class outdoor recreation opportunities and an unrivaled quality of life in our region.”  
 
Michelle Sandoval – Port Townsend City Councilor, Port Townsend “This legislation will help permanently protect clean drinking water for local Peninsula communities. For example, one of the places proposed for Wilderness protection is in the Big Quilcene watershed, which filters the clean, cold drinking water for the city of Port Townsend. Protecting forests and rivers on federal lands upstream protects our investments in salmon habitat and water quality downstream. We are grateful for Representative Kilmer’s and Senator Murray’s help in protecting Port Townsend’s clean water.” 
 
Harriet Reyenga – Independent realtor for Windermere Real Estate, Port Angeles “The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act will protect and promote the same spectacular public lands and high quality of life that are helping to drive growth and create local jobs in real estate, construction and many other sectors of our economy today.  Our ancient forests, salmon, rivers and amazing landscapes are the north Olympic Peninsula’s competitive economic advantage over other regions. We should do all we can to protect and promote these natural treasures. The Wild Olympics legislation will do both.”
 
Dave Bailey – Past President of the Grey Wolf Fly Fishing Club in Sequim, WA & co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics. “People think that because our salmon streams on Olympic National Forest appear as they’ve always been, that they are safe. Unfortunately, that’s the furthest thing from the truth.  There are determined efforts underway in Congress to roll back current safeguards and open these sensitive spawning streams to small hydropower development, industrial clear-cutting and more road building once more.  That’s bad for fish, game, and sportsmen.  This legislation is critical to preserve what we have.”

Terri Jeffreys,  Mason County Commissioner, District 3  – Shelton “This partnership came out of a great process involving local communities, businesses and economic leaders of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ve been at the forefront of diversifying our local economy and promoting our World-Class outdoor recreation and stunning natural beauty. That’s why we call Mason County and Hood Canal the “Wild Side of Washington” – and we know it’s imperative we protect and enhance access to the incredible outdoor adventures offered by our pristine waterways and spectacular public lands. Wild Olympics has been endorsed by over 65 Mason County businesses and local elected officials and counting. I am proud to be one of them.  We’re thrilled to launch this new partnership with the Wild Olympics Campaign, REI & Patagonia to protect & promote our spectacular ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and world-class outdoor recreation opportunities. For Our Future.”

Jasmine Dickhoff, Mayor, City of Hoquiam- Hoquiam “I’m from here, I grew up here, and I’m proud to call the Harbor my home. Harborites are hardy, self-reliant, and we often have a different point of view than other communities. We choose to live without all the amenities of big-city life and we do so because we love it here. Hundreds of local Peninsula businesses, sportsmen organizations & local elected officials like myself are backing Wild Olympics because it embraces that same pride – our shared love of the land and our desire to permanently protect the most special parts of our spectacular backyard. However as a local elected official concerned about our economic future, I believe we need to be seizing new economic opportunities while taking great care not to hurt our current ones. That’s why it’s important to me that Representative Kilmer & Senator Murray have worked to ensure their final proposal won’t hurt local timber jobs. It’s also why I believe REI and Patagonia’s promotion of Wild Olympics is a validation of one of our important new economic advantages.

State Representative Steve Tharinger, 24th Legislative District – Sequim “It is easy to see and understand the ecological value of the Wild Olympics idea, conserving clean and free flowing rivers, but what is sometimes missed is the economic value that maintaining places like Wild Olympics brings by attracting people to the special outdoors of the Olympic region. I want to thank REI and Patagonia for engaging local community leaders like myself to help design the map, and for recognizing that encouraging people to get out and enjoy the special places in the Wild Olympics proposal brings economic benefits to the communities I represent.”

Marc Berejka, Director of Government & Community Affairs, REI. “The Olympic Peninsula is a Washington treasure that provides exceptional outdoor experiences, and we are grateful for the partnership launched by local Olympic Peninsula Economic Leaders working to protect and promote the Olympic Peninsula’s ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and stunning scenery for future generations.  For our customers seeking unspoiled, backcountry adventures from the high peaks to the deep river valleys harboring old-growth forests, the Wild Olympics is an iconic destination enjoyed by local residents and visitors from around the world. This initiative is also an investment in our region’s economic future. Washington State residents recreate an average of 56 days a year outside and spend money when they do it. Residents and visitors collectively spend $21.6 billion annually on trips and equipment purchases supporting 200,000 jobs.”

Mark and Desiree’ Dodson, Owners Westport Marina Cottages – Westport: “We’re excited to be a part of the amazing recognition of the Wild Olympics Campaign by REI & Patagonia. We’re one of the hundreds of local Peninsula businesses backing Wild Olympics because it would protect & promote the same priceless natural treasures that are cornerstones of our economy.  And now the country’s two most premier outdoor industry brands agree. Our ancient temperate rainforests & wild rivers are iconic one-of-kind outdoor recreation destinations that draw visitors & new residents from around the world. That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with the Wild Olympics Campaign, REI & Patagonia to promote the Harbor’s natural treasures to a whole new audience hungry for outdoor adventures!”

Roy Nott, Aberdeen Businessman and CEO. “Growing up in Pacific County in the 50’s and early 60’s, my future career path was pretty clear. I knew I would work in the timber industry.  It was a no-brainer for me.  The woods was where my childhood friends and I also chose to spend most of our free time. To advance your career often requires moves, and eventually my family and I were asked to move to the south and the northeast. It was all very interesting but we missed our family and friends and the forests back home. So, in 1993, I returned with a much greater appreciation for the Olympic Peninsula’s remaining virgin forests. Not just as a draw for tourists but also a residential draw for forest-lovers like myself and my family. That is also why I chose to be an early advocate for new Wild Olympics legislation.The world has changed so much over my lifetime.  I now live in Aberdeen but I am the President of a German-owned companyin the wood products industry. Rapid advancements in manufacturing and technology permit companies to collaborate globally today to make more valuable composite wood products from far younger, faster-growth trees. These technologies require us to be smarter and more globally and market-minded but they permit us- for the first time in our history- to have it both ways: to have a strong forest products sector along with legal protections for the remaining, virgin forests that have always provided our fantastic living and vacationing environment. This is my life story and these are my opinions.  That is why I am so pleased to see REI and Patagonia recently take up the Wild Olympics cause.  It is great to see your most deeply-held beliefs become validated as you get older.”

Douglas Scott, Owner of Exotic Hikes and The Outdoor Society, Hood Canal: “Outside my door, the river, forests and mountains of the Olympic Peninsula beckon me to hike and climb. In the Northwest corner of the contiguous United States, far from the hustle and bustle of the big cities, our glacial-fed rivers, full of salmon and surrounded by majestic eagles constantly inspire millions of locals and visitors to the region. Each year, over four million outdoor recreation enthusiasts head to the region, hoping to find a slice of natural beauty in pristine forests and impossibly gorgeous river valleys. As an author, tour guide and advocate for the Olympic Peninsula, I have witnessed the importance of nature and outdoor recreation in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to the support outdoor enthusiasts from all walks of life, passing the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act will help ensure that even more of the stunning scenery will be protected and accessible for all. bI am proud to Support the Wild Olympics. Come visit and fall in love with the beauty of rainforests, wild rivers and breathtaking adventures and you will too. 

Contact:  Connie Gallant, Chair, Wild Olympics Campaign (360) 710-7235 / connie@wildolympics.org

< New image with text >>

KBKW NEWS GRAYS HARBOR - June 4th, 2015

Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act reintroduced in Congress

 

— June 4, 2015

 

The Wild Olympics Coalition today cheered the introduction of the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by Senator Patty Murray and Representative Derek Kilmer to permanently protect more than 126,500 acres of Olympic National Forest as wilderness and 19 rivers and their major tributaries, a total of 464 river miles, as Wild and Scenic Rivers. If enacted, the legislation would designate the first new wilderness on Olympic National Forest in nearly three decades and the first-ever protected wild and scenic rivers on the Olympic Peninsula.

“We are thrilled! We’re excited and grateful for Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer’s leadership in reintroducing Wild Olympics this congress,” said Connie Gallant, chair of the Quilcene-based Wild Olympics Coalition. “Their carefully-crafted legislation would permanently protect the Olympic Peninsula’s ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and stunning scenery for future generations. It would safeguard critical salmon habitat and sources of clean drinking water for our local communities. And it would protect our unmatched quality of life on the Peninsula. We are indebted to Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer for their due diligence, commitment, and hard work in engaging all communities these last several years to move their legislation forward.”

“This is truly landmark legislation for the Olympics’ unprotected wild lands – places like lower Gray Wolf, Jupiter Ridge, South Fork Skokomish and South Quinault Ridge – and visionary in its sweep,” said Tim McNulty, of Sequim, Wild Olympics Coalition member and author of Olympic National Park: A Natural History. “Conservationists have been working for Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protections in the Olympics since the 70s. This bill is a historic step forward in the long story of Olympic conservation.”

The Wild Olympics Campaign enjoys broad local support on the Olympic Peninsula and Hood Canal region. The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act has been endorsed by over 500 local businesses, farms, faith leaders, local elected officials, CEO’s, hunting, fishing, recreation & conservation groups.

Bill Taylor, President of Taylor Shellfish Farms, Shelton: “Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer’s Wild Olympics legislation will help protect our state’s shellfish industry, including hundreds of shellfishing jobs in Hood Canal alone – and many more in related industries like processing, shipping and sales. It protects the rivers and streams vital to the health of our hatcheries and to the health and restoration of Puget Sound. Our oyster beds depend on the clean, cold, silt-free water that drains off Olympic National Forest into Hood Canal. Protecting these watersheds allows our industry to grow, expand and continue to benefit the economy and ecology of Washington State. We are grateful for their leadership.”

James Thomas, President & CEO Thermedia Corp/MasQs – Shelton: “The Wild Olympics legislation would help protect the outstanding way of life that is an important reason people choose to live, work and play here in Mason County with the stunning backdrop of the Olympic Mountains in our backyard. The ancient forests, wild rivers and scenic beauty of the Olympics are the foundation of our high “Quality of Life” that attracts visitors, entrepreneurs, new residents and investment in our communities, strengthening our local economy. In fact, these spectacular public lands were the final determinant when I chose the Olympic Peninsula as the new home for my medical device manufacturing company. Ten years later my heart still sings when I round a corner or top a hill and the Olympics come into view. I applaud Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer for working to protect the Peninsula’s economic future.”

Fred Rakevich – Retired logger and fifty-year veteran of the timber industry, Elma: “I am a retired logger who worked for fifty years in the timber industry. I have also fished and kayaked most of the major rivers in the Olympics. I was born and raised in Grays Harbor, but have traveled half way around the world. In all my travels, nothing impressed me more than the natural beauty of the Olympic Mountain Range and the clear running waters that begin their journey flowing toward the lands below. Timber is and always will be part of the Olympic Peninsula’s proud heritage. But our ancient forests and wild rivers are the natural legacy we will leave to our children and grandchildren. Senator Murray and Representative Kilmers bill protects our natural heritage while respecting our timber heritage. I thank them for their thoughtful leadership, and future generations will thank them too.”

Casey Weigel – Owner & Head Guide of Waters West Guide Service in Montesano and a member of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics: “I am a full-time Professional Guide, and owner of Waters West Guide Service in Montesano, Washington on the beautiful Wynoochee River. Our home waters here also include the Satsop and Humptulips rivers and other Olympic Peninsula rivers and their tributaries. Through hard work and our passion for our rivers and fishing, my wife and I have grown our small business enough to be able to help 3 other year-round and seasonal local guides support families, who love fishing just as much as we do. We fish year round for trophy Salmon, Sturgeon, Steelhead, and Trout in Washington rivers, lakes, and bays. I support the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act because our rivers and our salmon are our lifeblood and, without them, businesses like ours, the local jobs they support, and the dollars they bring into our local economy would dry up. The Wild Olympics proposal would simply make the current safeguards protecting our rivers on Olympic National Forest permanent. That’s all it does. It doesn’t change access or cost timber jobs. And if it did, I wouldn’t support it, because my family works in the timber industry. There are many challenges facing our rivers and salmon, with lots of debate and millions of dollars spent trying to help restore clean water and habitat downstream. But one basic, simple piece of the foundation we can put in place now that won’t cost any of us anything, is to permanently protect the healthy habitat on the federal lands upstream against any misguided attempts to develop them in the future. That’s why I am a proud supporter of the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. For Our Future.”

Morgan Colonel – Owner, Olympic Raft and Kayak, Port Angeles: “As an outdoor recreation business owner and an avid outdoorsman, my livelihood and lifestyle depend on clean, free-flowing rivers. I have witnessed first-hand the benefits of wild and scenic rivers designation on local businesses in other parts of the country. Visitors to Olympic National Park and businesses like mine annually contribute $220 million in local economic benefits and support 2,708 jobs. This economic benefit depends on access to the high quality natural resources the Olympic Peninsula is known for and protection of those resources. Visitors from around the world come to experience the place we call home. Protecting these resources is an investment in our region’s economic future, and the smart thing to do.”

Ken Meidell, President & COO, Outdoor Research, WA: “We support Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protection for the Olympic Peninsula’s ancient forests, free-flowing rivers and stunning scenery for future generations. This area is a Washington treasure that provides exceptional outdoor experiences. For our customers seeking unspoiled, backcountry adventures from the high peaks to the deep river valleys harboring old-growth forests, the Wild Olympics is a world-class destination enjoyed by local residents and visitors from around the world. This conservation initiative is also an investment in our region’s economic future. A new study, Economic Analysis of Outdoor Recreation in Washington State, by Earth Economics demonstrates the importance of outdoor recreation for the Washington State economy. Washington State residents recreate an average of 56 days a year outside and spend money when they do it. Residents and visitors collectively spend $21.6 billion annually on trips and equipment purchases supporting nearly 200,000 jobs.”

Dr. Bill Roof, President and CEO, Intellicheck Mobilisa, Inc., Port Townsend: “The Wild Olympics legislation sponsored by Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer would permanently protect the stunning natural treasures that serve as a key tool local companies like Intellicheck can use to recruit talented, highly skilled employees who contribute to the Peninsula’s economy. Our ancient forests, rivers and streams offer priceless natural amenities that make the Northwest a wonderful place to live and give “The Evergreen State” its well-deserved name. These natural resources provide clean water, scenic beauty, solitude, fish and wildlife habitat, world-class outdoor recreation opportunities and an unrivaled quality of life in our region.”

Michelle Sandoval – Port Townsend City Councilor, Port Townsend: “This legislation will help permanently protect clean drinking water for local Peninsula communities. For example, one of the places proposed for Wilderness protection is in the Big Quilcene watershed, which filters the clean, cold drinking water for the city of Port Townsend. Protecting forests and rivers on federal lands upstream protects our investments in salmon habitat and water quality downstream. We are grateful for Representative Kilmer’s and Senator Murray’s help in protecting Port Townsend’s clean water.”

Harriet Reyenga – Independent realtor for Windermere Real Estate, Port Angeles: “The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild & Scenic Rivers Act will protect and promote the same spectacular public lands and high quality of life that are helping to drive growth and create local jobs in real estate, construction and many other sectors of our economy today. Our ancient forests, salmon, rivers and amazing landscapes are the north Olympic Peninsula’s competitive economic advantage over other regions. We should do all we can to protect and promote these natural treasures. The Wild Olympics legislation will do both.”

Dave Bailey – Past President of the Grey Wolf Fly Fishing Club in Sequim, WA & co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics: “People think that because our salmon streams on Olympic National Forest appear as they’ve always been, that they are safe. Unfortunately, that’s the furthest thing from the truth. There are determined efforts underway in Congress to roll back current safeguards and open these sensitive spawning streams to small hydropower development, industrial clear-cutting and more road building once more. That’s bad for fish, game, and sportsmen. This legislation is critical to preserve what we have.”

THE WILD OLYMPICS


I'm not talking about the recent winter Olympics, this is much more regional.


In January, Representative Derek Kilmer and Senator Patty Murry reintroduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, in reference to Washington State's resources and the headwaters on the Olympic Peninsula.


Being an "Olympic Peninsulan" by birth and upbringing, this issue raises great interest here on the home front.


I'm not one that usually will jump in on environmental actions as many of them seem to have personal and hidden agendas. I don't feel that is the case here.


From what I understand, this "act" should permanently protect more than 126,000 acres of backcountry in the Olympic National Forest from future development, which includes logging. Don't get me wrong here, as I have had many friends and family who were damn fine "environmentalists" in the logging industry over the years, but, I question if this act will have any effect on logging as the area proposed is outside of the current logging zones.


On the plus side, this safeguards sensitive salmon and steelhead spawning grounds on 19 Olympic Peninsula rivers and their major tributaries plus it puts a buffer around the Olympic National park and vital elk/wildlife habitat.


Another compromise is that it will not close a single yard of the 2,250 miles of roads in the national forest or affect any trailheads, still allowing valuable access for sportfishing or other outdoor recreation.


One of the strongest proponents of this is an organization named Sportsmen for Wild Olympics and they are supported by dozens of major fishing and hunting organizations, local guides and leading outdoor groups. I suggest you check them out at www.SportsmenforWildOlympics.org.


I currently see this as a win-win for all outdoor enthusiasts and it could well be the salvation of rivers and fishing on the Olympic Peninsula. That is, if the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn't get involved.

- End -

 

Wild Olympics have Olympic Peninsula hunting & fishing support


KXRO Newsradio Grays Harbor- February 5, 2014


Sportsmen for Wild Olympics have delivered signatures from more than 300 local sportsmen and women on a petition to Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer in support of the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

 

According to the Wild Olympics campaign, the signers urge the lawmakers to pass the bill, because "Peninsula salmon, trout, and steelhead rely on cold, clean water from upper reaches of rivers & streams on Olympic National Forest. These headwaters & streams are at risk as private industry and small hydro developers try to roll back temporary safeguards on our public lands."

 

These signatures follow new endorsements by over two dozen major hunting and fishing organizations and local guides who recently sent a letter to Sen. Murray and Rep. Kilmer urging action to safeguard this area.

 

Those signing the letter include Waters West Guide Service of Montesano, the Washington Wildlife Federation, Association of Northwest Steelheaders and others.

 

Both the petition and the letter state that "Only full, Congressionally-designated Wilderness and Wild & Scenic River safeguards will permanently protect backcountry elk habitat and sensitive salmon and steelhead spawning grounds against future development." The group further notes that the final compromise legislation removed all roads from the proposed wilderness boundaries, ensuring Wild Olympics will not close roads or affect any road or trailhead access.

 

Sportsmen for Wild Olympics also released a new video called "Salmon Streams for Our Future" to spotlight the headwaters, rivers and salmon that would be protected under the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, and the threats they face without permanent protection. The video invites local hunters & anglers to visit the Sportsmen for Wild Olympics website and sign their online petition in support of the Wild Olympics legislation.

 

Representative Derek Kilmer and Senator Patty Murray reintroduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act on January 16th. First introduced in June of 2012 following years of discussion, the measure would expand the wilderness area in the Olympic National Forest, creating a buffer around Olympic National Park.

 

According to the Wild Olympics campaign, they have received majority support from the Ocean Shores and Westport City Councils.

 

The Grays Harbor County Commissioners, Aberdeen City Council, and Cosmopolis City Council have all previously voted in opposition to the legislation.

 

The Hoquiam City Council previously voted saying they opposed the legislation as it was, but said they were willing to consider a revised plan.

 

According to Senator Patty Murray, based on additional public input, several changes have been made to the legislation to address concerns and strengthen sections about private landowners' rights.

KBKW NEWS GRAYS HARBOR

For Immediate Release:                                                                  January 31st, 2014



Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Announce New Endorsements & Video

Hundreds of Local Sportsmen Endorse Wild Olympics, Video Highlights Threats, Rivers & Local Support



(Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Video "Salmon Streams for Our Future" )



January 31st, 2014 - Today the group of Olympic Peninsula hunters, anglers, and guides of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics delivered signatures from more than 300 local sportsmen and women on a petition to Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer in support of their new legislation to permanently protect headwaters and salmon streams on Olympic National Forest and enhance access. The signers urge the lawmakers to keep the ancient forests and free-flowing rivers wild, because "Peninsula salmon, trout, and steelhead rely on cold, clean water from upper reaches of rivers & streams on Olympic National Forest. These headwaters & streams are at risk as private industry and small hydro developers try to roll back temporary safeguards on our public lands."

 

This new support comes on the heels of new endorsements by over two dozen major hunting and fishing organizations and local guides, including nineteen leading sportsmen groups and Peninsula guides who recently sent a joint letter to Sen. Murray and Rep. Kilmer urging action to safeguard this area. Those signing the letter include Piscatorial Pursuits (Forks), Waters West Guide Service (Montesano), Angler's Obsession (Forks), Little Stone Fly Fisher (Port Townsend), Johnson Guide Service (Sequim), Anadromy Fly Fishing (Forks), Game On! Guide Service (Shelton), Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics (Forks), Able Guide Service (Seiku), Gray Wolf Fly Fishing Club (Sequim), Peninsula Sportsman (Port Townsend), Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, the Wild Steelhead Coalition, the Northwest Guides & Anglers Association, the Washington Wildlife Federation, Izaak Walton League, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Association of Northwest Steelheaders and others.

 

Both the petition and the letter state that "Only full, Congressionally-designated Wilderness and Wild & Scenic River safeguards will permanently protect backcountry elk habitat and sensitive salmon and steelhead spawning grounds against future development." The group further notes that the final compromise legislation removed all roads from the proposed wilderness boundaries, ensuring Wild Olympics will not close roads or affect any road or trailhead access.

 

Sportsmen for Wild Olympics also released a new video: "Salmon Streams for Our Future" to spotlight the headwaters, rivers and salmon that would be protected under the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, and the threats they face without permanent protection. It highlights the long list of support for Wild Olympics from 27 leading hunting & fishing organizations and local guides, and features stunning footage of spawning salmon shot by acclaimed local filmmaker John Gussman. An interview with Sequim fishing guide & Sportsmen for Wild Olympics co-founder Norrie Johnson explains how the legislation is vital to protecting the headwaters, rivers & streams on Olympic National Forest that local anglers depend on for salmon & steelhead fishing. The video closes with a call for hunters & anglers to visit the Sportsmen for Wild Olympics website and sign their online petition in support of the Wild Olympics legislation.

 

Dave Bailey, Past President of the Grey Wolf Fly Fishing Club in Sequim, WA and a co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics says the group is releasing the video to show people that the threats to local salmon streams are real and that Wild Olympics is broadly supported in the local sportsmen community.

 

"People think that because these areas appear as they've always been, that they are safe. That is the furthest thing from the truth," said Bailey. "There is a determined effort in Congress to roll back safeguards on our public lands and open these sensitive spawning grounds to small hydro development, industrial clear-cutting and more road building once more. That's bad for fish, game, and sportsmen" said Bailey.

 

The Sportsmen are concerned that without immediate action on this issue, extreme logging legislation before Congress and the renewed push for small-hydro project development in Washington State are putting the remote backcountry headwaters and salmon streams on Olympic National Forest at risk. (Click here to read the Sportsmen for Wild Olympics threats report, "Our Rivers & Headwaters at Risk")

 

Aaron O'Leary, a member of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics and owner and head guide of Angler's Obsession (Forks, WA), put it plainly; "Supporting Wild Olympics will help preserve the salmon and steelhead fishing on the Olympic Peninsula for future generations." (Click here to see profiles of all the members of Sportsmen For Wild Olympics "About Us" )

 

Many area hunters and anglers have long been supportive of legislation introduced earlier by Sen. Murray and former Rep. Dicks, and participated in the four year public process initiated by local stakeholders and the lawmakers to craft a balanced protection plan for upper watersheds on Olympic Forest.

 

The Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Leaders have also updated their website to help dispel some of the myths about Wild Olympics & access, highlighting the fact that it will not close one single mile of the 2,250 miles of roads on Olympic National Forest and that Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers protect and enhance hunting & fishing access (Click Here to Read Wild Olympics Protects & Enhances Access Without Closing Roads). "Wild Olympics will not only protect water quality and fish, but enhance public access," said Roy Morris, Jr., a co-founder of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics and Owner/Head Guide for Able Guide Service out of Seiku, on the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula. Dave Bailey added that "Wild and Scenic Rivers are managed to protect and enhance the values that make them eligible for designation that include recreational pursuits such as sportfishing."

 

"We must not lose this critical opportunity to conserve and protect the headwaters and watershed forests that are vital to our wild fish, birds and wildlife," said Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide Bob Triggs of Port Townsend -- one of the co-founders of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics. "It is far simpler and less expensive to conserve the wilderness habitat that we have, rather than to attempt to restore these places later. The value of some wild places cannot be measured in money."

 

"Only Congressionally-designated wilderness and Wild & Scenic River safeguards will permanently protect core backcountry elk habitat and critical salmon and steelhead spawning grounds against future development," said Dave Bailey. "The Wild Olympics legislation would give our fish, wildlife and salmon streams the gold standard of protection they deserve."

 

Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Video "Salmon Streams for Our Future"

 

KBKW: Fishing Support Rolls In for Wild Olympics

 
The Talk of Grays Harbor 94.7 FM
David Haviland
Monday, October 22, 2012 


Quilcene, WA - Local elected officials, hunting and fishing organizations, and area businesses sent a series of letters to Senator Murray and Congressman Dicks this week supporting their legislation to designate additional wilderness and wild and scenic rivers on the Olympic Peninsula. These more than 70 new endorsements for the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act brings the support list to nearly 250.

 

"Fishing support for protecting the Peninsula's rivers and streams should come as no surprise," said Al Carter, with the Wild Olympics Coalition. "Commercial and sport fishermen know the direct link between healthy free-flowing streams and rivers and healthy salmon and steelhead stocks. And local businesses, like Ocean Gold -one of the largest fish processing companies on the west coast, employing hundreds in Grays Harbor - depend on the same to provide jobs to our community."

 

Hunting and angling groups that represent thousands of Washington citizens commended the bill sponsors for their leadership to safeguard the area. Signers included the Washington Wildlife Federation, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, Washington Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Washington Council of Trout Unlimited and the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. "The Wild Olympics legislation would also protect and expand access for sportsmen," they wrote. "New wilderness areas proposed for Olympic National Forest could more than double the amount of territory available for the early season High Buck Hunt. We appreciate your decision to remove any roads from the proposed wilderness boundaries, ensuring your proposal would not close or affect road or trailhead access."

 

For Carter, a former county commissioner in Grays Harbor, who helped lead the local effort to secure funding for the Humptulips Fish Hatchery, keeping the proposed areas on the Olympic Peninsula undisturbed and healthy hits close to home. "Restoration work downstream is useless if watersheds upstream are being developed. Senator Murray and Congressman Dicks get that, and their bill will help protect our clean drinking water and the salmon so many depend on for their livelihoods."

 

BACKGROUND

 

The conservation measure will permanently protect more than 126,000 acres of wilderness in the Olympic National Forest and designate 19 rivers and seven tributaries ---totaling 464 miles - as Wild and Scenic.

 

The Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (S. 3329/H.R. 5995), was introduced by Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Norm Dicks on June 21, 2012. If passed, the bill would protect the first new wilderness on Olympic National Forest in nearly 30 years and mark the first-ever Wild and Scenic River designations on the Peninsula.

 

The measure has been the subject of three years of discussion and public input, and as a result of this unprecedented community involvement, the sponsors have made numerous and significant changes to the legislation including the removal of the Parks addition component originally included in the campaign's proposal. The final proposal does not include or close any roads, and all road and trailhead access and hunting and fishing access is protected.

 

The compromises ensured the final proposal will not cost any timber jobs -earning the the backing of Port Angeles Timber Company Merrill and Ring. Cosmo Specialty Fibers issued a statement after the park additions were dropped praising the inclusive process and stating that with the proposal reduced, their own fiber interests were not affected.

 

A 2012 bipartisan poll found overwhelming support for the Wild Olympics proposal among likely voters in Washington's 6 th  Congressional District. Nearly two out of three (64 percent) likely voters support the Wild Olympics plan proposed by Rep. Dicks and Sen. Murray. Only 15 percent are opposed. On the Peninsula, support was nearly 2-1, with 50% supporting, and only 28% opposed.

 

For a complete supporter list visit http://www.wildolympics.org/supporters/endorsements

 

 

SENATOR MURRAY AND CONGRESSMAN DICKS INTRODUCE LEGISLATION

 

United States Congress

Washington

  For Immediate Release

June 21, 2012

   

WILD OLYMPICS: Senator Murray, Congressman Dicks Introduce Major Legislation to Protect Olympic Peninsula’s Natural Treasures

 

Compromise proposal developed after nearly three years of engagement with local citizens and business leaders will protect timber jobs and provide economic growth opportunity

 

Legislation would create 126,000 acres of new wilderness in Olympic National Forest -- protecting forests, rivers, salmon, and the water supply

 

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Norm Dicks (D, WA-06) introduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012 in the Senate and House of Representatives. This legislation would protect several key forest areas and rivers while preserving local jobs and access to outdoor recreation opportunities.

 

“The amazing natural treasures in the Olympic Peninsula are among the crown jewels of our state, and the Wild Olympics proposal will build on the strong foundation of conservation that has been laid down over generations,” said Senator Patty Murray. “I was proud to work closely with Representative Dicks and the local community for over two years to arrive at the compromise proposal we are introducing today. Passing the Wild Olympics bill will be a huge victory for the Olympic Peninsula and Washington state, and I am going to fight hard to get that done.”

 

“This legislation will protect sources of clean drinking water, preserve critical salmon and steelhead habitat, and protect the area economy,” said Congressman Norm Dicks. “The feedback we have received from everyday citizens has played a vital role in the development of this legislation. The result has been a consensus proposal that will help protect these sensitive areas on the Olympic Peninsula and continue our progress to protect and restore Puget Sound and Hood Canal for future generations.”

 

The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012 was written in close consultation with Olympic Peninsula residents. For nearly three years, Murray and Dicks’ offices held large community meetings and smaller individual meetings across the region to hear from local families, business owners, organizations and Native American Tribes. Changes and compromises were made to the initial proposal based on the public input received, particularly in minimizing the impact on any private landowners.   

 

Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2012

 

  • Designates 126,554 acres of new wilderness on Olympic National Forest.
  • An additional 5,346 acres of wilderness could be designated by future administrations.
  • Designates 19 rivers and 7 tributaries as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
  • Preserves and enhances existing recreational access on the Olympic National Forest for future generations.
  • Protects drinking water and safeguards fisheries through conservation of critical watersheds.
  • Adds national recognition to the Peninsula’s outstanding scenery and enhances an already strong tourism industry.
  • Common sense approach to conservation and job protection.

###

CLICK HERE FOR TEXT OF MURRAY'S AND DICKS' LEGISLATION

LEGISLATION INTRODUCED THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

126K acres of Olympic Peninsula would be protected by new bill

The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic River Act of 2012 was introduced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton.

 

By Lynda V. Mapes

Seattle Times staff reporter

 

In a gesture as grand as the landscapes it would protect, key leaders of Washington's congressional delegation have introduced legislation intended to protect Olympic Peninsula forests and rivers from logging, dams and other development.

 

Three years in the negotiating, The Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic River Act of 2012 was introduced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton. The bill is a far cry from the original version proposed in 2010 by conservationists, but still takes big steps to permanently protect some of the Olympics' most beloved landscapes.

 

"The amazing natural treasures in the Olympic Peninsula are among the crown jewels of our state, and the Wild Olympics proposal will build on the strong foundation of conservation that has been laid down over generations," Murray said in a news release.

 

The legislation would create 126,554 acres of new wilderness on Olympic National Forest lands, including 93,959 acres of old-growth trees at least 160 years old, and 107,982 acres of mature trees older than 80 years. Some trees that would be protected are more than 700 years old.

 

The proposal also would create 19 new Wild and Scenic Rivers in the Olympic National Park, Washington Department of Natural Resources Lands, and within Olympic National Park.

 

Wild & Scenic designation prohibits federally licensed dams. It also creates a planning process to manage the land within a quarter-mile corridor in contiguous stretches of federal and state lands along the river to protect a river's wild, scenic or recreational values.

 

Private lands would not be affected unless owners are supportive. The legislation includes no condemnation authority.

 

The bill is intended to maintain and improve recreational access through the public planning process called for under the Wild & Scenic Rivers designation.

 

Rivers slated for protection include the Elwha within Olympic National Park, the Lyre, Dungeness (including Gray Wolf River tributary), Big Quilcene, Dosewallips, Duckabush and Hamma Hamma, as well as portions of the South Fork Skokomish, Quinault, Queets, Hoh and Sol Duc.

 

The primary effect of the legislation is to prevent future administrations from opening up ancient forests and wild rivers to new logging, road building, mining, drilling or dams.

 

The proposal steps back from the big plans from its earlier versions, because of objections raised by timber companies concerned about loss of timberlands, and tribes that feared loss of access for treaty-protected hunting.

 

The North Olympic Timber Action Committee has said the designation would result in the loss of 113 to 226 timber jobs, and the Central Committee of the Clallam County Republican Party last year passed a resolution against the proposal.

 

The new bill dropped the entire 37,000 acres of proposed additions to the national park and removed 11,300 acres of harvestable timber lands, including second growth plantations from the proposed wilderness. The bill also added 7,400 acres of old growth and mature trees to the proposed wilderness.

 

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @lyndavmapes.

Originally published June 21, 2012 at 11:29 AM | Page modified June 21, 2012 at 12:03 PM

Protection plan for “Wild Olympics”: Dicks, Murray

 

Posted by Joel Connelly on 

 

A plan to protect rivers, forests and ridges above three of the Olympic Peninsula’s signature lakes was introduced in Congress on Thursday by Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash.

The “Wild Olympics” proposal has been vetted through public meetings in towns on all sides of the Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest.  But it has still drawn cries of “Land Grab”  in old logging towns along U.S. 101 between Hoquiam and Lake Quinault.

It is designed to protect “amazing natural resources” and “crown jewels of our state,” Murray, a member of the Senate’s Democratic leadership, said as she introduced the bill.

In the Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives, however, the legislation needs to go through the House Natural Resources Committee, which chairman Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.,  has turned into an amen corner for the oil, coal and mining industries.

Dicks, senior member of Washington’s congressional delegation, met earlier this week with Hastings seeking to get a hearing on the bill.  No decision has come from the session.

Still, the House Natural Resources Committee has stiffed a bill by Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., to create  a National Conservation Area on federally owned lands in the San Juan Islands.  The proposal has backing from San Juan County commissioners and local business.

The “Wild Olympics” plan would create 126,000 acres of new wilderness in the Olympic National Forest, which surrounds the national park like a doughnut.  It would protect 19 rivers and seven tributaries under the Wild and Scenic River Act.

The wilderness would protect ridges above Lake Quinault and Lake Crescent, major visitor magnets just inside the borders of Olympic National Park, and the Lake Cushman reservoir that provides access to the southeast corner of the park.

“The feedback we have received from everyday citizens has played a vital role in the development of this legislation,” Dicks said.

The plan, according to its authors, “preserves and enhances existing recreation access” in the Olympic National Forest.  But it makes no provision for repair of the washed-out Dosewallips River Road.  The road provided access to the Honeymoon Meadows-Anderson Pass trail, which leads to a fabled part of the Olympic National Park’s backcountry.

In a curious contradiction, while touting the recreational benefits of “Wild Olympics,” old-line conservation groups have fought against plans to rebuild and relocate the Dosewallips Road.

Rural opposition to Olympic preservation plans is nothing new.

Chambers of commerce and timber companies resisted creation of Olympic National Park by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  But Port Angeles schoolchildren greeted FDR on a visit with banners backing a park.

Up until the 1960′s, timber interests and local chambers of commerce advanced schemes to remove rainforests of the Bogachiel and Calawah Rivers from the park so they could be logged.  Opposition flared again in the 1970′s when Sen. Henry Jackson and Rep. Don Bonker worked to add Lake Ozette and Shi-Shi Beach to the park.

The 1984 Washington Wilderness Act created five small national forest wilderness areas along the national park’s south and east boundaries.

The Dicks-Murray legislation is House Resolution 5995 and Senate Bill 3329.



WHY CONGRESSMAN DICKS SUPPORTS WILD OLYMPICS

Congressman says why he's for Wild Olympics
Sunday, December 4, 2011 - 00:10

The Daily World

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Norm Dicks says he's supporting an effort to expand protections around Olympic National Park to ensure the park and its surrounding forestland can permanently be protected for future generations.

"This is not something that is going to have dire economic consequences on the Peninsula," Dicks said in an interview with The Daily World. "In fact, I think by strengthening the wilderness characterization, we're going to have more hunting, more fishing, more people coming to the Olympic Peninsula."

Conservation and recreation groups under the banner of the Wild Olympics Campaign have been meeting around the Olympic Peninsula for the past two years with select stakeholder groups, as well as participating in a number of public meetings over the summer.

Following those meetings, Dicks and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray formally signaled their support of the plan and have had staff at a series of public workshops around the Peninsula, including one set for today at 3 p.m. in Hoquiam at the Central Elementary School Library, 310 Simpson Ave.

"I think this is something to consider and we're going to listen during these hearings," Dicks said. "My staff reports back to me and does long memos on these things and there are a lot of groups supporting us on this and there's going to be an open discussion. And at the end of that discussion we'll decide what to do, and if there are more compromises that need to be reached."

The plan declares 130,000 acres of Olympic National Forest surrounding Olympic National Park as "wilderness," which prevents any kind of logging, as well as mechanized access; 23 rivers in and around the park would be declared "wild and scenic," barring mechanized access, as well. Another 20,000 acres could be added to the park through a willing seller process.

In March, bipartisan opposition to the campaign -- mainly those who support the timber industry, as well as hunters and fishermen -- formed a coalition known as the Working Wild Olympics group to combat the proposal.

It's been a full-on political press from both sides ever since.

There have been paid advertisements from both sides. There's a "pro" ad with a picture of a hunter carrying his gun in front of a lake talking about why protecting the timberland around Lake Quinault is a good thing. There's a "con" ad from about a dozen women who live around Lake Quinault talking about how they're worried the Park Service will overstep its bounds.

Campaign signs from both sides dot the streets between Hoquiam and Aberdeen. Giant signs screaming "stop the land grab" can be seen along multiple highways.

"The political rhetoric of the opponents, who are just wildly opposed to this, I'm not even sure if they know why they're opposed to it," Dicks said. "We haven't written a bill yet. They're just opposed to anybody doing anything and a lot of the rhetoric is just over-the-top and isn't even close to the truth."

"It's not a land grab," Dicks said. "Anyone who owns the land doesn't have to sell it. We're not taking away anybody's land. All we're doing is taking some Forest Service land and re-designating it and making sure it's open to public use."

Dicks said most of the active timberland in the original Wild Olympics proposal has already been removed.

"We've worked with both the Forest Service and the proponents to make sure we're not impacting any active timber sales and have made changes when necessary," Dicks said. "We've also made changes to bring in more old growth and fewer younger stands. This fits with the message that we do not want to have an impact on active timber harvests. We've also taken out roads that were not slated for decommission that are currently used by the public. ...

"It's important for the Forest Service to have a multiple-use strategy," he said. "It isn't just for timber harvesting. Now, I realize timber harvesting has gone down and I'm a big advocate for thinning. We're trying to help diversify. It's mostly recreational but there's a lot of environmental equity here with wild and scenic rivers to give it better protection. We're trying to have a balanced approach. That's what we're trying to do."

Asked why the Forest Service land needs more protections and what is endangering the current use of the land, Dicks replied, "A lot of this has been mischaracterized by our opponents and I think it's important for everyone to accurately portray what is happening and what isn't. ...

"We're trying to protect the most sensitive areas, which have higher ecological values," Dicks said. "Some of these areas should be better protected."

Critics of the proposal say that the Forest Service and National Parks can't even afford to maintain the land the agencies have now, so why should changes be made?

"If there's not the money to do it, then it won't be done," Dicks said.

For instance, on the willing seller and willing buyer proposal, Dicks said, "It takes a willing seller and a willing and capable buyer. So the National Park may not be able to afford to buy it. It takes two to tango. You've got to have the money to do it."

But Dicks said it doesn't hurt things to make the option available if the money ever does turn up to allow the park to expand.



READER OPINION ON BENEFITS OF CONGRESSIONAL PROPOSAL

Jason Bausher -- Wild Olympics plan has compromises
Saturday, November 19, 2011 - 00:12

READER OPINION

BY JASON BAUSHER

 

Thank you for writing about Congressman Dicks' and Senator Murray's draft conservation proposal for the Olympic Peninsula. As a hunter and fisherman, I am excited that this proposal would protect and expand access for hunting and fishing on the Peninsula.

Many of us are heading out to go hunting and fishing only to find new "No Public Entry" and "No Camping" signs where we used to hunt, fish and camp.

For perfectly good reasons, timber companies are closing gates, leasing their land to hunters who can pay thousands of dollars and blocking us from setting up hunting camps on their property.

Landowners have this right, and I support them. However, we must find alternatives for permanent public access for hunting and fishing.

Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray give us an alternative with National Preserves where we can hunt. We see how important hunting is in National Preserves such as Valles Caldera, Big Cypress and Mojave. I hope that elk hunting and jobs as outfitters in our local National Preserves become as significant as elk hunting in Valles Caldera, for example.

For those of us who cannot pay thousands of dollars for land to hunt, these preserves would offer the same opportunities for hunting that most of us enjoy when we hunt the game management units in the National Forest. If there are willing sellers for the land that would become National Preserves, this is great news for sportsmen.

Our preserves would be smaller than originally proposed. The 20,000 acres of land potentially available for National Preserves with the Dicks-Murray proposal is roughly half of what Wild Olympics had proposed. Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray deleted 17,000 acres from the Wild Olympics proposal, which, by way of comparison, is roughly the size of Aberdeen and Hoquiam combined. For example, DNR land on the Queets and the south fork of the Hoh would remain with DNR. However, their proposal still gives us potential National Preserves, so I support their pared-down proposal.

I also support the proposal from Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray because it will not close any roads. Some of the roads we used to drive on in the National Forest are washed out and some of these need to be repaired. The Forest Service is responsible for making decisions about these roads. Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray leave this matter to the Forest Service, and some locals have already shown that the Forest Service has acted on community input.

I applaud this local activism.

Access for 23 rivers is also protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation proposed by Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray. This allows for additional funding for new access and restoration projects. It protects motorized access to the rivers. Many of us have seen how Wild and Scenic designation is working to improve fishing and boating access on the Sauk and White Salmon Rivers in Washington and on the Deschutes in Oregon. One of the reasons Olympic Peninsula fishing guides formed www.SportsmenforWildOlympics.org is the success of Wild and Scenic for protecting the access and jobs of guides on rivers like the Deschutes which is a wildly popular river for fishing and guiding.

With public access to hunting and fishing protected and expanded by the National Preserves and Wild and Scenic Rivers, I hope my fellow hunters, fishermen, boaters and campers join me in supporting Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray and their draft proposal.

 

Jason Bausher is a resident of Aberdeen.



11/16 PENINSULA DAILY NEWS COLUMN ON SPORSTSMEN'S SUPPORT

MATT SCHUBERT’S OUTDOORS COLUMN: Anglers and hunters support Wild Olympics campaign

By Matt Schubert
 
ONE OF THE assumptions often made about the Wild Olympics Campaign is that it’s anti-hunting and fishing.

A group of Olympic Peninsula sportsmen from Aberdeen to Quilcene say that’s not the case.

In fact, the collection of hunters, anglers and guides formed “Sportsmen for Wild Olympics” in support of the campaign.

According to one of those sportsmen, Jason Bauscher of Lake Quinault, setting aside land for national preserves and Wild and Scenic River designations will enhance the Peninsula outdoors scene.

A website constructed by the group explains their position to area hunters and fishers at sportsmenforwildolympics.org.

“We put that website together to show the advantage for hunters and fishermen in part because some of the folks around here don’t know about these benefits,” Bauscher said.

“They think it’s possibly going to be administered by the National Park Service and that it would be administered just like everything else inside the park [where there is no hunting allowed and fishing opportunity is limited.]”

But that’s not the case, Bauscher said.

Rather, he said, preserved lands would function in much the same way as the Buckhorn Wilderness — two parcels of land bordering the eastern edge of Olympic National Park.

Buckhorn is one of the few places around the Peninsula where hunters can actually participate in the annual high buck hunt offered by the state.

Such land and scenic river designations would help protect and improve access to hunting and fishing opportunities on the Peninsula, Bauscher said.

“The other folks in our group make their living by fishing,” said Bauscher, a hunter, angler and former timber industry employee.

“They support it because, first of all, they care about being able to fish it, and, second of all, they care about their livelihood that depends upon habitat conservation and access.”

Among those showing support for the campaign are Peninsula fishing guides Norrie Johnson, Doug Rose, Bob Triggs and Roy Morris.

Former Greywolf Flyfishing Club President Dave Bailey has also shown his support, as well as organizations and businesses like Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters and Washington Council of Trout Unlimited.

“As an outdoor writer, fly fishing guide, and avid duck and grouse hunter, I welcome the additional protections that the Campaign for a Wild Olympics is proposing,” Rose said in a news release.

“They will help safeguard the water quality that anadromous fish require, and preserve the upper basin spawning grounds of species like cutthroat, summer steelhead and bull trout.

“I will still be able to hunt in all of the areas proposed by the campaign, and I will be able to bring my black Labrador retriever, Ruby.”

Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Patty Murray put forth an alternative to Wild Olympics called Path Forward on Olympic Watersheds Protection Proposal.

The amount of private land purchased by Olympic National Park under that proposal has been reduced from the Wild Olympics plan, from 37,000 acres to 20,000.

The amount of U.S. Forest Service acreage designated under the new proposal would also be less than that of the Wild Olympics plan — 130,000 instead of 134,000.

Still, Bauscher and others from the campaign have expressed support for the proposal.

“I was excited to see that the national preserve option was the one they went with rather than the national park option,” he said.

“It doesn’t give as much land as the Wild Olympics campaign had been initially proposing, but I trust Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray.

“I have to believe that Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray had good reasons to do that.”

Two public workshops on the proposal will be held on the Peninsula.

The first meeting is set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, in Port Townsend at the chapel building at Fort Worden State Park Conference Center, 200 Battery Way.

The second meeting will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Museum at Carnegie, 207 S. Lincoln St., in Port Angeles.

Seattle PI Columnist Joel Connelly Blog Post on Congressional Proposal

Strange Bedfellows (Politics)
Dicks, Murray: Protect Olympic rivers and wildlands
Joel Connelly
Posted:  11/16/2011 1:31 PM

 

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are out with a draft plan that would designate 130,000 acres of additional wilderness in federal forest lands on the Olympic Peninsula.

Murray

The proposal would also put 23 rivers – including such well-known streams as the Elwha, Sol Duc, Hoh and Bogachiel rivers – into the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

The proposal is described by Dicks as a “consensus plan” designed not to disturb private landownership. His congressional district includes the Peninsula.

“We will continue to gather public input as the process moves forward, taking into consideration economic development on the Peninsula as well as the protection of Tribal treaty rights,” Dicks added.

The Olympic Peninsula has seen major environmental battles in years past, including resistance to creation of Olympic National Park and for years efforts to take rainforests out of the park. But  the new plan has garnered surprisingly broad support.

 

Bill Taylor, president of Taylor Shellfish in Shelton, noted:

“The two largest shellfish hatcheries that supply seed to the West Coast industry are located on Hood Canal. Well over 150 jobs are provided in Hood Canal alone by the industry. … By protecting Olympic Peninsula forest and river watersheds, we ensure clean and safe water so that shellfish companies can continue to grow and further benefit the economy and ecology of Washington state.”

Jason Bausher of Aberdeen, a former Olympic National Park ranger who has done guiding in the Olympics, applauded inclusion of such places as a wooded ridge above Lake Quinault visible along U.S. 101.

“This could be a huge benefit for fishermen and hunters who are seeing more locked gates and more new developments on private timberlands where we used to hunt and fish,” Bausher said.

The Olympic National Park is closed to hunting, but the surrounding Olympic National Forest is an area prized by deer, elk and bird hunters.

Dicks and Murray are proposing a new designation. They would authorize Olympic National Park to purchase up to 20,000 acres from willing private landowners. The lands would become a national preserve.

“They are administered by the Park Service and are managed in similar ways as a national park, but they would allow Tribal and non-Tribal hunting to continue while providing for old growth forest recovery and protecting critical salmon and wildlife habitats,” said Tim McNulty, Sequim-based author of “Olympic National Park: A Natural History.”

Dicks and Murray are sponsoring a series of public workshops. The first will be Thursday, Dec. 1, at Fort Warden State Park in Port Townsend; on Friday, Dec. 2, a second meeting will be held at the Shelton Civic Center. Both will run from 5 to 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, the lawmakers will hear from the public at Port Angeles’ Museum at the Carnegie from 3 to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, Dec. 4, a meeting will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Central Elementary School in Hoquiam.



Congressman Dicks and Senator Murray Propose National Preserves

 

 

 

United States Congress

 

For Immediate Release

November 15, 2011

             Contact:            

Murray: 202-224-2834

Dicks: 202-225-5916

 

OLYMPIC WILDERNESS: Dicks, Murray Announce Community Workshops, Path Forward on Olympic Watersheds Protection Proposal

 

Washington, D.C—U.S. Representative Norm Dicks and U.S. Senator Patty Murray today released a draft proposal for Wilderness additions on the Olympic Peninsula in order to continue receiving input from the public and local communities on this critical issue. They also announced that they will be asking their local offices to hold a series of four public workshops next month to allow citizens and communities to provide additional feedback on the proposal. 

 

“I am pleased to work with Senator Murray in developing a consensus plan to provide additional wilderness protection on the Olympic Peninsula,” said Rep. Dicks. “Future generations will benefit from the increased protection of the watersheds and forests that make the Peninsula such a magnificent place.  We will be continuing to gather public input as the process moves forward, taking into consideration economic development on the Peninsula as well as the protection of Tribal treaty rights.”

 

“Washington residents take great pride in protecting our state’s tremendous natural beauty,” said Sen. Murray. “I will continue to work with the community as we work to preserve our state’s special places while promoting our long-term economic growth and prosperity. I thank Representative Dicks for his leadership in this process, and I look forward to hearing from constituents in the coming months as we put together a proposal that works for our families, communities and state.”

 

A wilderness and National Park expansion proposal was brought to the Congressional offices two years ago by several Peninsula based conservation groups.  Rep. Dicks and Sen. Murray’s staff did extensive outreach on this proposal and have a revised proposal that they would like to seek additional input on from the public.

 

The Olympic Wilderness proposal would provide additional protection for some of the most critical landscapes on the Olympic Peninsula.  It would designate new wilderness areas on existing U.S. Forest Service land, add pristine rivers to the Wild and Scenic River System, and provide an opportunity for targeted Olympic National Park preserve additions through a willing-buyer, willing-seller process. The plan was developed with input from constituents and stakeholders in order to preserve these sensitive areas while maintaining working forests on the Peninsula.

 

The Olympic Wilderness proposal was crafted after more than a year was spent gathering input from local stakeholders and submitted to the offices of Representative Dicks and Senator Murray and would:

  • Designate roughly 130,000 acres of new wilderness on Forest Service Land.
  • Add 23 rivers within public land ownership to the Wild and Scenic River System.
  • Provide the opportunity for Olympic National Park (ONP) to purchase up to 20,000 acres through a willing buyer, willing seller process for addition as a preserve to the Park.  Currently, ONP cannot purchase land within their General Management Plan without Congressional Action.
  • Protect hunting, fishing and recreational access.

 

Public Workshop Schedule

-Thursday, December 1, 2011. 5:00pm-7:00pm at the Chapel Building at Fort Worden State Park Conference Center.  200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368

-Friday, December 2, 2011.  5:00pm-7:00pm at the Shelton Civic Center.   525 W Cota Street, Shelton, WA

-Saturday, December 3, 2011.  3:00pm-5:00pm at the Museum at the Carnegie.  207 S. Lincoln St., Port Angeles, WA

-Sunday, December 4, 2011.  3:00pm-5:00pm at the Central Elementary School Library.  310 Simpson Ave.  Hoquiam, WA



11/13 DAILY WORLD ARTICLE ON SPORTSMEN FOR WILD OLYMPICS

Sportsmen for Wild Olympics group forms
Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 01:10

By Daily World Staff

 

At least five hunters and fishermen have teamed up with several hunting and fishing organizations to create the group Sportsmen for Wild Olympics.

The group launched a new website to talk about what they perceive as the benefits to a plan by the Wild Olympics Campaign to expand the boundaries of Olympic National Park, add a "wilderness" designation to some of the areas around the park and add the "wild and scenic" designation to some of the nearby rivers.

The new website can be found at www.SportsmenForWildOlympics.org.

"We are excited about the opportunities for protecting critical fish and wildlife habitat and expanding access for hunting and fishing with the draft Wild Olympics plan, and we hope this website helps get the word out," Aberdeen resident Jason Bausher said in a press release.

"Peninsula hunters and fishermen know about our increasing issues with recreational access on private lands. Wild Olympics could help us deal with some of these access issues, so other sportsmen should check out the website and see the reasons to sign the petition," Bausher added.

Bausher notes that the Wild Olympics Campaign would allow land purchased by Olympic National park to have a National Preserve designation to allow Tribal and non-Tribal hunting as well as fishing.

Bausher says that if the new wilderness designations on Olympic National Forest were to be enacted it would also more than double the amount of territory available for the High Buck Hunt.

WDFW SAYS HUNTING AND FISHING BRING MONEY AND JOBS

WDFW SAYS HUNTING AND FISHING BRING MONEY AND JOBS

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife released a report showing the benefits of habitat to our families in Washington:  hunting means 5,595 jobs and $313 million per year, fishing means 14,655 jobs and $1.1 billion per year, wildlife watching means 26,000 jobs and $1.5 billion per year, and commercial harvest/wholesale means 14,000 jobs and $1.4 billion per year.  That's 60,250 jobs and $4.5 billion per year.  Let's keep our working forests working by guaranteeing habitat and access to fishing and hunting.

CHECK THE SOL DUC RIVER LEVEL WITH THIS ONLINE GAUGE.

Click HERE for current stream flow level on the Sol Duc River.

CHECK THE HOH RIVER LEVEL WITH THIS ONLINE GAUGE.

Click HERE for current stream flow level on the Hoh River.

CHECK THE BOGACHIEL RIVER LEVEL WITH THIS ONLINE GAUGE.

Click HERE for a current stream flow level on the Bogachiel River.

CHECK THE CALAWAH RIVER LEVEL WITH THIS ONLINE GUAGE.

Click HERE for current stream flow level on the Calawah River.

CHECK THE QUEETS RIVER LEVEL WITH THIS ONLINE GAUGE.

Click HERE for current stream flow level on the Queets River.

Contact Us

Sportsmen For Wild Olympics
Aberdeen, WA

 

Email

info@sportsmenforwildolympics.org



 

Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Members:



Able Guide Service (Sekiu)



Dave Bailey (Gardiner)



Waters West Guide Service (Montesano)



Norrie Johnson Guide Service (Sequim)

 

Angler's Obsession (Forks)

 

Little Stone Flyfisher (Port Townsend)

 

Denny Clemons (Elma)

 

Anadromy Fly Fishing (Forks)



Game On Guide Service (Shelton)

 

Piscatorial Pursuits (Forks)

 

Peninsula Sportsman Guide &
Outfitting Service
(Port Townsend)

 

Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics (Forks)

 

Mike Z's Guide Service (Forks)

 

Jason Bausher (Aberdeen)

 

Doug Rose Fly fishing (Forks)



Other Hunting & Fishing Organizations Supporting Wild Olympics:

 

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers -Washington Chapter

  

Greywolf Flyfishing Club (Sequim)

  

Washington River Fishing (Hoodsport)

 

Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters (Port Angeles)

 

Wild Steelhead Coalition
 
Brazda's Fly Fishing



Sea Run Pursuits



Washington Wildlife Federation
 
Izaak Walton League of America,
Greater Seattle Chapter

 

Association of Northwest Steelheaders

 

Gig Harbor Fly Shop

 

Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

 

Washington Council of Trout Unlimited
 
NW Guides and Anglers Association

 

Sage Fly Rods



 

 

WILD OLYMPICS CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL SITE:

 

www.WildOlympics.org

 

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