Vancouver Wildlife League and Washington Waterfowl Association appreciate the Nov. 10 and 17 stories in The Columbian’s Outdoors section (“Yale road-to-trail effort plodding along” and “Hunters wary of Shillapoo proposal”).
And while most people at a meeting last week, as pointed out by writer Allen Thomas, were hunters, members of both organizations are strong proponents of conservation.
We are interested in preserving South Shillapoo as an area for all wildlife. VWL and WWA are insisting that Bonneville Power Association/Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife develop an Environmental Impact Statement for the South Shillapoo Project.
This is a controversial and complex federal project. Federal regulations and statutes are very clear on the National Environmental Protection Act process. BPA/WDFW are trying to circumvent this process by offering only an “official National Environmental Policy Act comment period this winter on the proposal,” which appears to be before the project has been developed. Public comments are generally solicited at the end of the NEPA process when output and impacts have been quantified. BPA and WDFW need to be held to the standards typically required of a project of this magnitude.
