New Management Program for Lewis County shorelines need public input

County residents have until March 16 to weigh in

With more than 1,100 miles of river shoreline, Lewis County's new Management Program will affect
residents throughout the county. 

If you appreciate shoreline ecology, you’ll like the waters of Lewis County. The county boasts more than 1,100 miles of shoreline, including the Nisqually, Chehalis, Deschutes and Cowlitz rivers, numerous tributaries and 34 lakes.

Restoration of the Upper Chehalis River is a priority under the new Lewis
County Shoreline Management Program.

That’s a lot of water front property.

Lewis County has proposed changes to how it manages the edges of those waterbodies and the Department of Ecology is asking the public to weigh in on those plans. Ecology will compare the county’s proposed program to the requirements of the Shoreline Management Act and the Shoreline Master Program Guidelines. Based on the comparison and the comments the plan receives, Ecology will decide whether to approve the program or ask for changes.

Lewis County’s first Shoreline Master Program was adopted in 1974 and last amended in 1998. The comprehensive update now under consideration prioritizes water-oriented uses and development, protects sensitive areas and includes a restoration plan for degraded and damaged shoreline.

The restoration plan is a 98-page document that identifies priority projects within 16 management areas. An example is Lewis County’s five Upper Chehalis Management Areas, which include hundreds of river miles along the Coast Range, Willapa Hills, Puget Lowlands, Western Foothills and Cascade Lowlands, along hundreds of river miles. Restoration priorities include improved fish passage, restoration of riparian vegetation, and reconnecting the main stem of the Chehalis River and its tributaries with their floodplains..

The public has until 5 p.m. March 16 to comment on Lewis County’s program.

Lewis County’s proposed Shoreline Master Program can be viewed online. Paper copies can be viewed at Ecology’s Southwest Regional Office, 300 Desmond Dr., Lacey, WA 98577, or at the Lewis County Community Development office, 2025 NE Kresky Ave., Chehalis, WA, 98532.

Comments should be addressed to Ecology’s Kim Van Zwalenburg. Here’s how to submit them:

Mail:      Southwest Regional Office
              PO Box 47775
              Olympia, WA 98504-7775
Email:    kim.vanzwalenburg@ecy.wa.gov
Phone:  360-407-6520

By Dave Bennett, Southwest Region communications

VIDEO: Finding solutions for the Chehalis basin

Oct. 24 UPDATE: We have decided to extend the public comment period for the Chehalis Basin Strategy environmental review after receiving five requests for an extension. The new closing date for the public comment period is Nov. 14, 2016. 

The Chehalis River Basin is at a turning point. In recent years, the basin has experienced extreme and frequent flooding, and it may experience larger floods more often in the future. Habitat for aquatic species is significantly degraded and, if action is not taken, is expected to decline further. We're working with the community to address these issues.

We are currently taking comments on our environmental review of solutions proposed for the basin. Learn more in this video, and join us at public hearings to share your feedback.

With a new environmental report out for public review, now is the time for you to get involved and engage on potential ways to restore aquatic habitat and reduce flooding throughout the Chehalis River Basin in southwest Washington.

Submit comments online now.

Comments now being accepted on environmental review

We have completed a draft environmental report, officially called a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, as part of a community effort to restore the basin and put it on a path to recovery. The environmental review evaluates four basin-wide options that were developed and submitted to Ecology by the community to address these problems.

Join us in person at upcoming public hearings

Come join us in person to learn more and share your feedback at public hearings.

Open houses begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by a presentation at 6:30 p.m. and public hearing at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. Veterans Memorial Museum 100 S.W. Veterans Way Chehalis, WA 98532

Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. Montesano City Hall 112 N. Main Street Montesano, WA 98563

Comments will be accepted through Nov. 14, 2016. Learn more, read the report and submit your comments online at chehalisbasinstrategy.com.

SEPA: Washington's environmental protection law

The State Environmental Policy Act (often called SEPA) gives a formal process to identify and assess possible environmental effects of a proposal before deciding how to proceed.

Your feedback helps Ecology understand how a proposed action would affect people and the environment. Learn more about SEPA on our website.

Review our report on options to help the Chehalis River Basin

Oct. 24 UPDATE: We have decided to extend the public comment period for the Chehalis Basin Strategy environmental review after receiving five requests for an extension. The new closing date for the public comment period is Nov. 14, 2016. 

The Chehalis River Basin is at a turning point. In recent years, the basin has experienced extreme and frequent flooding, and it may experience larger floods more often in the future. Habitat for aquatic species is significantly degraded and, if action is not taken, is expected to decline further.

With a new environmental report out for public review, now is the time to get involved and engage on potential ways to restore aquatic habitat and reduce flood damage throughout the Chehalis River Basin in southwest Washington.

Draft study ready for review

As part of a community effort to restore the basin and put it on a path to recovery, we have completed a draft environmental report, officially called a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.

Our review evaluates four basin-wide options that were developed and submitted to Ecology by the community to address flood damage and aquatic species habitat. We've evaluated the impacts, both positive and negative, to people and the environment. Now we need your input.

Send us your feedback

We’ve worked hard to give these invested stakeholders a fair assessment of how different solutions will affect their community’s environmental planning. Now that we've completed the assessment and analysis of four basin-wide options, we're making the draft environmental report available for public review.

Learn more, attend hearings and submit comments now through Nov. 14

Comments will be accepted through Nov. 14, 2016. There are many ways for you to send us your input on the study. Submit your comments online or by mail at:

Chehalis Basin Strategy EIS
c/o Anchor QEA
720 Olive Way, Suite 1900
Seattle, WA 98101

You may also comment in person at the upcoming public hearings:

Tuesday, Oct. 18 Veterans Memorial Museum 100 S.W. Veterans Way Chehalis, WA 98532

Thursday, Oct. 27 Montesano City Hall 112 N. Main Street Montesano, WA 98563

For both meetings, there will be an open house at 6:00 p.m. followed by a presentation at 6:30 p.m. and public hearing at 7:00 p.m.

All comments received during the public comment period will be addressed in the final programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, planned in 2017. 

SEPA: Washington's environmental protection law

The State Environmental Policy Act (often called SEPA) gives a formal process to identify and assess possible environmental effects of a proposal before deciding how to proceed.

Your feedback helps Ecology understand how a proposed action would affect people and the environment. Learn more about SEPA on our website.