49 Comments

it is almost unbelievable that the tribes concerns of the environmental impacts of Towne road do not apply to one of the most prestigious and beautiful places on the planet!

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They will….

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Bringing more migrant birds to help eat salmon that are easy to catch in all their new tributaries with plenty of convenient trees from the riparian projects to perch on. From subsistence living to an dejure industry monopoly. All it takes is a campaign contribution. Wallah reparations and a reckoning.

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What???? More birds literally…..

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What’s “wallah” mean?

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Index of terms sold separately..

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Thank you for yet another excellent exposé, Jeff!

The Tribe's clout in this, Towne Road, and everything else they meddle in should be a wakeup call and a good lesson in the power of unity. If honest citizens, who want their homes and surrounding areas preserved, safe, and for all to enjoy, we could easily oppose the Tribe and other special interests, but we are not cohesive. We may read Jeff's exposés and unite ad hoc, but as ad hoc unity goes, we are always smaller than those we oppose. Maybe it's time for us to form a conservative force for the Olympic Peninsula that dwarfs the Tribe and other special interest. If we don't, we will always be the pavement that gets run over by those groups. UNITED WE STAND, divided we fall.

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You're welcome, N.O.I. Your comments are always well thought out and appreciated. Thanks for contributing so much to the CCWD community.

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It is not surprising that money has corrupted the tribal leaders’ political power. It’s very plain that they need to be stopped. But HOW?

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That's a great question, Jan. I don't have an answer (yet), but I think we are all finding a way to use our voices and influence. This is getting interesting.

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It appears that precedent for Tribes taking over USFWS land was set when the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes took over the National Bison Range in 2020. But it also appears that a precedent was set for the stopping of commercial operations on USFWS land when the Venetie Tribal Government, Arctic Village Council, and Venetie Village Council sued to stop oil and gas production on Arctic National Wildlife refuge. It is my opinion that the Jamestown Sklallam Tribe is a profit driven organization. Because they know they can not profit from the land as long as the USFWS manages it, they have decided to use their Tribal designation as a tool to wrestle management of the land into their control much as the CSKT did with National Bison Range. This removes management from a conservation minded entity into a profit minded entity. The consequences will change the land, the wildlife, and the community. If the Tribe moves forward without concern for their neighbors and community members it will be another indication that they only care about themselves and every Tribal endeavor, whether it be gaming, healthcare, natural resources, or utility, should be viewed as having suspect motives.

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Great research, TJ. Thanks.

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All of those tasty comments that Ron Allen and the Tribes minions spoke and wrote eloquently are going to be served on a golden platter with all of the accoutrements…. I want to see how they enjoy eating them. I’ll bring some extra sauce if anyone wants to join me!

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I wonder if and just how a group could come together to monitor the counties issues.

I see how intense you are Jeff. Like the proverbial dog with a bone… no pun intended. What do you need? What does it take. What do we each need to decide that we can do. This is the most I’ve ever exposed myself publicly via opinion. A troglodyte if you will. So maybe this is asking to much more of your time… but if you had to detail what might it take to become ‘cohesive’ … to bang those pots n pans and march around city/county hall. Note: when I lived in Tennessee the state government was deciding to implement State income taxes much to the chagrin of the populace. They were having a midnight vote and to their utter astonishment hundreds of voters marched and drove around the capitol building honking while tons of others were on the capitol porch banging on pots and pans and yelling to interrupt the vote. Tennessee still had no state income tax.

So I’m asking with how do we do it?

In the meantime Thank You…. Jeff you are truly amazing!

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Don't despair, Paula. This county is still small enough for individuals to make a difference. The commissioners really do read every email and you can contact all 3 of them by emailing the Clerk of the Board loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov. This is an election year for Commissioner Randy Johnson, so he may be more receptive to dialogue. Whenever I want inspiration about what to write, I read their Vision/Mission Statement and see if they are following it. You can read the four points here: https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/186/Board-of-County-Commissioners. There is a group of us that goes to the Commissioner work sessions every Monday at 9 and the meetings every Tuesday at 10. It's pretty dull until you realize that they are spending your money -- A LOT of your money.

Let me know if I can help you engage. I did absolutely none of this before September of last year... proof that you can become active any ol' time you want. It's never too late!

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Jul 28·edited Jul 28

If you don’t mind my input regarding your post? It takes tax-payer involvement, support, and follow thru grit. Without those things nothing will get accomplished. Too many sit back and watch instead of getting and staying involved like writing, showing up at City and County meetings, making your voices heard in any way and all ways possible. That is exactly what the proponents do with no opposition…..how can a battle be won when really there isn’t a battle to begin with? Armies don’t win without troops right? This is not rocket science, it’s common sense. I’ve watched for years the loss of our way of life for all the same reasons, people sit back and expect it to be handed to them……not so. If you want it you’ve got to fight for it, period!!!!!!! Get involved, go to meetings, pen the letters, make the phone calls, get other people to go and do…….that is what it takes perios! Jeff is only one person providing the relevant information that reaches many but most times only a few do anything about it………I’ve been down this road so many times and it is the same playbook same results until things change and people put themselves to work instead of just talking about it. When is the Alliance Meeting, I will be there.

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You are exactly right … I don’t know why I guess I was looking for a recipe… it is exactly what you say… get off my queasy butt. Thank you

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it's either a "wildlife refuge" or it isn't!

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Pure hypocrisy. Get some of the locals to fire up their torches and grab their pitchforks to protest the "harm" of Towne Road. But, dropping thousands of plastic bags into the Straits, no problem... Disgusting.

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Van de Wege is NOT the best person for Land Commissioner. Those of you who haven't voted yet, please get those ballots in and vote wisely. Sue Kuehl Pederson is the best choice for that position.

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It is time for the Tribe to get out of the refuge. Let it stand as a REFUGE not a profit center.

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https://www.pesticide.org/toxic_pearl

Thanks Jeff - a worthy read posted on this link above.........sigh!

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I've heard about this but didn't know there was a book. Thanks, Bonnie!

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Thank you for sharing

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You've very welcome, Bailey. Thank you for reading.

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A few years ago I read a document about the river management that indicated the tribe was responsible for clearing out invasive butterfly bushes. Anyone that's gone there knows it's still growing and spreading. They don't keep up with responsibly on the river, no reason to believe they will do better with the Spit.

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It does not appear that the tribe has its priorities in order so I would rather they were not in charge of the reserve.

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Jeff, thank you.

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