By Amelia Dickson
The Olympian
Thurston County officials likely will make a couple of decisions regarding pocket gophers in coming weeks — one that would affect inspections and permitting for the coming season, and another that would shape policy for the next 30 years.
The Board of Thurston County Commissioners met twice Thursday to discuss the impending decisions. In the morning, they discussed a draft habitat conservation plan that has been in the works for months, and in the afternoon they discussed 2017’s interim permitting strategy.
The long-term conservation plan wouldn’t just protect the Mazama pocket gopher, which was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2014. It would conserve the habitat of 12 different species.
Thurston County staff projects that 17,000 acres of habitat will be affected over the next 30 years, and that about 7,500 acres of that habitat will need to be mitigated. A draft habitat conservation plan estimates the county will need to pay $5.1 million a year, for 30 years, for mitigation.
The county would have to acquire habitat for mitigation, enhance that habitat and then maintain it.
At a Feb. 23 meeting, commissioners asked staff to put together scenarios in which the county would pay less money annually. Scenarios drafted by planning staff include the county paying between $1 million a year and $3.5 million a year.
The burden on builders of single-family homes, subdivisions, commercial developments and industrial developments would increase as the county’s price tag shrinks. County Manager Ramiro Chavez said the county wouldn’t be assuming more risk by paying less.
“The risk is shifted to the larger developers, who perhaps have the means and methods to do their own (habitat conservation plan),” Chavez said.
For example, if the county were to cap mitigation funding at $1 million a year, they could only mitigate 1,175 acres over 30 years. Builders of single-family plots larger than one acre, large lots and subdivisions, commercial developments and industrial developments would all need to pay for their own habitat conservation plans and mitigation.
If the county capped spending at $2.2 million per year, they could mitigate 2,652 acres over 30 years. A set number of single-family home builders would be covered. The rest, along with subdivision, commercial and industrial developers, would have to pay for their own plans and mitigation.
At $3.5 million per year, the county could mitigate 3,656 acres over 30 years. The county might have to cap the number of single-family permits issued each year, and subdivision, commercial and industrial developers would have to pay for their own plans and mitigation.
At $5.1 million per year, the county could mitigate all 7,500 acres over 30 years, fully covering all development.
However, habitat conservation plans work on a pay-as-you-go system — meaning that the county wouldn’t have to pay for mitigation on development that doesn’t actually occur.
Commissioners didn’t discuss funding for the habitat conservation plan at Thursday’s meeting.
They likely will decide on options to reduce costs sometime this month so that a draft habitat conservation plan can be completed in June.
In the interim, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Thurston County are working on a plan for permitting in 2017. Properties can be inspected for the presence of Mazama pocket gophers from June 1 to Oct. 31.
Review of properties includes site visits by Thurston County staff, varying by the type of soil found on a property.
Commissioners likely will make decisions regarding the interim plan next week.
During the Thursday meeting, Commissioner Gary Edwards commented on the complexity of the Mazama pocket gopher issue.
“I’ve got a lot of issues — they’re just not going to be solved today,” Edwards said.
