Accountability – Friends of Clark County in SW Washington

May 5, 2025

🚨 CALL-TO-ACTION to Save Hundred of Acres of Agricultural Land in the Clark County Comprehensive Plan Update May 7th at 1pm!

in Accountability, Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, Housing & Transportation, Local Food Systems

What’s at stake? The loss of 519 acres of agricultural land in Clark County’s Comprehensive Plan Update to sprawling development, the delay (6 months to a year or more) of passing urgent climate, transportation, and housing policies, noncompliance with state law, and ineligibility for grants and low-interest loans from the state that could be lost […]

April 28, 2025

Dabbler Legacy Forest Logging Moving Forward!

in Accountability, Climate Change, Farmland & Forests

Dabbler photo courtesy of Joshua Wright The Latest We are very sad to report that on March 28th, 2025, Judge Derek Vanderwood of the Superior Court of Washington denied Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and FOCC’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (PI) of the Dabbler forest Units 1, 2 and 3 in eastern Clark County. However, we […]

April 21, 2025

Clark County Comprehensive Plan Update: The Latest Developments

in Accountability, Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, General, Housing & Transportation, Local Food Systems, Parks, Trails, & Open Spaces

Background In our last update, the Clark County Council had adopted the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) alternatives for the Comprehensive Plan Update. Alternatives are options for the Comp Plan that the cities and county put forward to be studied for environmental impacts in accordance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), which requires that […]

February 21, 2025

URGENT Dabbler Call-to-Action by Wednesday, February 26th!

in Accountability, Climate Change, Farmland & Forests

Friends, we are down to the wire. You may recall that FOCC and our allies celebrated a recent win with the Clark County Council regarding the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Dabbler timber sale of 156 acres of structural complex, naturally regenerated, “almost old growth” forest with carbon sequestration superpowers in the Sioxion area […]

February 11, 2025

Camp Bonneville: Read FOCC’s Questions and Comments for Clark County Ahead of Critical Council Decision

in Accountability, Climate Change, Farmland & Forests, Parks, Trails, & Open Spaces

Hello Councilors, Friends of Clark County respectfully submits these questions and comments for the record ahead of the Camp Bonneville Work Session scheduled for February 12th. 1) Will the County answer the question of how each of the known law enforcement uses (firing range, deployment of chemical agents, storage of explosives, and detonation of explosives) […]

February 10, 2025

ACTION NEEDED by February 14th: Write the EPA Urging REAL Accountability for the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad/Eric Temple

in Accountability, Mining, Railroad, Rivers, Lakes & Aquifers

Hey Friends, Friends of Clark County and allies have learned about a proposed settlement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad (PVJR)/Eric Temple regarding its unlawful destruction of the Curtin Creek and Chelatchie Prairie areas of Clark County. Outrageously, the settlement only proposes a $65,000 penalty on this multimillionaire, which […]

December 30, 2024

FOCC Appeals the Dabbler Timber Sale Alongside Legacy Forest Defense Coalition: See our Joint Press Release!

in Accountability, Climate Change, Farmland & Forests

Legacy Forest Defense Coalition Friends of Clark County December 30, 2024 For Immediate Release Environmental Organizations File Lawsuit to Halt Dabbler Timber Sale in Clark County Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and Friends of Clark County filed a lawsuit last week in Superior Court, alleging multiple violations by the Washington State Department […]

December 2, 2024

FOCC Supports Friends of the Columbia Gorge Against 356th Public Road Dedication Request by Zimmerly Mining

in Accountability, Climate Change, Mining, Rivers, Lakes & Aquifers, Wildlife Habitats

(Photo from Friends of the Columbia Gorge) For a brief background on this issue, read the Columbian’s coverage here. Read Friends of the Columbia Gorge’s history of Zimmerly’s egregious and illegal behavior here. Continue reading to review Friends of Clark County’s public comment submitted for the 356th Avenue road dedication decision: Friends of Clark County, […]

October 23, 2024

Fall Comprehensive Plan Update

in Accountability, Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, Housing & Transportation, Local Food Systems, Mining

Photo from Clark County government Link to Clark County’s 2025 Comprehensive Planning page here: 2025 Update | Clark County (wa.gov) In our last update, the County had adopted the Population and Employment allocation, which determines what future population and job numbers each of the cities and the county need to plan for. The county had […]

October 23, 2024

Update and Background on the Chelatchie Bluff Surface Mining Overlay (SMO) on Forestland

in Accountability, Climate Change, Comprehensive Plan & Growth Management Act, Farmland & Forests, Mining

What is a Surface Mining Overlay (SMO)? Surface mining refers to the removal of the terrain surface to access minerals underneath. An overlay “is a set of additional or stricter standards and criteria that are applied on top of existing land use designations or zoning districts” (Source). An overlay does not change the zoning that […]