News From Your Friends

What’s on our Radar – Week of June 16th, 2025

Our Clark County Comprehensive Plan Workshop Comment Guide is here! Help us advocate for our vision for the future of sustainable agriculture in Clark County and meaningful climate action by getting yourself on the record:
https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/let-your-voice-be-heard-clark-countys-comp-plan-workshop-comment-period/

THIS WEDNESDAY: Sign up for FOCC’s forum, Planning for our Collective Future in Clark County: the Final Stretch of the Comprehensive Plan Update, which will take place on THIS WEDNESDAY, June 18th from 5 – 6:30 pm Pacific Time, Remote via Zoom.
We are SO excited to have a conversation with Clark County Councilor, Wil Fuentes, Senior Long Range Planner for Clark County, Jenna Kay, and Principle Land Use Planner for the City of Vancouver, Bryan Snodgrass about all things GMA! Secure your free tickets on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planning-for-our-collective-future-in-clark-county-tickets-1373337432229?aff=oddtdtcreator

• Last week: 
  • If you missed last week’s Radar, you can get caught up here:
    https://friendsofclarkcounty.org/whats-on-our-radar-week-of-june-9th-2025/

• • At Council Time, the Clark County Council was informed (thanks to FOCC and allies) of a new legacy forest timber sale (Turnover, about 158 acres) located about 5 miles north of the Dabbler legacy forest timber sale near Yale Lake. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a determination of non-significance (DNS) and the SEPA comment period passed without county knowledge, despite the Clark County Council’s direction to the DNR to preserve what is left of Clark County’s legacy forests for conservation. Notably, Turnover was NOT one of the last-minute sales approved by Hilary Franz’s DNR before leaving office. On a related note, there is no update regarding scheduling of Public Lands Commissioner Upthegrove’s promised public work session. You can watch the discussion here (at about 37 min): 6112025 Council Time
    

• • At Council Time, the council briefly discussed the proposed Pacificorp power line that residents are concerned about. You can watch that discussion here (about 19 min): 6112025 Council Time
    

• • For notes covering all of last Wednesday’s Council Time, see the League of Women Voters’ Observer Corps notes here: https://lwvclarkcounty.org/content.aspx?page_id=2507&club_id=160612&item_id=5126&pst=28511

• • Hockinson: There was a Clark County Public Works open house on the roundabout planned for Ward and Davis:  Clark County Public Works NE Ward and Davis Road Open House, June 5, 2025
    

• This week:
  

• • Tomorrow, Tuesday June 17th at 6pm is a Clark County Council meeting. Items of note:
    

• • • There is a public comment opportunity to testify for 3 minutes on any county issue!
    • There are some exciting proclamations on the agenda: Pollinator Week and Juneteenth!
    • A special presentation and resolution is on the schedule thanking the Cowlitz Indian Tribe for their large donation to Columbia River Mental Health Services.
    • There is a request for approval of a contract amendment to extend the date for Parametrix, Inc. to January 23, 2026 and add $10,000 to the contract budget to provide climate change element planning consultant support for the 2025 Comprehensive Growth Management Plan periodic update. Note: this DOES NOT appear to be related to the council’s planned further extension of the Clark County Comp Plan submission date related to the hasty ag land study, and this extra work will be funded by the WA Department of Commerce no-match climate planning grant.
    • There is a request for approval regarding the East Fork Reconnection Project and the Heritage Farm Wetland Restoration Project.

  • Wednesday, June 18th at 1pm is Council Time. Items of note:
    • There is a public comment opportunity to testify for 3 minutes on agenda items only!
    • The Council will discuss which council representative will sit on the Regional Parks Funding Task Team.
    • There are work session requests for a Fee Schedule Update: Land Use Review/Wetland & Habitat Review and the Stormwater Capital Plan.
    • A Turnover timber sale update is on the agenda under Policy Updates (see above for notes from last week on the issue). This is a public comment opportunity for our local forest advocates to let the council know what they think about the DNR’s choice to move forward on this timber sale and how the council should respond.

  • Deep dive into the week’s meeting agenda, including how to participate, here: https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/clark-county-council-meetings

• Heads up on other advisory board and commission meetings:
  

• • SAVE THE DATE for next Monday’s FIRST EVER Clark County Agricultural Advisory Commission meeting, Monday, June 23rd at 5pm! https://clark.wa.gov/community-planning/countys-agricultural-advisory-commission-schedules-first-meeting-june-23

• Other happenings:

• • Public resource: Reminder about a great public resource! FOCC’s own Jackie Lane tracks Clark County’s land use activities in a publicly available document here, so be sure to bookmark it: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10cpQ2gWr86wLyIlRvhgI9eRF8aesDYIZ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108071388396855006181&rtpof=true&sd=true