OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee today signed legislation that will provide state wildlife managers more resources to prevent wolf-livestock conflict and expand criteria for compensation to livestock owners for wolf-related losses.

Senate Bill 5193, requested by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and prime-sponsored by Sen. John Smith, R-Colville, was supported by a broad cross-section of interest groups.

"The gray wolf population is recovering quickly in Washington," said Inslee.  "This bill received bipartisan support from legislators across the state because it represents a practical, realistic approach to minimizing wolf-livestock conflict while recognizing the need for fair compensation to ranchers and farmers."

WDFW Director Phil Anderson said the department appreciates the Governor's support for the bill and the efforts of both Republican and Democratic legislators to get it passed.  "Washington state is committed to wolf recovery, but sustainable recovery requires that we address the legitimate needs of farmers, ranchers and other residents of the communities that are on the front line of wolf recovery," he said.  "This bill does that."

KELSO – Cowlitz County approved a contract today for environmental consulting company ICF International to help local, state and federal governments prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate a proposed coal export terminal along the Columbia River near Longview, Wash.

Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview, LLC, proposes to build and operate a coal export terminal at the site of the former Reynolds Aluminum smelter in Cowlitz County.

Cowlitz County, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are co-leads jointly managing the environmental review process for the proposed terminal project. After the contractor was selected in April through the county’s public competitive bidding process, negotiations for the contract took place. The contract was approved by the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners on May 21.

The signing of a Notice to Proceed is planned for May 22, and then the co-leads and consultant team will begin work on the first phase of the EIS – the scoping process – including setting a time frame.

Through scoping, the agencies seek input from the public, communities, tribes and agencies on what they recommend should be included in the EIS and assistance in identifying issues and concerns, such as factors to analyze and geographic areas to consider. Subsequent phases of the EIS process include research and preparing the draft and final EIS document.

The dates for the scoping period have not yet been set nor have dates and locations for scoping meetings. The contractor will help the co-lead agencies ensure that the public receives information on the status of the environmental review, public comment periods, the time and location of public meetings and hearings, and other pertinent information throughout scoping and other phases of the EIS process.

People can sign up to receive email announcements regarding public comment periods and meetings at http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=WA-MILLENNIUM-EIS.

The agencies will oversee the EIS consultant’s work. Millennium will pay all costs through an arrangement with the county but will not be allowed direct contact with the consultant during the environmental review process, except with permission of the three agencies. 

Aberdeen, WA - No injuries at a structure fire in downtown Aberdeen. Crews were called this morning to black smoke near the Wishkah River Bridge, arriving units saw smoke and flames visible from the rear of the building at 600 East Wishkah. Captain JR Streifel tells us the building houses Hagen and Bates law firm, Cheryl Demoss Massage, The Body Shop Massage, and A Classic Cuts Hair Salon. Streifel said the fire raced through the attic of the building, prompting a second alarm. It took a total of 20 firefighters about 90 minutes to get the fire under control. Crews remained on scene of the fire until about 6:30 this morning, extinguishing hot spots and salvaging contents.
Streifel estimated the structure was about 85% damaged, with the same percentage of damage to it's contents, initial estiamtes are $950,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Cougar, WA - The Cowlitz County sheriff's office says a Rochester man has been killed in a southwest Washington logging accident.

Raymond, WA - In keeping with the College Bound theme, fourth grade students from Raymond Elementary School visited the University of Washington on Thursday May 9th.  After arriving, students were treated to a campus tour.  Some of the tour highlights were visiting the "Harry Potter" Reading room in the gothic-style Suzzalo Library, seeing the world's largest book, walking the Quad and Red Square, and checking out the HUB (Husky Union Building). Students also learned about some of the majors that UW has to offer.

After a quick lunch, students met at the University of Washington's Burke Museum. The meeting place was the Life and Times of Washington, an exhibit about the natural history of our state.  Students were divided into small groups to "dig" prehistoric fossils in the Discovery Lab.   They also "found" some ancient artifacts such as Clovis points.  Later in the session they worked to identify their finds and establish which geologic time period the finds fit into.   Some of the more exciting "finds" were a saber tooth tiger tusk, a velociraptor claw, and the largest T-rex tooth ever discovered.  The chaperones, Mrs. deMontigny, Mr. Clements, and all the students agreed that this was one awesome field trip.