Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Mason County Climate Justice, the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition and the state Department of Natural Resources will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Mason County Superior Court.
According to Jennifer Calkins, a lawyer who represents the local environmental activist groups, MCCJ filed a notice to withdraw its motion to dismiss and filed a second motion for a preliminary injunction with the intervenor corporation Tacoma-based Stella-Jones Corp., which came in with the highest bid for the 94 acres that includes the Sure Wood and Plumb Bob Timber Sale near Allyn.
The motion will be heard by Judge Cadine Ferguson-Brown.
The second motion for a preliminary injunction states that DNR, the board of Natural Resources and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz failed to comply with the State Environmental Policy Act’s procedural mandates for issuing a determination of nonsignificance for each site and did not complete an environmental impact statement for each timber sale.
“Because these forests are near where people live and work, they also provide innumerable environmental services, aesthetic value, and recreational benefits that support physical and mental health,” according to the motion document. “These resources are important to members of local communities and to people throughout Washington, including populations who face ‘disparate impacts’ and ‘increasing risks’ from factors including climate change, such as ‘those already suffering from economic, social, and health disparities’ including low-income communities, Indigenous people, elders, and other vulnerable populations.’ ”
The motion includes evidence with declarations from Calkins, Joshua Wright, James Landreth, Joanne Hamilton, Robert Hamilton, Elise Nordlund, Stephen Kropp, Adelaide C. Johnson and Esteban Gaspar.
According to a photo from Mason County Climate Justice’s Julianne Gale, Stella-Jones bid $3,622,843.50 for the timber. Bell Timber Co. had the second-highest bid at $3,451,926.56 and the Murphy Co. had the third highest bid of $3,031,765.10.
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