Protect SHORELINES
Rivers Are Alive
Shorelines along the White Salmon are facing significant threats from development and extractive industries. Friends of the White Salmon offers advocacy tools, opportunities for action, and educational resources to help you protect shorelines. Do you want to help?
Shorelines Keep Rivers Alive
Rivers are the world’s lifeblood, and healthy living shorelines serve as their natural stewards.
Providing Habitat for Plants & Animals
The riparian area, often referred to as the ribbon of life, is the land adjacent to the river. A corridor between land and water, the ribbon of life allows animals to travel between different biomes. They serve as “breeding, nesting, and foraging sites throughout some portion of most animals’ life cycle, and in some cases, for the entirety of their lives” (American Rivers).
From trees and shrubs, to grasses and flowering plants, riparian areas are transition zones between water and upland areas. Their unique characteristics create habitat for both land and water species.
Buffering Floods
Slows runoff and absorbs excess water. This reduces peak flows and can lessen downstream flooding.
Providing Shade & Moderating Temperature
Shoreline vegetation, such as trees and shrubs, is a source of shade for terrestrial and aquatic life and keeps the water and air temperature cool. Cooler water means less evaporation and more dissolved oxygen in the water for aquatic animals. This supports healthy aquatic life, like our salmon and steelhead population. It also combats climate change.
Filtering Runoff Pollutants
Shoreline vegetation absorbs surface water. As the roots pull the water into the ground, the amount of nutrients, sediments, and other runoff pollution is reduced.
What are the serious threats?
Unregulated land use, weak regulations, and a flawed enforcement system in Klickitat County are serious threats to the White Salmon River.
The damage is harming the river’s ecosystem and contributing to long-term cumulative environmental damage.
What are the impacts?
• Loss of fish and wildlife habitat
• Increased water temperature
• Poorer water quality
• Bank erosion
How do Klickitat County’s Regulations Fall Short?
Weak Protections: The Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) is required under the Washington State Growth Management Act. The draft–as written–does not serve the stated purpose of protecting the ecosystem and human life and well-being.
The CAO provides guidance to County staff as they process development applications. There are five critical areas. Two of these – wetlands and habitat – are facing severely reduced protection under the updated draft.
The other three – geologically hazardous areas, frequently flooded areas, and aquifer recharge areas are closer to state guidelines, but still need to be reviewed.
How does Klickitat County’s Approach Limit Shorelines Protection?
Klickitat County is a “complaint-driven county”. This means that officials only act when citizens report violations. This approach presents many challenges:
Unnoticed Violations: Harmful land-use practices are not addressed if community members do not see them or know how to report them.
Limited Oversight: Without proactive monitoring, shorelines violations can cause extensive harm before intervention occurs.
Limited Follow-Up: Even when violations are addressed, the county does not actively monitor the replanting of vegetation or other remediation efforts. Restoration is not complete or effective.
How We are Protecting Critical Areas
Shorelines are essential for a river’s health and the ecosystem it supports. Protecting shorelines provides numerous ecological benefits. These benefits support the balance of life both in and around our rivers.
What We Are Working On
The current Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) draft with weak protections is moving towards final adoption as Klickitat County policy.
We are preparing for hearings and possible legal appeals to achieve a CAO that offers adequate protection. We anticipate the hearing will take place in early June 2025.
Success at the hearings will result in a new revision process that recognizes the importance of the health of critical areas.
Healthy critical areas are necessary to sustain human life and safety. We envision a CAO that preserves the natural environment, maintains fish and wildlife habitat, and protects drinking water.
How to Get Involved
We need your help to make sure the CAO is actually protective! We anticipate the hearing will take place in early June 2025.
We need volunteers, with relevant expertise and experience to help write our comments, in order to make sure that the final testimony is comprehensive and strong. You can assist with writing the comments without having to present testimony yourself.
If you can help with writing comments, email: Pat.Arnold@friendsofthewhitesalmon.org
We need community members to comment and testify at the hearings. No expertise is needed! We will help you prepare and provide comment templates. Your comments and presence at the hearings make a huge difference.
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Dive Deeper:
Fisheries NOAA ADFG Alaska Ecology Washington The Riparian Zone Ribbon of Life Series
For more information, see our Q&A session.