HEALTHY SHORELINES
The river needs your voice at the county level!–
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?
CALL to ACTION
Friends of the White Salmon River, January 2025
Klickitat County Critical Areas Ordinance.
Due to the number of comments received, the January 21st Hearing was continued to February 18th where a decision will be made. The Planning commission also scheduled a workshop on February 3rd to review comments.
The Planning Commission has been working in front of empty seats, talking to themselves. We need to show them that they need to talk and listen to those who care about a healthy environment. In person is best. Show up in Goldendale at the Workshop or the Deliberation.
Your physical presence is impactful.
You don’t need to be an expert on the regulation. In fact, it’s pointless to bog down in the details.
Klickitat County is about to approve an updated version of the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), a regulation intended to limit damage to shorelines, habitat, and other critical areas.
The Planning Commission has been revising the CAO, section by section, for about a year now. The changes weaken protections across the board.
Water is life. Shorelines keep the water healthy. Shorelines are living edges where land, water, and air meet, a dance between moving water and resistant land.
Riparian zones are used by 60-80% of all living species for habitat, food, clean water, birthplaces, and shelter. Healthy riparian zones provide flood and erosion control.
Riparian corridors- rivers of life – are the arteries and veins of our environment – connecting, nourishing, and cleansing. Human life and well-being depend on water.
Sign up for our newsletter here https://friendsofthewhitesalmon.org/support-fwsr/fwsr-newsletter/.
“There exists today a fundamental division between those who seek to preserve the natural world of the enjoyment of their children and the health of the planet, and those who will put it in peril for whatever value they can extract from it, and who would just as soon give their sons and daughters money as wonder. – “A Death in Eden” by Keith McCafferty. Join us in preserving the legacy of wonder.
1. ATTEND THE WORKSHOP
Klickitat County Planning Commission Workshop on the Critical Areas Ordinance
Workshop Information
Date: Monday, February 3rd, 2025, at 6:00 PM
Public comment period is closed.
In person:
Klickitat County Services Building, 115 West Court Street, Room 200, Goldendale, Washington, 2nd floor
Zoom:
Join using link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85782372047?pwd=WcV8P4l5C1aTxaO71ZIpRJW7NaCsNb.1
Meeting ID: 857 8237 2047 Passcode: 152082
2. ATTEND THE DELIBERATION
Klickitat County Planning Commission Deliberation on the Critical Areas Ordinance
Meeting Information
Date: Tuesday, February 18th, 2025, at 6:00 PM
No public comment.
IN PERSON:
Klickitat County Services Building, 115 West Court Street, Room 200, Goldendale, Washington, 2nd floor
ZOOM:
Join using link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85782372047?pwd=WcV8P4l5C1aTxaO71ZIpRJW7NaCsNb.1
Meeting ID: 857 8237 2047 Passcode: 152082
Getting Involved
Shorelines Keep the River Alive
Rivers are the world’s lifeblood, and healthy living shorelines serve as their natural stewards.
Shorelines along the White Salmon River nurture and protect the river by:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Buffering Floods
Slows runoff and absorbs excess water. This reduces peak flows and can lessen downstream flooding.
4. 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.
Threats on the White Salmon River:
The removal of trees and vegetation in riparian areas and improper land use and construction are damaging our shorelines. The key issues include:
- Loss of Wildlife Habitat: Trees and vegetation provide essential shelter and food for wildlife. Their removal destroys these habitats, threatening local species.
- Shoreline Damage from Unregulated Land Use: Construction and land use practices that violate Washington State Department of Ecology regulations are further degrading the river ecosystem and contributing to long-term environmental damage.
- Increased Water Temperature: Trees and vegetation provide shade, helping to keep the water cool. Without this shade, the water temperature rises, stressing species like salmon and steelhead that depend on cold water refuge.
- Poorer Water Quality: Riparian vegetation helps filter pollutants before they reach the water. Without this natural filter, pollution enters the river.
What can you do to help?
Hold Klickitat County accountable for enforcing the protection of shorelines.
Learn more about shorelines:
Fisheries NOAA ADFG Alaska Ecology Washington The Riparian Zone
