Update on the Proposed 396 acre Clear Valley Wetland Bank. 

FOSC asked the Skagit Superior Court on January 22, 2010, to rule on the BOCC refusal to hear the appeal and a hearing is scheduled for March 1, 2010 at 1:30 pm.

All three County Commissioners recused themselves from hearing the grading and shorelines appeals filed by FOSC.  The letter about the recusals sent to FOSC states that the Examiner's ruling is final as of January 19, 2010. The ruling says Ag-Natural Resource Lands (Ag-NRL) are not all prime agricultural lands and therefore can be converted to other uses.

The ruling wipes out protection under the Skagit Code or Shorelines Master Plan for Skagit agricultural lands.

The "rule of necessity" is a point of law which states that if there is no one to hear the appeal, then the officers may un-recuse themselves and hear the appeal.  

Please write, fax, call or e-mail the County Commissioners!  Write your letter to the editor and send today!

$5,000 Needed for the Superior Court appeal! -click here for more info on the original appeal -    If you haven't contributed, please send your tax deductible donations T0DAY! to FOSC, P.O. Box 2632, Mount Vernon, WA 98273.

WRITE a Letter, Fax of Email TODAY to the County Commissioners stating your opposition to the Clear Valley project. Commissioners Ken Dahlstedt, Sharon Dillon and Ron Wesen 1800 Continental Place, Suite #100          Mount Vernon, WA 98273                 Ph: 360-336-9300        Fax: 339-9307    Email:  commissioners@co.skagit.wa.us

WRITE a letter to the Skagit Valley Herald or your other local newspaper stating your opposition to the loss of farmland.  Dick Clever, Editor, Skagit Valley Herald  Box 578, Mount Vernon, WA 98274.  Fax: 360-424-5300      Email:  dclever@skagitpublishing.com

Here are the reasons why this land should remain farmland.  The GMA and the County Comprehensive Plan require the identification and protection of Agricultural – Natural Resource Lands.  The Hearing Examiner ruled that not all Ag-NRL lands are prime agricultural lands and therefore could be converted to other uses.

The land is zoned Agriculture-Natural Resource Lands.  It is prime agricultural land, the soils are in the top 1% in production per acre in the world.  The majority of the 396 acres of the land has never been wetland.  Only 58 acres are delineated as wetland.

Moving 100,000 truckloads (1.2 million cubic yards) of prime agricultural soils to another site is MINING!  Mining is NOT permitted in the Shoreline Master Plan.

Tell the Commissioners that you do not want to lose another acre of Skagit’s farmland and ask them to hear the appeal and deny the permits.  Please ask your friends to speak up NOW!

Friends of Skagit County as appellants cannot contact the Skagit County Commissioners. Thank you for your continued support in our efforts to keep Skagit farmland in farming.