by Sue Danver – BHAS and Friends of Rocky Prairie (FORP) are working to protect Rocky Prairie from an industrial truck and train cargo transfer center that would also threaten the adjacent West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area and nearby Millersylvania State Park.
The BHAS Conservation Committee would love BHAS members’ help. FORP has written a petition to the Thurston Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) asking them to vote “NO” on a request to rezone the 745 acre parcel of land owned by the Port of Tacoma from rural residential 1 house per 20 acres to Rural Resource Industrial. If permitted, the rezone would allow completely inappropriate development on the unique site. We would really appreciate it if you’d help collect signatures to present to the BoCC at the end of the year.
You can find much more information about this effort at FORP’s website (friendsofrockyprairie.org) and download petitions there to gather signatures.
This past spring NorthPoint, the Kansas City, Missouri, company purchasing the property, attempted to have their request for the rezone rushed through long after the deadline for applications. With the help of the BHAS email alert system we sent over 500 emails asking the Commissioners to vote against allowing NorthPoint to move ahead of other applicants with their so-called “urgent” rezone. Commissioners Hutchings and Menser were convinced; NorthPoint’s application will be examined in January 2020 with the other submissions for 2020-21.
In January or February of 2020, the BOCC will select the applications they believe are of highest priority. FORP’s petition requests that the BoCC deny NorthPoint’s rezone request and not prioritize it for 2020-21.
This property and the wildlife area adjacent to it are important resources for this county, and BHAS has long been committed to protecting them. And of course, beautiful and historic Millersylvania State Park, less than 1/2 mile away, is another treasure. An industrial center would bring thousands of trucks a day on I-5 and rural roads, 24/7 light and noise, air pollution, negative impacts on the wetlands and water table, and threats to the Federally listed Oregon spotted frog and several other threatened and endangered species if a warehousing and manufacturing center with well over 300 acres of impervious surfaces were to be approved.
It would be greatly appreciated if BHAS members would help circulate to friends, neighbors and others this simple petition to be presented to the BoCC at the end of the year. Hard copy signatures are preferred to online ones — they seem to be valued more by elected officials. The petition can be downloaded from the FORP website (friendsofrockyprairie.org) and then sent to the address at the bottom of the petition. If we all gather signatures we can convince our commissioners that our county does not want or deserve this massive industrial center in our special rural area, a change that would negatively affect the entire county.
We are also seeking yards in which to post Protect Millersylvania Park signs. It would be great to have the signs sprinkled throughout Thurston County, especially on high volume roads or at the entrance to a neighborhood. Call or 360-878-2999 to get a sign delivered to your home.
Please HELP get the word out and be part of the solution. Thank you so very much!!
