Tthe Winsman for State Senate Campaign issued the following press release regarding Winsman's stand on the Wild Olympics Campaign:
(Longview)
– Rick Winsman, candidate for State Senate from the 19th Legislative
District, which encompasses parts of Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific,
Wahkiakum and Cowlitz Counties, announced today his opposition to the
Wild Olympics Campaign.
Wild
Olympics is a Puget Sound coalition of environmental groups that has
proposed designating 134,000 acres of Olympic National Forest as
wilderness area and adding 37,000 acres of state trust lands and private
timber company land to Olympic National Park as a wilderness area. The
campaign is backed by Washington’s United States Senator Patty Murray
and United States Representative Norm Dicks.
“On
the surface, preserving our area’s natural wilderness area is
commendable and a goal worth pursuing. But given a second look and
analysis, the proposal becomes an invasion of both public and private
property rights,” said Winsman.
Winsman
said in his statement released Thursday, that in the final analysis the
Wild Olympics proposal will reduce overall property tax receipts,
something local governments cannot accommodate in these economic times.
It
would also cost the area 225 jobs and significantly reduce job creation
within the timber and agricultural industries as well as limit access
for recreational activities, a prime source of tourism for the
Peninsula. Already, a commitment to invest $50 million in an industrial
expansion project in Port Angeles has been postponed due to the
uncertainty created by this proposal.
“I
join with the people who will be affected most by this ill-conceived
land grab and vigorously oppose this proposal,” Winsman added.
Winsman issued this public position in anticipation of the public hearing on
May 10, 2012, at the Bishop Center on the Grays Harbor Community College
campus.
“I encourage everyone who
has a stake in the economic health and environmental preservation
balance of the Olympic Peninsula to attend this meeting to voice your
concerns.”
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