[Skamania] 🗣 Public Pushback Pauses $1,000 Rescue Fine - Skamania BOCC 5/27

The Skamania County Commissioners pumped the brakes on a controversial ordinance that would have fined negligent hikers a thousand dollars. We look at why local search and rescue veterans pushed back during the May 27th meeting.

In This Episode:

• Skamania joins a multi-county lawsuit against the state over new stream buffer logging rules.
• Bureaucratic red tape delays the Sheriff’s new radio equipment.
• The county transitions to a new financial system this July while keeping the 2027 budget process analog.
• Drone flight testing is headed to the Wind River Business Park.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• View the May 27th BOCC meeting materials
• Submit written public comment to the BOCC: emerson@co.skamania.wa.us

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Transcript

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Hey everyone, welcome back to the Open Gorge Audio Briefing. Today we're unpacking the Skimani County Board of Commissioners meeting from May 27th. The biggest conversation in the room focused on backcountry safety, specifically whether the county should start charging people for getting lost or needing other rescue support. The board held a public hearing on an ordinance that would slap a $1,000 fine on hikers who require rescue due to, quote, their own negligence, unquote. But the pushback was swift, and it came from experts who actually conduct the rescues. Anita is a resident who is a former search and rescue volunteer with 10 years of experience. In her comments, she urged the board not to pass this rule. She pointed out that dozens of rescues involving folks who were foolhardy or clueless, she could really only recall a single incident that involved actual negligence. Most victims, she said, are just unlucky and shocked by what happened. Her biggest warning? A $1,000 fine could create deadly hesitation. Injured people might delay calling 911 because they're terrified of a bill. After hearing from Anita and from other residents, commissioners decided to pump the brakes. They adjourned without a vote, realizing they need to legally define negligence versus a genuine accident, and figure out if the headache of collecting these fines would even be worth it. And honestly, this is what I love about local government and community process. These rescues and their costs are a serious headache for the agencies responsible for them and cost real dollars and cents. But through this process, people can bring up what isn't working for how it's operating now and get real genuine consideration, discussion, and feedback from experts right here in our own community. If this fine structure isn't the right fit, now we're ready to look outward to other policy or practical solutions, other examples from other states that might work a lot better for how we live here. I look forward to this being a continuing discussion. Turning now from trails to the timber, Scamania County is heading to court. The board unanimously agreed to pitch in $3,000 to join a multi-county lawsuit. They're challenging the Washington State Forest Practices Board over new buffer rules for non-fish bearing streams. The county is joining other timber dependent regions to argue that Olympia's new rules cripple local timber revenue, which we know from many other episodes, is quite a serious issue here in Scamania County, without what they think is enough scientific backing to justify the relative economic hit. So finally, a quick look at county operations and public works. July 1st is going to be a massive day for the county's admin staff. That's when the new Tyler Financial Software officially goes live. To prevent staff burnout, officials decide to run the upcoming 2027 budget using old spreadsheet methods. Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Office is dealing with some classic bureaucratic headaches. They have a grant for new radio equipment, but getting reimbursed by the State Department of Commerce is proving difficult. That project is now delayed until August. In later news, PublicWorks is drafting a lease to allow drone flight testing at an underused field in the Wind River Business Park. And if you live on the east side of the county, be aware that a debris burn ban went into effect on June 1st due to drying weather. Before we wrap up, a quick note for the parents out there. Summer in the gorge is incredible, but keeping kids entertained and cool until September usually means hunting through a dozen different county websites and Facebook pages just to figure out what's going on. We firmly believe at Open Gorge that open data should make everyday life easier, not just be about serious civic audits. So we decided to do the digging for you. Please head over to opengorge.org slash summer to find our free and low-cost summer survival guide. It is a living mobile-friendly directory of free and under $10 activities across Scamania, Clickatat, Herve River, and Wasco counties to do with kids. So please go check it out and if you see an event we missed, let us know so we can add it. And with that, you've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, home of the Scamania Dispatch and the Clickatler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities, and also more fun communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the Gorge, head over to Schemania Dispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at Facebook.comslash OpenGorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.