Dec. 11, 2001: Reach monument expected to survive cuts

Reach monument expected to survive cuts

This story was published Dec. 11, 2001

By Mike Lee
Herald staff writer

The Hanford Reach citizens advisory committee will survive federal budget haggling, according Fish and Wildlife Service officials.

Specific budget numbers have not been released by agency headquarters, but Greg Hughes, manager of the Hanford Reach National Monument, "has been told that he should proceed with (advisory committee) meetings and the implementation of the committee's activity," said David Patte, congressional affairs liaison for the agency in Portland. "(Managers) have been given assurances there will be adequate funding."

Serious questions about the monument budget have left the advisory committee in limbo since late October and forced the cancellation of its December meeting.

The committee, representing several different agencies and organizations, is a primary way for the public to shape policies on operation of the 200,000-acre monument, which was created after much controversy about how much input the public would have with the federal agency.

Without hundreds of thousands of dollars of new money, however, agency officials will be hard-pressed to move forward with the advisory committee while keeping up with day-to-day operations and building a planning staff in Richland.

Officials close to the situation now are optimistic that a substantial slice of money will be set aside, even though it may not be all managers want.

"We have been assured by everybody that we'll have enough (money) to get up and get going and start our planning," said Jim Watts, chairman of the citizens committee.

Numbers are still being negotiated by Fish and Wildlife Service budget makers - and that means Mid-Columbians interested in public input on monument development still are leery.

"Originally, we talked about $850,000, and we keep hearing a lesser figure than that," Watts said.

The recent assurances appear to close a confusing chapter in the short history of the Hanford Reach National Monument, which was formed by President Clinton in the summer of 2000 against the wishes of many Republicans.

That opposition created political friction over monument spending in Congress, which eventually gave the Fish and Wildlife Service an additional $10 million for operations and maintenance without detailed directions about how to spend it. Instead, Congress said Fish and Wildlife "should place a high priority on the staffing and planning needs" at the Reach monument.

With the big question apparently resolved, Watts said Fish and Wildlife is in the hiring process for a new project planner. Duties will include developing plans from the citizens committee, expected to start meeting again in February.

Also, the Fish and Wildlife Service intends to officially open the Reach planning process in March. That is an important bureaucratic step that will kick off what is expected to be a two- or three-year effort to shape rules for monument use.