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Hanford Reach protection could be extended
Federal protection for the Hanford Reach likely will be extended to include much more than just the river corridor. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, in the Tri-Cities this week to tour the 51-mile free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River, indicated Wednesday that he is leaning toward recommending within 30 days that federal protection extend to cover virtually the entire nuclear reservation. With the recommendation to President Clinton that the Reach be designated a national monument all but a foregone conclusion, Babbitt quickly turned his attention to ending the "warfare" between governments and developing momentum to produce a management strategy. "We don't expect you to forgive the Clinton administration and Bruce Babbitt," Babbitt said. "We're saying, 'Here's a project. We need some help.' " Local government officials in the Tri-Cities and Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., had been pushing a plan for federal-state-county management of the Reach. But Babbitt said it's too late for any sort of legislative solution, and members of the state's congressional delegation should put their differences aside. Babbitt told the Tri-City Herald editorial board he will recommend Clinton issue an executive order establishing boundaries to identify the protected area while protecting existing property rights. The declaration also will be consistent with priorities to protect historical, scientific and ecological values of the Reach, the stretch of the Columbia River extending north from Richland to Priest Rapids Dam. He'll then seek to develop a management plan with input from local governments. "That should not be an invitation to another 20 years of gridlock," Babbitt warned. He views what's happened in the heated debate over a national monument in Utah as a nearly ideal outcome. He said the three Utah counties involved and federal officials have crafted an agreement all sides can live with, and they agreed only one small issue should go to court for resolution. Counties there received $250,000 to assist their planning efforts. He said he wants to include the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve and Rattlesnake Mountain within the boundaries. Those areas and the river corridor would be managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Areas at the south end of the Hanford Reservation that are home to a commercial nuclear power plant and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory operated by Battelle may not be affected. Activities to redevelop the partially finished nuclear power plants owned by Energy Northwest, for example, probably would be allowed to continue. Though certain portions of the site would be managed separately, Babbitt said the entire preserve should remain under Department of Energy ownership. That would make it easier for the Tri-Cities to receive payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT, money from the federal government to compensate for lost property taxes. A management plan likely would be drafted by Department of Interior staff members with recommendations from local governments and other interested groups. Babbitt said he doesn't believe he could turn management decisions over to local governments even if he wanted to. "We can't delegate our legal responsibility," he said. "But we can surround (the preserve) with management plans that are legally binding." Gov. Gary Locke has supported a plan by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that would have protected the Reach under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, though advocating a "fuller role" for local governments to help determine its future. Locke spokeswoman Barbara Dunn said Wednesday that the governor would have preferred federal legislation to a presidential order, "but recognizes the (Clinton) administration is running out of time and patience." Locke's office would not say whether the governor supports giving the area national monument status. Babbitt said measures need to be taken to restrict access of off-road vehicles, air boats and personal watercraft, which he said could limit other people's ability to enjoy the area. "We are not out there to exclude people," he said. "We are there to invite people to their land." | ||