Ousted Official Blasts Kettle River Board

Sat., Jan. 16, 1999

By John Craig johnc@spokesman.com

A Ferry County environmentalist says the Kettle River Advisory Board has even less credibility now that he has been booted off.

Only one “token environmentalist” remains on the 13-member board, ousted member Dave Robinson said. “It’s ranching, mining and logging, and one token environmentalist.”

The board advises officials on management of the Kettle River and works on a variety of projects designed to protect the river and promote recreation. The state Legislature set up the board in 1991 to prevent federal intervention under the Wild And Scenic Rivers Act. Robinson said the only remaining member “who does tend to have some environmental scruples” is Ed Watt, who has been involved in Concerned Friends of Ferry County. That nonprofit organization, of which Robinson is president, is suing the county and state officials over growth-management planning.

County Commission Chairman Dennis Snook also cited Watt as evidence that environmentalists are still represented on the board. But, Snook added, “Everybody on that board is very environmentally prone or they wouldn’t be on there.” Snook said Robinson’s complaint about lack of representation may be valid “if he means the extreme radical environmentalists who are suing the county.” Otherwise, he said, the board has a broad cross-section of county residents, including a representative of the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Robinson “has been on there quite awhile, and we had four or five applications this time, and we put some new people on there to give them a shot at it,” Snook said.

Robinson is the paid “field specialist” of the Republic-based Kettle Range Conservation Group.

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