North Mason OKs transfer of Theler wetlands

The North Mason School Board's meetings Dec. 8 and Dec. 15 drew testimony from three area residents on the proposed transfer of the Theler wetlands, trail system and associated properties from the school district to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Herb Gerhardt and Don LePere supported the transfer, while Ken VanBuskirk requested certain conditions for the transfer to proceed.

Gerhardt's written comments, which were read into the record by district Superintendent Dana Rosenbach, stated his full support for the transfer, while LePere, in written and in-person testimony, emphasized how much he supported the transfer, despite his distaste for change in general.

As a lifelong fan of parks and nature, LePere admitted to being "in second heaven" when the Theler wetland trails were developed behind his former dental office.

A former North Mason School Board member, LePere has volunteered to keep the trails clean and to maintain their ADA-accessibility "in memory of my cousin Tom, who died from complications of muscular dystrophy when we were both 21 years old."

LePere deemed it a "basic common sense" move to transfer the Theler properties to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which has the possibility of qualifying for money from the Legislature to preserve and maintain the property, whereas the school district is not eligible for any such funding.

"I still consider myself part of the district, even though I'm not on the board anymore," LePere said. "We can't continue to put money into the trails. We're taking it from either maintenance for the rest of the buildings or something else to keep the insurance companies happy that we're not creating a liability down there."

LePere said he favored the transfer and would "continue volunteering on the trails, as long as God lets me."

Former school board member VanBuskirk, in both written and oral testimony, requested the school board require Fish and Wildlife to advertise for, establish and maintain "a specific Theler citizen advisory oversight community committee, made up of residents and stakeholders of the North Mason School District, as part of the larger South Sound Advisory Group."

VanBuskirk proposed the Theler group "would provide advice and input to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and consist of three to five residents of the North Mason School District only, and include the school superintendent," with "the North Mason School District, not the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife," being granted sole discretion as to membership criteria and selection for the advisory committee.

VanBuskirk said Fish and Wildlife "has a hard time with maintenance and enforcement of its existing statewide facilities," and contended that "Mr Theler's intent was that a local entity watch over his and his wife's gifts to the local community."

VanBuskirk remains aggrieved that the Theler trail breach of 2012 compromised its wetlands' freshwater and stormwater detention pond, which he said "was designated as such, and referenced as part of the original 1980 Theler environmental impact statement."

VanBuskirk additionally objected to how the breach has "denied access to a portion of trails that were built with RCO (Recreation and Conservation Office) grant monies, guaranteeing public access in perpetuity."

VanBuskirk said other federal and state grants regarding the Theler trails and wetlands - other than the 1953 will and 1980 environmental impact statement - will need to be researched and vetted for obligations and conditions.

Rosenbach noted the human-made freshwater pond was created by a dike, possibly as far back as the 1930s. The dike was breached by storms and has seen saltwater infiltration, allowing it to become an identified salmon habitat.

"In the current climate, you cannot make a freshwater pond out of salmon habitat," Rosenbach said. "You have to continue to allow the salmon to move in and out of that pond, so returning it to a freshwater pond would not be approved by the multiple state and federal agencies that we would have to get involved, up to and including the Army Corps of Engineers. It just wouldn't happen."

School board member Arla Shephard Bull said, "if we turn over this property to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, that really becomes their purview, and they will likely be under certain restrictions, so that may not go the way I know (VanBuskirk) is wanting to go," especially with questions such as whether other culverts will be reverted to fish passage.

Shepherd Bull said tending to such wetlands is "really, ultimately not what we are about" as a school district, since "we have a fiduciary responsibility to our taxpayers, and that's why we're here."

The school district cannot devote its resources, either financially or with the time and energy required to set up a separate advisory committee, to a property that falls outside the district's primary mission and priorities, Shepherd Bull said.

The school board nonetheless honored VanBuskirk's request for a formal roll call vote.

While Laura Boad was absent, Shepherd Bull and fellow school board members Erik Youngberg, John Campbell and Leanna Krotzer all voted in favor of the transfer.

WDFW will have a formal vote in late January on accepting the transfer.

Author Bio

Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
kboxleitner@masoncounty.com