Please Help Save Your Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge!

“Wildlife Refuge” means a protected place for wildlife

A corporation intends to commercialize 34 acres of Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge with 80,000 plastic oyster bags. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Washington State Department of Ecology are interested in your comments.

Update: 

Back in October, 2019 the Federal District Court found that the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) Nationwide Permits issued for commercial shellfish aquaculture unlawful. The Court ruling required shellfish operations to re-permit under Individual Permits but did allow planting through the 2020 season and harvesting through March 2022.

The aquaculture industry group appealed the decision. On February 11 a three-judge panel with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with the earlier ruling. This is good news as it requires more detailed reviews of new shellfish permits instead of issuing blanket permits.

For more information: centerforfoodsafety – press-release re shellfish aquaculture court of appeals

However our work is not finished … Efforts to protect the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge are ongoing as this project is already under an Individual Permit and the process continues. Unfortunately we cannot predict the ACE reaction to the recent rulings. At this point we hope that the ACE now sees a need for very careful reviews.

While we await the ACE decision about the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, the WA State Department of Ecology approved a Coastal Zone Management permit for the project. The ACE permit decision is our focus.

We will continue to keep in touch with all of you. As well, the ACE should let those who submitted comments in May of last year know when a permit decision has been made.

Until then, keep safe and hopeful…

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located ten miles from Olympic National Park in northwest Washington State.

USACE will still accept comments until a decision is made. The comment period for Washington State Dept. of Ecology ended June 1, 2020.

We encourage people to join our organization and support our initiatives to protect one of the most pristine environments in the world.

Click here to join

View some of the issues/activities PPF is currently involved in by using the links in the sidebar to the right.