Feds may bend on Colf land
Officials of the federal Corps of Engineers, state Department of Ecology and Gov. Gregoire’s office are reportedly considering options that might allow prime agricultural lands in the Woodland area to remain in agricultural production.
State Rep. Richard Curtis said last week that John Mankowski of the Governor’s office told him that the Corps of Engineers and Ecology were working to develop a plan that could reduce the amount or location of lands needed for habitat mitigation due to damage that will be caused elsewhere during the dredging of the Columbia River.
The problem has festered since 1999 when Margaret Colf Hepola, her sons Dick Colf and Bob Colf, and her daughter Nancy Colf, first learned that the Corps of Engineers planned to acquire about 550 acres of Colf family property to use for habitat mitigation purposes. Members of the Colf family said they informed the Corps in 1999 and repeatedly since then that they do not want to sell their lands, but rather want to continue farming activities on desirable Woodland Bottoms land and other locations.
Federal officials have contended that the Columbia River dredging project was thoroughly studied and permits acquired based on specific mitigation properties, and that a change in such mitigation sites would have adverse impacts on the dredging work schedule. Officials have threatened to use their power of eminent domain, if necessary, to take the properties.
The Corps of Engineers also plans to acquire about 55 acres of Woodland Bottoms land owned by Dave Zylstra for mitigation purposes. Zylstra has also been firm in not wanting to sell.
Rep. Curtis introduced legislation earlier this year, adopted by both the state House of Representatives and Senate, that would have barred the agencies from taking agricultural property for wetland or habitat mitigation purposes. Gov. Gregoire vetoed that legislation.
Project has long history
The U.S. Congress has approved and funded the plan to dredge a shipping channel in the Columbia River to a depth of 43 feet over about a 100 mile length from Portland to the river’s mouth at Astoria. The dredging work would benefit shipping efficiency, officials say, along with jobs and the economy.
Plans call for the disposal of sand and other dredge materials at a number of public and private sites, including lands owned by port districts. Disposal of dredge materials could have adverse impacts on habitat properties, requiring that other lands be acquired, improved for habitat purposes, and left in perpetuity.
Early Corps of Engineers plans had included disposal of dredged materials on Colf family property along with the mitigation work. Finalized Corps plans, however, contemplate only using Colf property for mitigation.
Of the 805 acres selected for habitat mitigation for the entire dredging project, 68.6 percent presently belongs to the Colf family.
Most of the mitigation property is in Washington, with less than 10 percent on the Oregon side of the river.
In a 2001 letter to the Corps, the Colf family objected to a plan that would take so much land from one family. “This places an overwhelming burden of mitigation, 68 percent, on the Colf family,” wrote family members. “We believe this is an unfair burden for one family.”
The letter also questioned the plan to acquire most of the mitigation land in Washington rather than Oregon.
Corps declines Colf family offer
The finalized plan by the Corps of Engineers includes the acquisition of Martin Island located near I-5 just north of Woodland and owned by the Colf family, and 284 acres in the Woodland Bottoms of which about 105 acres is owned by the Colfs.
In October 2001, the Colf family offered to give the Corps of Engineers free use of about 150 acres of property on Martin Island if they would not take other portions of the family property. This plan, noted the Colfs, would provide mitigation land at no cost to the taxpayer while meeting the needs of the Corps and avoiding a confrontational contest and litigation.
A month later, the Corps of Engineers declined the offer and affirmed the plan to acquire the Colf family lands.
In early 2002 letters, both U.S. Rep. Brian Baird and then-State Sen. Syd Snyder urged the Corps to consider the Colf family proposal and find ways around the impasse.
In a February 2004 letter, Lt. Col. Charles Markham of the Corps of Engineers in Portland advised the Colfs that the plan to acquire Colf property was firm. Markham wrote that the Corps would acquire all of Martin Island and the Woodland Bottoms land.
In an April 2007 letter, the Colf family took issue with the Corps’ contention that changes were not possible in the finalized dredging and mitigation plan.
In that letter, the Colfs quoted a paragraph in the Corps’ Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement that stated, “Local opposition or an owner’s refusal to sell could lead to selection of different mitigation locations.”
The Colfs affirmed that they were not opposed to the channel deepening projects. “Our interest is in keeping the farmable land on Martin Island and in the Woodland Bottom,” wrote the Colfs. “Our preference is to keep all our property as we have stated many times.”
The Colfs wrote that the dredging work could continue while letting the Colf family retain and farm their land. “We do know that the plan was modified several times since 2001 without any accommodation to the Colf Family concerns,” continued the Colf letter.
The Colfs offered to sell certain portions of their properties while retaining lands currently being farmed. The letter also questioned the 12-to-1 mitigation ratio.
Diking District adds pumps
The Woodland Diking District added pumps in the Woodland Bottoms area in about 2000 to help lower the water table and improve the use of some properties for agricultural purposes.
Diking District commissioner Matt Peterson was critical of the Corps’ plan to acquire and flood land in the Woodland Bottoms area.
“They (Corps of Engineers) have never come to the Diking District and said anything,” said Peterson. Peterson was not certain how the Diking District would accomplish its responsibilities if the Corps flooded hundreds of acres in the area.
Peterson said the Diking District engineer Ken Cachelin wrote letters to the Corps seeking to learn about Corps plan, but has not received a reply.
“I’d just as soon not see it happen,” said Peterson.
Cachelin was uncertain how breaches in the levy could be identified if the Corps actually floods land in the Woodland Bottoms. He said the Corps has not provided the Diking District with hydrauling plans or elevations, only conceptual information.
“They might even breach the dike,” said Cachelin. “We’re concerned about structural stability. We’ve sent letters. We have not seen anything in the last year. We’ve seen no plans whatsoever. All we’ve seen is stuff that is very conceptual.”
Corps might consider options
Bob Colf and Rep. Curtis were encouraged in hearing that the Corps might evaluate other options.
“Although the spokesperson for the Corps of Engineers has spoken to us on occasion, their unwillingness to continue discussions of a solution is frustrating,” said Colf.
The Colfs were able to meet with Corps officials several years ago. “It took us a considerable amount of time to be able to talk with senior Corps officials,” said Colf.
“We’ve tried hard to come up with a plan that will retain our farm land and satisfy mitigation requirements,” added Colf. “For the Corps to come back and say ‘no’ is a little hard to take.”
Curtis said he was encouraged in hearing that the Corps might consider changing its plans. “The value in that is that the Corps is moving,” said Curtis. “They’re already moving. Now we’ll see how far.”
“The problem with this issue is that it affects only one or two families,” added Curtis.
Curtis said that the issue would end up in court if federal and state officials do not reach a satisfactory agreement with Woodland-area farmers. He added that a representative of the state Attorney General told him that such a court case could take four years and that, in all likelihood, the land would not be available for the dredging project during that time.
“Since 70 percent of the land to be utilized for the project is being taken from one family (an unfair and shortsighted plan), this could, and most likely would, put the entire project in jeopardy and could result in non-compliance with the permits that have been cited as the primary reason for taking the land,” wrote Curtis in his letter last week to the Governor.
John Mankowski of Gov. Gregoire’s office did not return Reflector phone calls in time for publication.

Man escapes from Larch
Robert F. Rowe, 48, escaped from a Larch Corrections Center work crew June 5 near Woodland.
Rowe is described as 5-ft. 11-in. tall, 200 pounds, medium build, brown eyes and gray hair. He has a 3/4-in. scar on his right forearm, tattoo of a bird on his right shoulder, 9-in. scar and 2-in. scar on his stomach, a 3/4-in. scar on his left forearm, two, 1-in. scars and a warrior tattoo on his left upper arm, and a whale tattoo on his left shoulder.
Rowe was last seen about 11:15 a.m. at Hanson Road off SR-503 north of Woodland. He was wearing blue jeans, a red, long-sleeve shirt, red hat, and possibly yellow rain gear. He was working with a Department of Natural Resources work crew doing brush cutting and other vegetation management work.
Rowe is considered non-violent but potentially dangerous as an escapee.
Rowe was incarcerated at Larch for two counts of identify theft, three counts of theft, five counts of forgery, and one count of possession of stolen property.
About one person a year has escaped from the Larch Corrections Center, located in Dole Valley in east Clark County. Larch spokesperson Sherrie Foley said an escapee in 2006 was apprehended two days later; one in 2005 was apprehended the same day; one in 2004 was apprehended after about five weeks; one in 2002 was apprehended after about a week; and one in 2001 was apprehended the same day that he escaped.
An inmate who escaped in 1999 had not been apprehended as of March 2006, said Foley, whose records did not disclose a more recent status for that inmate.
Anyone with information about Rowe is urged to call 9-1-1 or Larch Corrections Center, 260-6300.

BG float wins theme award in Rose Festival Parade
The Battle Ground float garnered the prestigious Theme Award in the June 9 Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade.
The award is for best development of Rose Festival theme, and is one of the top half dozen honors handed out at the event.
The Battle Ground float used the theme, “For You, A Rose in Portland Grows,” following the Portland parade theme, “A Centennial Celebration,” marking the 100th year of the parade.
Battle Ground has entered the Portland parade every year since 1955.
Battle Ground won the coveted Sweepstakes award in the 2006 parade as the best float in the entire parade.
This year the Battle Ground float depicted a 1907 trolley car, an exact half-scale replica of Portland Trolley #503 that was in use in Portland until about 1949.
The float featured illuminated street lamps, a Benson Bubbler water fountain, an illuminated trolley headlight, arms that sparked as they “touched” the electric wire overhead, and a rose garden complete with the traditional Battle Ground Bumblebee.
Original ragtime music, composed by float committee member Rich Rubin, emanated from the float as it went through the streets of Portland.
Among the thousands of flowers on the float was the new rose called “Falling in Love with the Rose Festival,” a variety created especially for this year’s centennial celebration.
The upper windows of the trolley were made with Skeleton Leaves to give the appearance of aging, cracked glass.
The trolley “motorman” was Neal Berlin who in real life operates a Max train and the Portland Vintage Trolley that runs in downtown Portland today.
The Battle Ground float is created by an independent committee, presently headed by Don and Marlene Brown. It is no longer a project of the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce.
Riding the float were princesses Melanie McBoyle and Kelli Dougal from Prairie High School, and Shauna Christensen and Reili Irwin from Battle Ground High School.
The princesses were equipped with umbrellas which were needed during intermittent rain on parade day.
Bands earn awards
The Battle Ground High School marching band won third place among out-of-state bands with 99 or fewer musicians. Directed by Greg McKelvey, the band followed the Battle Ground float in the Grand Floral Parade.
The Pleasant Valley Middle School band, also in the Battle Ground School District, won the sweepstakes award in the Junior Parade which took place June 6. The Pleasant Valley band is directed by Evan Irwin.
The Lewisville Middle School band, another Battle Ground School District ensemble, took first place among out-of-state bands with 99 or fewer members. The Lewisville band is directed by Danielle Armstrong.
The Battle Ground float is driven to Portland in the early morning hours of parade day. This year the float remained in Portland June 10 for display in the Portland Convention Center. In prior years, the float has been driven back to Battle Ground following the parade.
The Battle Ground float is refurbished with fresh flowers for an appearance in Battle Ground Harvest Days parade which will take place July 21.

Commissioners hear criticism of north county growth plan
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Most north Clark County residents who testified during a joint planning commission-county commissioners public hearing on the proposed growth of the cities were unhappy with the county’s long-range comprehensive plan.
Only one resident, Jim Relyea, who lives near La Center, said he was “happy” with the plan.
“I’m glad La Center can come out to the freeway,” Relyea said.
The county commissioners have been working to update the 20-year growth management plan for the past two years. The county has allowed the three north county cities to expand their urban growth boundaries, more than doubling the size of La Center and giving that city access to I-5. Battle Ground will grow to the north and west and Ridgefield will expand south and east.
Many of the objections to the plan came from Battle Ground-area residents who are unhappy with the city’s proposed urban growth area. Residents living south of NE 179th Street and west of SR-503 asked that their area remain zoned for rural residential use. The county has proposed zoning industrial urban reserve and urban reserve.
“The people in the area have no interest in being inside Battle Ground,” said Dick Rylander. “We ask you to keep the existing property designation.”
A portion of the land is in agriculture.
Lee Moon agreed with Rylander, saying , “A majority of landowners don’t want to be in Battle Ground.”
Other residents, including Nettie Pullella-Barca, asked that urban growth areas stay away from farm land, and she said that farms are becoming subdivisions.
“This is a 20-year plan. You have no plan to pay for growth,” Pullella-Barca said. “We want to keep our farms.”
But others adjacent to the city asked to be included in the urban growth area. Residents along NE 92nd Ave. asked that the urban boundary be moved to the west.
“Ninety-second Avenue has become a Berlin Wall, with high density on one side and rural on the other,” said resident Andy Jacobson. “We’re losing our quality of rural life. It’s an issue of equity.”
He asked the county to “plan and prepare for development on both sides” of NE 92nd Ave.
Areas at the north end of Battle Ground’s urban growth area have been designated mixed use employment and employment campus in the long-range plan. Area residents Dick Dyrland and Richard Kennon expressed concerns about runoff into the East Fork of the Lewis River.
“The areas will drain into a creek that contains salmonoids, and you have a high runoff from parking lots,” Dyrland said.
Kennon said the land is above an “important aquifer to the East Fork. There should be no new development within one mile of the East Fork.”
La Center’s plan drew few objections, although the residents of Eagle Crest Drive, now outside the city, asked to stay outside the city. John Calnan said the 24 landowners want their property to remain rural. He said much of the land cannot be developed and is in the greenway conservation area.
Clark County Commissioner Betty Sue Morris asked if removing the property from the La Center urban area would create a “doughnut hole.”
“I prefer to think of it as a peninsula,” said Rick Davis, who also owns land on Eagle Crest Drive.
The owners of two farms near Ridgefield asked to be included in the urban growth area, with dairy farmer Bill Kennedy testifying that he will no longer be able to operate his dairy because of the proximity to a proposed new high school and other residential areas.
Jennifer Walker of Walker Farms also said that farming has become difficult near urban areas and she asked that the property east of 10th Avenue become part of the city’s urban area.
The county commissioners are expected to make a decision on the urban growth areas and the long-range plan sometime this summer.

Church gets okay to move into industrial zone
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Members of the congregation of Grace Community Church broke into applause June 4 when the Woodland City Council voted to allow the church to locate in an industrial area.
The 3-1 vote came on the first reading of an ordinance that will allow churches a conditional use in the city’s industrial zone. Ironically, the only other conditional use in industrial zones is sexually-oriented businesses.
The ordinance will come to the council for a second reading June 18. A member of the audience who did not identify himself asked if the council could have the second reading and approve the ordinance on June 4, but Mayor Doug Monge said that the procedure did not allow two readings at the same meeting. Usually, an emergency clause is required for the first and second readings to take place during a single meeting.
June 4 was the second time members of the congregation had attended a city council meeting, hoping to get permission to either buy an existing building or build a new structure in an industrial area. The city planning commission had voted in May to recommend council approval, despite a staff recommendation against allowing churches in an industrial zone. The city council delayed action on a first reading May 21 at the request of City Attorney Paul Brachvogel
Brachvogel said June 4 that the council did not have the right to deny a church in the industrial zone.
“When you’re dealing with a fundamental right, the government must show a compelling interest” such as public health or safety in order to deny the request, Brachvogel said.
Council member Marilee McCall asked to recuse herself from voting, saying that she is a member of Grace Community Church. Council member Erica Rainford voted against permitting a church in the industrial zone.
Grace Community Church is located at 1930 Belmont Loop. Several who testified during two council meetings said because of the increase in the congregation size, three services must be held each Sunday, and a trailer has been added for children’s Sunday school classes.
Pastor Todd Cloud said earlier that the church has not been able to find suitable property either in the commercial or the residential zones of the city, and he told the planning commission that moving outside the city limits is not feasible because of water and sewer needs.

Wal-Mart decision may come soon
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
All sides may learn the future of a Wal-Mart proposed for Woodland before the summer ends.
Woodland City Attorney Paul Brachvogel said legislation governing land use issues before the courts requires that decisions be made within six months in most instances, and he said he expects a decision within six weeks.
Wal-Mart has applied to build a super-store on Dike Access Road near the I-5 interchange. The city’s hearings officer has required the retailer to take steps to prevent flooding on Dike Access Road under the I-5 overpass.
A lawsuit by the large retailer and an appeal from the Woodland organization Woodlanders Against the Wal are now before Judge James E. Warme in Cowlitz County Superior Court. A second hearing on the Wal-Mart lawsuit was set for Mon., June 11, 1 p.m., too late for The Reflector deadline.
Both Wal-Mart and the residents’ organization are appealing a decision by Woodland Hearings officer James Berteig.
Wal-Mart asked Berteig to reconsider his decision, but Woodlanders Against the Wal attorney John Karpinski said the city ordinance does not allow the hearings officer to reconsider a decision. In his reconsideration statement, Berteig wrote that the city “does not have an ordinance provision for such reconsiderations.”
Berteig wrote, however, that he had asked for clarification from Brachvogel, and “the city attorney responded with two letters applying interpretations that would allow the examiner to reconsider.”
Karpinski is continuing to challenge the reconsideration.
Berteig’s reconsideration contiues to require the large retailer to take steps to address drainage and the flooding of Dike Access Road.
“The interchange improvements will add impervious surfaces while providing extra capacity to handle Wal-Mart traffic,” the hearings examiner wrote. “The applicant cannot be allowed to ignore the relationships between their traffic and the flooding.”
“Wal-Mart traffic would put customers in harms way during floods–and should contribute funds to remedy the flooding problems,” he wrote “…The examiner cannot in good conscience eliminate conditions that would protect Wal-Mart customers.”
In his reconsideration opinion, Berteig no longer requires the retailer to wait until a city transportation study is complete before beginning street improvements. The new decision states: “the site plan and interchange improvements shall be coordinated with the ...Transportation Study for the Port of Woodland to the extent possible.”
Berteig wrote that Brachvogel had expressed concern that the transportation study requirement would “constitute imposing a moratorium.”
“A moratorium was not the examiner’s objective,” he wrote.
During the public hearing led by Berteig, industries and the Port of Woodland testified that a proposed traffic circle east of I-5 would lead to congestion and would make access to the industrial area difficult for large trucks. Karpinski said the residents’ organization was satisfied with most of the reconsideration.
“The hearings officer reinforced his prior ruling, but he watered down the condition surrounding the timing of when Wal-Mart can build.”
In addition to appealing to the Superior Court, Woodlanders Against the Wal appealed the hearings officer’s decision to the city council. The council declined to hear the appeal.
Brachvogel said the decision to decline the appeal was a formality because Warme had already ruled that the hearings should be heard in Superior Court.

Volunteers, mayor praise fire department’s work
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Volunteer firefighters, including former Woodland City Council member Bruce Summers, applauded the work of the city fire department and its chief during the June 4 City Council meeting.
Summers, a battalion chief with the department, responded to public criticism of the current fire department administration made by former volunteers during the May 21 City Council meeting.
The criticism came in statements during the citizen comment period. Council members did not comment on the public criticism and did not comment on statements made June 4.
“He (Chief Tony Brentin) is the chief,” Summers said June 4. “Saying that he is ineffective is an insult to us and to him.”
Summers said that when he and Brentin have disagreements, “if we sit down and talk, we can usually work it out.”
A 14-year volunteer, Summers said that the earlier criticisms gave an incorrect impression of fire department readiness and strength. He said the criticism came from four former volunteers.
“We are not in dire straits,” he said.
Mayor Doug Monge praised the efficiency of the fire department, saying that the response to a fatal traffic accident earlier this year was an example of the volunteers’ quick response and firefighting ability. Monge said he had arrived at the accident scene at about the same time that the firefighters began their work.
“They are dedicated to their work,” he said. “What they do is impressive.”
Matt Patching, an eight-year volunteer, said that the department’s improved technology and better equipment is largely “attributed to Brentin. He has my full support.”
Volunteer Michael Warren echoed Patching’s comments.
“I have the utmost confidence in the fire chief and the fire department,” he said. “He’s done so much since he has been chief. To say the fire department can’t serve as it used to is an injustice.”
Warren and Patching said that the volunteer firefighters are well trained.
“You should weigh all sides before making any decision about the fire department or the chief,” Summers said.

Rose helps raise money for CASA program
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Brian Tsugawa hopes his customers will think about roses for Father’s Day.
The owner of Tsugawa Nursery of Woodland also hopes that when people think about roses, they will think about a volunteer organization devoted to helping children in foster care.
Tsugawa Nursery is working with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) to raise money and awareness of the national organization that has branches in Clark and Cowlitz counties.
CASA volunteers will set up a booth at Tsugawa Nursery on Sat., June 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sun., June 17, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., to sell a special rose, the CASA rose, a grandiflora hybridized in California and purchased by the Southwest Washington CASA organizations.
The roses have been planted in 14-inch pots and are surrounded by a variety of annuals. Tsugawa Nursery donated the planters and the annuals, grew the roses, and designed the finished pots. The complete planters are priced at $30 and all proceeds go to the Clark and Cowlitz CASAs, Tsugawa said.
Father’s Day weekend June 16-17 will be the second of the season that the Woodland nursery has promoted the organization.
CASA sold about $200 worth of planters and raffle tickets during a rainy May weekend at Tsugawa Nursery, said Tina Trigg, Cowlitz County CASA volunteer coordinator. Raffle tickets are $1 each and the winner will receive a planter with the CASA rose.
The volunteer organization hopes to raise awareness of its mission as well as raise money, Trigg said.
“We want to encourage people to volunteer,” she said. “We primarily need people. We have 60 volunteers and our goal is 200.”
CASA volunteers are appointed by the court to advocate for the best interests of children who have been placed in foster care. In Cowlitz County, nearly 300 children are in foster care.
“Most cases are drug related,” Trigg said.
The situation in Clark County is equally dire, said Jo Waddell, CASA director.
“Last week 20 new children came into care in one week,” Waddell said. “In over 90 percent of the cases either one or both of the parents are drug users, and most use meth (methamphetamine).”
Weddell said the number of children placed in foster care is growing by about 11 percent a year.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of cases of physical abuse,” she said.
Training is required for people who want to volunteer for CASA, and there is no cost for classes. In Clark County, the next series of 10 three-hour classes will begin July 5. An orientation is set for Tues., June 26, 4:30 p.m., YWCA Clark County, 3609 Main St., Vancouver.
CASA Clark County has 162 volunteers but needs another 45, Waddell said. Volunteers are asked to get to know each child and learn his or her needs and wishes. Volunteers have access to all records that involve the child, including medical and school records. They report to the court on the child’s condition at regular intervals.
Tsugawa said he was first made aware of CASA when someone approached him and asked to put literature at the nursery.
“I said I think we need to get awareness out; we need to work on awareness,” he said. “It’s a great program.”
“They (Tsugawa Nursery) have done a fabulous job of donating,” Trigg said.
Waddell agreed.
“Tsugawa has gone above and beyond to support CASA,” she said. “For us to have this kind of recruitment opportunity is huge.”
For information about CASA in Clark County, call the YWCA, 696-0167. In Cowlitz County, call Trigg at 360-414-5212.