Franklin farmers upset by wildflower protection
Published 11:39 am Wednesday, May 15, 2013
PASCO — Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to hire a lawyer to look into suing the Fish and Wildlife Service over plans to designate critical habitat for an endangered wildflower, the White Bluffs bladderpod.
More than 100 people packed the meeting to protest possible government restrictions on how they use their farm land.
The Tri-City Herald reported the service plans to designate 2,900 acres in Franklin County as critical habitat for the yellow-flowering member of the cabbage family. Most of the land is on the Hanford Reach National Monument, but about 400 acres are private land.
The county wants the agency to reopen a comment period on the endangered species designation.
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Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com
