It is time to set the record straight concerning Pilchuck Audubon Society’s position on the so-called “Right to Plow” initiative. This initiative will be on the Nov. 6 ballot. In no way do we support the initiative. In fact, this initiative is fatally flawed. The use of my name as SmartGrowth Director was without my knowledge or permission.
During this past summer as Pilchuck volunteered at local fairs, we saw people collecting signatures for the initiative telling people that farmers needed a permit to plow their fields. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A farmer does not need a permit to plow in Snohomish County. The signature gatherers were either misinformed or they were misrepresenting the truth.
The proposed initiative would exempt all “agricultural activities” from the county’s grading and drainage codes. This may sound risk-free, until one reads the definition of “agricultural activities,” which the sponsors of the initiative did not bother to include in the text of the initiative. A host of development activities would be exempted if they happen to occur on a farm. Initiative 01-02 would allow, among many other activites, building roads, digging ditches and installing drainage systems that would drain entire areas.
The initiative authors never had permission to use Pilchuck Audubon Society in this effort. They never called to ask permission because had they done that, these people knew the answer would have been a definite no.
As far as the letter Pilchuck wrote to county government in the spring of 2000, its use by the initiative proponents is totally out of context. The letter was written to urge the county to clearly define the difference between tilling for crops and grading for development. The county has continued to work for solutions that support farming but the kind of irresponsible policy proposed by the initiative will surely lead to expensive court battles, reverse protections for the environment and cause a rift between the responsible farmers who are truly stewards of the land and those who seek to develop without permits.
Pilchuck Audubon Society has always supported local farmers. We notify members of our organization of the value of buying locally grown food through the Puget Sound Fresh program. We want to protect farming in our county far into the future. And we will loudly state and restate that the “Right to Plow” initiative will do untold damage. Those who do support this initiative have either not done their research concerning the issue or totally have taken leave of any common sense.
SmartGrowth Pilchuck Audubon Society
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