Washington State Department of Ecology
08/05/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/05/2024 14:19
Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer takes seat on Chehalis Basin Board
Department of Ecology News Release - August 5, 2024
Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer takes seat on Chehalis Basin Board
Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer
OLYMPIA -
For 20 years, Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer worked as a fish biologist protecting salmon and fish habitat in the Chehalis River basin. Now he's bringing his expertise to the Chehalis Basin Board.
Brummer' four-year term on the board started July 1. He replaces former Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund who served on the board since its inception in July 2017.
"I'm a 'balance guy,'" he said. "We have a responsibility to protect people, their homes and infrastructure from damages caused by catastrophic floods while also protecting fish and our fisheries. We need solutions that balance both these needs."
Brummer said he wants to continue "the excellent job Edna did on the board, balancing work surrounding the proposed flow-through dam on the Chehalis River to the LAND alternatives."
Brummer started his professional career working for the Thurston Conservation District before moving to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife where he focused on solving problems related to flooding, streambank erosion and sustainable timber harvest.
"I love the outdoors. I love to hunt and fish," he said. "I've been fortunate enough to have a career that kept me in the outdoors," he said. Elected to the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners in 2022, Brummer and his family also own a farm and feed business in Winlock.
The Washington Legislature created the Chehalis Basin Board in 2016 under the same law that established the Office of Chehalis Basin within the Department of Ecology which supports the board.
The board provides long-term oversight of the Chehalis basin strategy that aims to reduce flood related damage and restore aquatic species in the Chehalis River basin, including aggressively pursuing near- and long-term actions and small- and large-scale projects to achieve this objective. The board also develops budget recommendations to the Governor's office to implement the strategy.
The seven-member board typically meets monthly. Members represent the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, and Quinault Indian Nation, as well as agricultural, environmental, and economic interests in the basin. There are also five non-voting board members representing the state departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources and Transportation and the Washington State Conservation Commission.