Rainbow Park clearcutting reprised

Just a couple more details to add to the well written article (Dec. 8, Weekly News) regarding the Swinomish Planning Commission’s Decision ordering that Shelter Bay be fined over the 2020 clearcutting at the community’s Rainbow Park below 95 Samish Place.

In July 2020 Mr. Swigert applied to the Shelter Bay Greenbelt Committee for a permit for “view restoration” on his property and a separate permit for “Greenbelt maintenance” of common land adjacent. In a letter dated Aug. 18, 2020, the Greenbelt Committee denied Mr. Swigert’s application for the work on his property, concluding that he was seeking a “view creation” rather than “view restoration”.

However, in a second letter, also sent August 18, the Greenbelt Committee approved Mr. Swigert’s request to perform maintenance on the greenbelt adjacent to his property, setting forth many guidelines, including the statement: “No clear cutting of any greenbelt or removing trees without approval.”

In late August/early September, while planning Firewise work in Rainbow Park, the Greenbelt Committee was contacted by Ric Henderson, a Shelter Bay project manager who was planning to make repairs and remove dead trees in Rainbow Park. The chair of the Greenbelt Committee agreed to allow Mr. Henderson to manage the tree work, but directed it be done by a licensed and bonded tree service contractor, not to cut any living trees and to give notification prior because a Greenbelt Committee member needed to be present.

On or about Sept. 4-7, 2020, after his Tribal business license had expired on Sept 3, 2020, Mr. Swigert removed substantially all of the trees, including the stumps, in Rainbow Park and on the greenbelt adjacent to his property.

After an investigation, at the Oct 21, 2020 Shelter Bay Board Meeting, where he claimed he only did what Shelter Bay project manager Ric Henderson directed him to do, Mr. Swigert also admitted that removing tree foliage in Rainbow Park translated to an increased economic value of his view home. Mr. Henderson and Mr. Swigert were subsequently indemnified from any penalties resulting from the incident by the Shelter Bay board at the board meeting on Jan 20, 2021.

While I believe in honest mistakes, it is hard to believe that after being denied permission for work on his lot and given only limited permission to work on the adjacent greenbelt in August, Swigert’s unsupervised actions working for Ric Henderson in clearcutting were anything less than a deliberate attempt to circumvent the Greenbelt Committee’s decisions, and under this guise went far beyond the work allowed by the Aug. 18, 2020 permit from the Shelter Bay Greenbelt Committee.

The board’s decision to protect Mr. Swigert and Mr. Henderson from penalties mean that all residents of Shelter Bay will now pay for the improvement to Mr. Swigert’s view.

I hope the members of the Swinomish Tribe understand that the actions of a few do not reflect the feelings of the many other residents, who value responsibility to the land and respect for history and heritage over a view creation for one and are appalled by Mr. Swigert’s actions.

Dave Michaels is a long time Washington state resident recently transplanted to Shelter Bay in 2021.