Supreme Court Panel Decides Final Win for Lynx

The Washington State Supreme Court on March 31st decided that after three strikes, Stevens County is out. A panel of the Supreme Court denied Stevens County’s motion to have the court overrule a Court of Appeals decision that said Stevens County must protect the habitat of the threatened lynx and similar wildlife habitats. Robert Beattey,Futurewise’s Legal Director, explained that “Stevens County had previously lost before the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, a state agency that reviews claims that counties and cities are not complying with the Growth Management Act, Stevens County Superior Court, and the Washington State Court of Appeals, Washington’s second highest court.” 

Click here to read the press release.

“Protecting the lynx and other endangered, threatened, and sensitive species is one reason why Washington has a Growth Management Act” said Kitty Klitzke, Eastern Washington Coordinator for Futurewise. “Our members in Stevens County and throughout the state were concerned that the county’s failure to protect this important habitat may lead to the loss of some of the natural beauty that make us glad to call Washington home,” she said.