How were the existing regulations outdated?
To understand how the regulations had become outdated, it helps to understand how they were originally developed. The 1990 Washington State Growth Management Act requires Thurston County and other fast-growing counties to protect “critical areas” such as wetlands, frequently flooded areas, and sensitive habitat. Thurston County’s Critical Areas Ordinance makes those requirements a reality at the local level – it contains rules that regulate how development and redevelopment can safely occur on lands that contain critical areas. What defines a critical habitat area? Generally, it’s any habitat area needed by threatened or endangered plant and animal species, or a species that is a candidate for those definitions. Sometimes it is the habitat itself that is in crisis. Plant and animal species as well as rare habitat are identified by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and other state and federal agencies. Much of
