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Post by pistonschick on Jan 24, 2010 10:29:28 GMT -8
From Washington State DNR:
Save Larch Camp!
Save Larch Mountain Correctional Facility!
SWWA is on the verge of losing a valued institution established in 1957 to restore the Yacolt Burn State Forest, and to help insure that catastrophic forest fires were not repeated. The Governors proposed budget will permanently close Larch Mountain Correctional facility in order to “save” the State $12 million dollars and balance the budget in 2009. If passed, the permanent closure of Larch Camp will generate long-term and potentially profound negative consequences for many residents and institutions in SWWA who are reliant upon the services provided by the inmate crews based at Larch Camp….....
- Public safety will be diminished by the lack of dedicated forest fighting capacity in an area historically prone to catastrophic forest fire, the area in and around the Yacolt Burn State Forest. Local road and school construction expenses will increase as a result of losing taxpayer subsidized labor provided by inmates engaged in silviculture activities on State owned forest lands. Over $50 million dollars worth of taxpayer funded infrastructure associated with the inmate crews at Larch Camp will be lost, permanently. This includes the buildings, water and sewer systems, shops, tools and equipment purchased by taxpayers to restore and maintain the Yacolt Burn State Forest.
- The human toll is equally vicious, recidivism rates will increase meaning more inmates will become repeat offenders due to the loss of meaningful work such as building bridges, trails and logjams in local watersheds. Inmates shipped to McNeil Island will be housed in a “human warehouse environment” where they will be locked away with nothing to do until they are released. Families will endure undue hardship trying to visit their loved ones at McNeil Island which will require a trip to Puget Sound and a ride to the island via ferry boat.
- Many cash strapped governmental agencies and small non-profit organizations will lose access to the only source of reliable, low cost labor available in SWWA. Larch inmate crews provide these organizations with a consistent source of inexpensive or free labor that is in high demand for salmon recovery activities, parks maintenance, construction and maintenance of ORV and hiking trails and other activities.
*Factual information cited below was provided by DNR staff - Cost per Inmate
Taxpayers currently pay $17,217 less per inmate at Larch Camp vs McNeil Island prison which equates to a $8,264,160 annual savings. This a direct savings to the general fund that does not include the value of the services provided in SWWA by Larch inmates. Measured over a 10 year period the direct savings to taxpayers is $82 Million dollars….
- Public Safety (Fire Suppression)
There are eight 10-person DNR certified forest fire fighting crews based at Larch Camp capable of mobilizing to a fire within one hour of notification. Larch Camp itself is valued at over $50 Million dollars including the equipment and tools used by the inmate crews to fight fires. In addition, Larch inmates operate a mobile kitchen capable of feeding 3,000 fire fighters per day in the field. v Since 1987, Larch inmate crews have logged 394,000 hours or 1,970 crew days fighting forest fires. In 2009 dollars the direct cost for this work is $5.9 Million dollars. In comparison, private contract crews would have cost taxpayers $23.6 Million dollars to fight the same fire! This represents a direct taxpayer savings of $17.7 Million dollars over the past 13 years…..
- State Trust Lands Silviculture Improvement
Each year, Larch inmate crews plant approximately 1,300 acres of new trees (20 million trees since 1957); thin 700 acres of forest and control 800 acres of competitive vegetation. Using inmate crews from Larch reduces silvicultural costs an average of $22.00 per acre compared to private contractor costs. These savings are realized when the timber is harvested and the profits are used to build roads and schools in local communities.
- Recidivism (Repeat Offenders)
A 2006 study of offenders cycling through WA DOC institutions showed that inmates who were programmed through Larch Camp were 10% less likely to be re-incarcerated when compared to inmates programmed at conventional prisons such as McNeil Island. Simply stated, this means inmates released from Larch Camp are better prepared to become productive members of society. Successfully rehabilitating an offender provides a considerable savings to taxpayers. As an example, 200 offenders per year are released from Larch Camp. Based on the results of the 2006 study, these same offenders released from McNeil Island would result in 20 repeat offenders (10%). It currently costs taxpayers $39,670 per year to keep an inmate confined at McNeil Island. This equates to $733,400 per year in increased cost to taxpayers (20 x $39,670).
- Community Service
Inmate crews based at Larch Correctional facility provide numerous services in SWWA, especially in Skamania, Clark and Cowlitz county’s. This work includes environmental restoration, trail building and grounds maintenance. As just one example, in the 2008/ 2009 fiscal period alone, the Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group (LCFEG) utilized inmate labor provided by Larch Camp to leverage over $2 Million dollars worth of salmon recovery activity in SWWA.
This small 501-c3 non-profit organization based in Vancouver utilized Larch inmate crew labor as local matching funds to leverage local, State and Federal government grants and private funding sources resulting in over $1.2 Million dollars of direct expenditures in local communities in SWWA. Ultimately, heavy equipment contractors, laborers, timber suppliers, trucking firms, environmental consultants and small businesses in Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Lewis, Clark and Skamania counties became the beneficiaries of these dollars.
RECOMMENDATION: Rather than close Larch Camp outright and lose the $50 million tax dollars invested in the facility’s infrastructure, we believe the Governor and State Legislature should adopt a compromise that would reduce the number of inmates at Larch from 480 to 240 for a period of 2-6 years. A variation of this compromise is articulated by Christopher Murray & Associates delivered to the Governor in November 2009 in its final report to the Office of Financial Management about which state facilities could be closed or consolidated.
This option will maintain all of the forestry and community services offered by the camp while at the same time reducing the administrative costs associated with housing inmates who do not participate in forestry or community based service activities.
Citizens who are concerned about the impending loss of Larch Mountain Correctional facility (and the low-cost services they provide to local and State communities) are encouraged to contact the Governors office and their local legislators immediately!
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Post by pistonschick on Jan 24, 2010 10:32:02 GMT -8
Washington State DNR: Why Larch Correctional Facility should not be closed down!!
5 Reasons Why Larch Mountain Correctional Facility Should Remain Open
Closing Larch Mountain Correctional facility does not save taxpayers money and will certainly generate long-term and potentially profound negative consequences for many residents and institutions in SWWA who are reliant upon the low-cost DNR trained and equipped inmate crews based at Larch Camp….
Public safety will be diminished by the lack of forest fighting capacity in an area historically prone to catastrophic forest fire. Local road and school construction costs to the taxpayer will increase as a result of losing taxpayer subsidized labor provided by inmates engaged in silviculture activities on State owned forest lands. Over $50 million dollars worth of taxpayer funded infrastructure associated with the inmates at Larch Camp will be lost, permanently. This includes the buildings, water and sewer systems, shops, tools and equipment purchased by taxpayers to restore and maintain the Yacolt Burn State Forest.
The human toll is equally vicious, recidivism rates will increase and more inmates will be become repeat offenders due to the loss of meaningful work such as building bridges, trails and logjams in local watersheds. Inmates shipped to McNeil Island will be housed in a “warehouse environment” where they will watch television all day, every day until they are released. Families will endure undue hardship trying to visit their loved ones at McNeil Island which will require a trip to Puget Sound and a ride to the island via ferry boat.
Many governmental and non-profit organizations will lose access to the only source of reliable, low cost labor available in SWWA. Larch inmate crews provide these organizations with a consistent source of labor that is in high demand for salmon recovery activities such as constructing logjams in streams; planting and maintaining native trees along stream banks; and even placing salmon carcasses in streams to increase productivity for aquatic organisms such as baby salmon. In addition, inmates from Larch camp build trails, perform grounds maintenance and even clean up the livestock enclosures at the Clark County fairground.
We believe that closing Larch Correctional facility is a mistake that will have far reaching and long lasting negative consequences for the inmates themselves as well as for the taxpayers who will be forced to pay fair market value or forego the many services currently provided by the inmate crews based at Larch Camp. We also recognize that State government is in crisis due to the reduction in revenue which has prompted the Governors proposed closure of Larch Camp. Consequently, we believe a compromise is in order.
RECOMMENDATION:
Rather than close Larch Camp outright, we believe the Governor and State Legislature should implement the recommendations made by Christopher Murray & Associates delivered in November 2009 in its final report to the Office of Financial Management about which state facilities could be closed or consolidated.
Their recommendation would reduce the number of inmates at Larch from 480 to 240 for a period of 2-6 years. This option will maintain all of the forestry and community services offered by the camp while at the same time reducing the administrative costs associated with programs not aligned with the philosophy of rehabilitating offenders by providing them with meaningful work prior to their release back into our communities. 5 Reasons Why Closing Larch Camp Will Cost Taxpayers More Money, especially Long-Term….
(All data supplied by DNR)
1. Cost per Inmate
The difference in cost per inmate required to house offenders at McNeil Island vs Larch Correctional facility is substantial, especially if you consider the value of the lost work performed by inmates at work camps around the State:
Cost Per Inmate:
Larch Camp McNeil Island
Day $75.21 $108.68 Month $2,288 $3,306 Year $22,453 $39,670
Annual Difference in Cost Per Inmate: $17,217 less at Larch Camp
There are 480 inmates at Larch scheduled for transfer to McNeil Island in Spring 2010. This will cost taxpayers an additional $8,264,160 (480 x $12,217 each) per year in direct general fund expenditures!
Over a 10 year period the direct cost to taxpayers will be approximately $82 MILLION dollars!
2. Public Safety (Fire)
Crews from Larch are trained and certified by DNR to fight fire and are mobilized around the State as needed to protect the publics’ interests. There are 8 certified forest fire fighting crews based at Larch capable of mobilizing to a fire within one hour of notification. In addition, Larch inmate crews support other fire fighters via a portable kitchen capable of feeding 3,000 people in the field.
The cost per 20 person inmate crew is substantially less than other fire crews….
2009 Fire Season Cost Per Fire Crew: - 20 person inmate fire crew $3,000 per day - 20 person IHC- type 1 crew (private) $9-15,000 per day - 20 person Canadian fire crew $8-10,000 per day - WA Army National Guard $20,000 per day Inmate crew 10 day fire x $3,000 $30,000 Private crew 10 day fire x $12,000 (avg) $120,000 Taxpayer savings per 10 day fire $90,000 The location of Larch Correctional facility itself is not a coincidence, it was specifically built to restore the Yacolt Burn State Forest and to fight forest fires in the surrounding rural community. Closing Larch would significantly increase the risk of forest fire impacting rural communities in Clark, Skamania and Cowlitz counties due to the lack of dedicated forest fighting capacity in rural areas. The risk of forest fire still remains as evidenced by the 50 acre Jackson Pass fire in 2009. Larch inmate crews were first on the scene and helped insure the fire did not get out of control despite strong winds.
Since 1987, Larch inmate crews have logged 394,000 hours fighting fires State-Wide.
20 person inmate crew x 10hrs each =200 hrs per day 394,000 hours divided by 200 = 1,970 inmate crew days 1,970 inmate crew days x $3,000 ea. = $5.9 million dollars 1,970 contractor crew days X $12,000 ea. = $23.6 million dollars (in 2009 dollars)
The direct savings to taxpayers provided by Larch inmate crews is $17.7 MILLION dollars since 1987.*Unable to quantify the public’s benefit in terms of homes/ lives/ timber saved as a result of inmate fire crews, assume millions of dollars at the least.
3. State Trust Lands Silviculture Improvement
In addition to fighting fires, crews from Larch Correctional Facility maintain the 239,000 acre Yacolt Burn State Forest. The profit from timber sales from State Trust Lands is used to help fund construction of new roads and schools. Inmates at Larch perform three primary silviculture activities which are necessary to increase the value of timber sold from State Trust Lands.
Pre- Commercial Thinning Weed Management Tree Planting
In a State-Wide comparison of inmate crews from work camps vs. private contractors engaged in silviculture activities on State lands, the following cost savings were identified:
Cost per acre average w/ contractors $64. Cost per acre average w/ inmate crews $49.81 Savings per acre $14.62 Total acres treated by inmate crews 05/07 30,574 Total Savings 05/07 $447,000
Each year, Larch inmate crews plant approximately 1,300 acres of new trees (20 million trees since 1957); thin 700 acres of forest and control 800 acres of competitive vegetation. Using inmate crews from Larch reduces silvicultural costs $22.00 per acre compared to private contractor costs. These savings are realized when the timber is harvested and the profits are used to build roads and schools in local communities.
4. Recidivism (Repeat Offenders)
A 2006 study of repeat offenders cycling through WA DOC showed that inmates who were programmed through Larch Camp were 10% less likely to re-offend. While 10% does not seem a great number the annual savings to taxpayers is significant:
200 offenders per year rotate thru Larch Camp 20 repeat offenders per year (10%) x $27,000 each = $540,000 annual savings to taxpayers 10 year savings to taxpayer is $5.40 Million dollars!
The work camp environment at Larch Camp helps build self-esteem and work ethic which is the primary reason inmates at work camps are less likely to re-enter the criminal justice system. “Warehousing” inmates in front of a television screen at McNeil Island will surely increase recidivism rates and cost the taxpayer more dollars, not to mention increasing the tension amongst families of the inmates who must travel long distances to visit their loved ones on an island in Puget
5. Community Service
Inmate crews based at Larch Correctional facility provide numerous services in Skamania, Clark and Cowlitz County’s. This work includes environmental restoration, trail building and grounds maintenance
Community Work Crews (CWC) supervised by Dept of Corrections staff are available free of charge to various governmental and non-profit agencies who otherwise could not afford to offer their services due to the high cost of labor and the unreliable nature of volunteers. CWC crews based at Larch provide labor at the Clark County fair, at local churches and in our watersheds assisting with salmon recovery and water quality projects. CWC crews provide approximately $300,000 per year in free labor to non-profit organizations who otherwise could not afford to offer their services to our community.
Inmate crews supervised by DNR receive extensive training in a variety of disciplines prior to being deployed to fight forest fires, plant trees, and otherwise maintain the Yacolt Burn State Forest. Their expertise is widely sought by governmental and non-governmental agencies who need trained labor on their projects. DNR inmate crews are available for hire at a discounted rate which makes them affordable labor for labor intensive projects that otherwise could not be funded. 70% of the cost for DNR to train, supervise and manage the crews is obtained from outside agencies.
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Post by pistonschick on Jan 24, 2010 10:52:33 GMT -8
Final report delivered on facilities recommendations Report to be transmitted to governor, Legislature FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE —Nov. 4, 2009
OLYMPIA – Consultant Christopher Murray & Associates delivered its final report to the Office of Financial Management about which state facilities could be closed or consolidated. The Legislature directed OFM in the state operating budget (House Bill 1244) to hire a contractor to provide recommendations for closing or consolidating institutions in the Department of Corrections, and in the Department of Social and Health Services’ Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and Division of Developmental Disabilities programs.
The legislation requires the report to recommend reducing 1,580 beds in DOC, 235 beds in JRA and 250 beds in DDD. These reductions were to consider capital costs, economic impacts on communities, impacts on facility staff, projected savings and availability of alternative services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Savings were assumed in the 2009–11 budget of $12 million for DOC and $12 million for JRA for closures. No savings were included in the budget for residential habilitation center beds in DDD.
With its delivery to the governor, the recommendations will be taken under advisement by OFM as it builds the governor’s 2010 supplemental budget, which will be released in December. The consultant’s final report recommendations are virtually the same as those delivered in the draft report, with the exception of a new option for the Department of Corrections. Summaries of the recommendations, by agency, are as follows:
Department of Corrections
Option 1: If capital funding is not available to construct new housing units at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, the consultant’s recommendation is to:
Downsize McNeil Island Corrections Center to a minimum-security facility (from 1,250 to 512 beds); Close the Ahtanum View Corrections Center in (120 beds) Yakima and relocate offenders to Monroe Correctional Complex; and Close one living unit at the Larch Corrections Center (240 beds) near Vancouver for six years. OR < Option 2: If option 1 is not selected and capital funding is available for new construction at the Washington State Penitentiary, the consultant’s recommendation is to:
Close the old Main Institution (the original prison behind the concrete walls, but not any of the additions, including North Close, the intensive management unit, the minimum-security unit and administration buildings) at the Penitentiary in Walla Walla (850 beds); Open a minimum-security living unit at the Penitentiary (240 beds); close the Ahtanum View Corrections Center (120 beds) and relocate offenders to Monroe Correctional Complex; and Close one living unit at the Larch Corrections Center (240 beds) near Vancouver for two years. OR
Option 3: This is the consultant’s preferred recommendation. Under this option, if $41 million in capital funds are available for new housing units at the Washington State Penitentiary, it is recommended that Option 1 be taken while facilities are constructed in Walla Walla. Once the new housing units are built at the Penitentiary (projected completion by 2015), McNeil Island is reopened as a medium-security facility and the Main Institution at the Penitentiary is closed. The consultant estimates that this option would save the state $180 million in operating costs and $80 million in capital expenditures over the next 10 years.
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Post by racincowboy on Jan 24, 2010 15:45:18 GMT -8
Letter sent to Gov. on this subject.
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Post by Jon on Jan 25, 2010 9:29:46 GMT -8
From today's Seattle PI www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_closing_larch_prison.html?source=mypiClosing Larch prison will reduce firefighters By LESLIE SLAPE THE DAILY NEWS LONGVIEW, Wash. -- Gov. Chris Gregoire plans to close three minimum-security prisons - including Larch Mountain Correctional Facility in Yacolt near Vancouver - and make other changes as part of a statewide plan to save money. But critics say the plan could actually end up costing more money. According to a consultant's study in October, reducing the number of prisons will save taxpayers $65 million over the next four years. But the state Department of Natural Resources, which trains and uses Larch inmates to fight fires, plant trees and maintain forests, may have to contract out these services when Larch closes in June, said Rex Hapala of the DNR's Pacific Cascade Region. Legislators from the 18th District sent Gregoire two letters objecting to the proposed closure, calling it "penny wise and pound foolish." "I believe state government needs to consolidate in order save money," said Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, in a news release. "But that consolidation has to create actual savings, not just perceived savings. Or, as is possible with the Larch closing, an actual increase in overall costs." Larch, located on the Yacolt Burn State Forest, opened in 1956. It holds 400 male inmates with four years or less left on their sentences. To help inmates make the transition to life on the outside, Larch allows them to earn money working on-site in the kitchen, shop or grounds, as well as doing outside work for the DNR, community work crews and nonprofit agencies, Sgt. David Lynch told The Daily News during a tour of the prison last year. "They do work really hard," Nancy Simmons, community partnerships coordinator, told The Daily News. "They're out planting trees in the snow, working hard in all kinds of weather. They leave at 7 and they're back at 4:30." The DNR trains them to be Level 2 firefighters, Hapala said. Larch firefighting crews (each crew is 10 inmates and a supervisor) responded to 21 fires in Cowlitz, Clark and Skamania counties in 2009, according to DNR records. Several Larch crews fought a 59-acre fire on Cottonwood Island on June 19. In recent years Larch crews have fought fires on Mount Solo, Carrolls Bluff, along West Side Highway near Castle Rock and on Weyerhaeuser timberlands. They also plant and thin trees, clear brush on state forest lands, maintain and decommission forest roads, do upkeep on recreational sites and hiking trails, armor culverts, replace bridge decks and collect litter. In 1994, inmate crews erected a forest fire danger warning sign at Seaquest State Park. "They've also done work up the Toutle River with the Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement group, doing bank stabilizing," Hapala said. "They've worked with the Diking District putting up some gates. ... It's within their working circle, within their commute." After budget reductions in 2008, Larch went from eight 10-person offender crews year-round to five year-round crews and three seasonal crews, Hapala said. Under Gregoire's proposal, the medium-security McNeil Island prison near Tacoma would be converted to minimum security and become the new home for many of the Larch inmates, said Chad Lewis of the Department of Corrections. Most of the current McNeil inmates will be transferred to the newly expanded Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Franklin County, Lewis said. "It costs much less to operate because of the design," Lewis said. Coyote Ridge has room for 2,700 inmates and will become the state's largest prison when it's full, he said. The plan will reduce the state's prison costs because "it costs less to operate larger medium-security prisons than it does more minimum-security prisons," he said. When Larch closes, the nearest prisons to Cowlitz County will be Stafford Creek, a medium-security prison in Aberdeen, and Cedar Creek, a minimum-security prison just north of the Lewis-Thurston county line. Eleanor Vernell, the superintendent at Larch, will become the superintendent at Cedar Creek after Larch closes this summer, the DOC announced Thursday. Cedar Creek is too far a commute to be useful to the DNR in Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties, Hapala said, "so we will have to contract out." A DNR report released Dec. 15 shows that the cost for an inmate fire crew in 2009 was $3,000 a day, while a privately contracted crew would cost $9,000 to $15,000 a day, said DNR communications director Aaron Toso. The DNR is "still analyzing the budget and what the potential impacts could be," Toso said. "For us, it's really important that we maintain the capacity that we have. Whether it will be maintained at Larch or by using crews out of other camps is yet to be known. We're still taking a look at the numbers. We really have to wait for the legislature to do their job, too."
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Post by xtrmtj on Jan 27, 2010 17:39:51 GMT -8
TY, PistonChick ! PLEASE, if you think Larch Corrections Center should not be closed, PLEASE, write, call, e-mail your Reps, the Gov. anyone you can think of that will see how very wrong this is. This closure will effect ALL users of the Yacolt Burn ! Look at the numbers, LCC is a in the black, giving back to the state ! PLEASE, don't let this fall by the wayside and go away. YOU can help, YOU can make a difference !
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tonka
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Post by tonka on Jan 27, 2010 18:19:23 GMT -8
Letter sent
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Post by pistonschick on Jan 27, 2010 23:47:41 GMT -8
Went to Jones Creek Trail Riders meeting tonight - they have a petition with 4 or 5 pages of signatures that they are sending to Ms. Gregoire tomorrow..
Crystal
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Post by hootie on Jan 28, 2010 15:46:07 GMT -8
Letter written by me as well. Write Governor Gregoire a letter: Governor Chris Gregoire Office of the Governor PO Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504-0002 E Mail the Governor www.governor.wa.gov/contact/Give Governor Gregoire's Office a call: Governor's Office 360-902-4111 For relay operators for the deaf or hard of hearing, please dial 7-1-1
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Post by Jon on Jan 28, 2010 20:16:09 GMT -8
More and more people are coming out and speaking loudly about keeping Larch open. This is a good thing! From yesterdays Columbian www.columbian.com/news/2010/jan/27/keeping-larch-open-is-well-worth-it/Keeping Larch open is well worth it By Tom Koenninger Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Tom Koenninger Larch Corrections Center must be saved from the budget ax. Its community service, fire-safety aid and other benefits outweigh the savings — and penalties — of closure. Larch is a minimum security prison in east Clark County that is on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s list for closure to offset the state’s $2.6 billion deficit. Larch works in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources. Gov. Gregoire should not be the scapegoat. She is directed by the state constitution to balance the budget, and is acting in good conscience. But Larch will be shut down, perhaps by summer, unless she and her administration can be convinced its operation is critical. It’s not hard to prove. That’s why Clark County’s legislators are fighting to keep Larch open. This 480-bed facility with a staff of 114 is not a place where offenders sit out their sentences behind bars. They are active in serving the community, and rehabilitating themselves toward a useful life. Larch is the Phoenix that rose in 1956 from the historic ashes of the disastrous 1902 Yacolt Burn that traveled 30 miles in 36 hours and destroyed 238,920 acres of timber. The Dole Valley fire in 1929 consumed another 153,000 acres. The need for trained, certified fire control crews here is obvious. No one wants another Yacolt Burn. This past fire season, Larch crews put out 21 fires. State officials believe $12.5 million could be saved in the current budget cycle by closing Larch, but that figure is offset in reduced firefighting costs, and other inmate services. The 2009 cost of a 20-member inmate fire crew — $3,000 per day — is much less than other crews. A private crew costs between $9,000 and $15,000 per day. The figures were verified by Rex Hapala, Castle Rock, DNR assistant manager for the Pacific Cascade region. Larch fire crews can be mobilized in one hour to fight a fire in the region. Larch also supports other firefighters with a portable kitchen that can feed 3,000 in the field. A taxpayer savings of $90,000 is achieved by a Larch crew fighting a 10-day fire, compared with a private crew. Cost savings Department of Corrections and DNR employees assembled cost figures in a paper opposing closure. Examples: It costs $12,217 less per year to house a prisoner at Larch than at McNeil Island ($29,670). Since 1987, Larch crews have saved taxpayers $17.7 million while compiling 394,000 hours fighting fires. That’s the amount above the cost of a private contractor. Larch crews maintain the 239,000-acre Yacolt Burn State Forest, returning profits from timber sales to fund road-building and school construction. Larch crews also help in tree planting and thinning; assist at the Clark County Fairgrounds; repair Beacon Rock trail and others; assist the Clark County Food Bank and perform stream/salmon work. Supporting comments: Earl Ford, former president, Clark County NAACP, and legal redress co-chair: “There is probably no other facility like (Larch) in Southwest Washington; it’s brought millions in savings to these communities, and it is a place of diversity.” Bob Brink, Pomeroy Farm, president, Washington Farm Forestry Association (owner, 500 acres of timberland): “Larch inmates provide a tremendous benefit to the state. They develop work skills that make them more employable.” Yacolt Mayor Joe Warren: “Yacolt used inmates more this year than in the past. They helped in a town hall project; brush-clearing and litter cleanup and with special community events. I believe it would be more expensive to close Larch than to keep it open.” Tony Meyer, executive director, Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group: “Inmates drilled bolt holes into bedrock of Washougal River to anchor logs for fish protection, and worked on other regional rivers. They have saved us millions of dollars over the years, and aided elk habitat.” Clark College has offered automotive training, adult basic education and high school degree instruction at Larch for years, and it’s paying off. This year, two inmates won full-ride scholarships to Clark. Savings and benefits from Larch radiate over a large area. Closure is the wrong decision. Tom Koenninger is editor emeritus of The Columbian. His column of personal opinion appears on Wednesdays. Reach him at koenninger@comcast.net.
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Post by fivendime on Jan 28, 2010 20:56:19 GMT -8
Thanks Jon for posting this. I know too often we just get an automated response to our emails and calls. I am glad to actually read what these guys are thinking and saying. I'm also very glad people are speaking out more about this.
Tracy, I spoke at the CMA meeting (Christain Motorcycle Association) the following Saturday of our Pistons Wild meeting. Quite a few guys didn't know what was going on and how much affect it had on the local area. I hope we have all had a little chat with the people we know because knowledge is power....and its the power to persuade here that we need.
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Post by xtrmtj on Jan 28, 2010 21:22:30 GMT -8
TY All ! This is important ! PLEASE spread the word, Keep LCC Open ! It is well worth fighting for ! If enough of us speak out and up, maybe some one will listen.
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beatcj
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Flat out LAZY...
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Post by beatcj on Feb 3, 2010 8:25:45 GMT -8
I e-mailed back and forth with Representative Orcutt yesterday. The gist is that our local electeds are not getting anything positive from the Governor's office. It's probably time to ramp it up. I have called her office, and will send a letter to her fax today. It's probably time!
Voice Phone: 360-902-4111
Fax: 360-753-4110
If you hope to have your voice or message heard, it is important to stay calm, stay on message, and avoid threats. Anything that takes you off of task gets you relegated to the Kook category.
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Post by fivendime on Feb 3, 2010 8:36:00 GMT -8
Heard some good news yesterday. Our Governor is re-thinking closing Larch Mountain. This made 750 am news mid day yesterday on Lars Larson's talk show. At least that's a positive step forward. Keep pushing guys, they will hear us they should since they work for US.
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Post by bchutchens on Feb 3, 2010 14:38:52 GMT -8
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