I know an individual just downriver from the site in question. He didn't build on the river, he built nearly 1/2 mile from the river, ten years ago. So far he has lost over 50 acres and the river is less then 1/4 mile away.

Nothing has been said about the county and state dumping thousands of yards of rock and rip-rap in the river to save the bridge and the highway. This has been going on almost non stop since the flood. They are the only ones who can afford this as mitigation.

I particularlly resent people living on the Skagit, with mowed lawns right down to the river bank, calling for someones scalp. When they have their 100 foot, native plant buffer firmly established, then they can talk.

I want to see some consistency. I share a class III stream with next door neighbors, who were told not to cut any trees within 100 feet or they wouldn't get a building permit. They waited one year after construction and cut and mowed right to the bank. Then they used a tractor to clean every log out of the bed. The county has come out and looked, has never done a thing.