Big win for the environment in Thurston County
The Growth Management Hearings Board has issued its decision in the appeals of Thurston County’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan update—and it includes two major environmental victories.
South Sound Bird Alliance prevailed in its challenge to the Black Lake Quarry rezone. The Board found the County’s decision to rezone the quarry property for Rural Resource Industrial use clearly erroneous and invalidated the rezone.
That is significant. County Commissioners voted 4-1 on December 16, 2025, to approve a controversial rezone of 270 acres next to fragile salmon rearing grounds at the Black River National Wildlife Refuge. Commissioner Emily Clouse was the only one to vote for protection of the National Wildlife Refuge. Her vote has now been vindicated.
There is also important news on climate.
Futurewise prevailed on its major climate claims. The Board found that neither of Thurston County’s two newly adopted climate subelements complies with the Growth Management Act—the greenhouse-gas emissions reduction subelement or the climate resiliency subelement.
Futurewise lost a separate claim concerning permit-exempt wells and the 5,000-gallon-per-day limit, but on procedural grounds: the Board found the challenge untimely. It did not decide that the County’s existing regulations substantively comply with the statutory limit.
The bottom line:
Black Lake Quarry industrial rezone: INVALIDATED.
Greenhouse-gas reduction planning: NONCOMPLIANT.
Climate resiliency planning: NONCOMPLIANT.
The decision is an important reminder that the Growth Management Act has teeth. Local governments have considerable discretion in planning for growth, but that discretion has legal limits—and citizens and organizations willing to participate, scrutinize decisions, and enforce those limits can make a difference.
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