At the Oct. 13 Builders Association candidate forum, I was dismayed to hear both District 2 County Council candidates agree that Best Available Science (BAS) will be whatever four members of the County Council decide it is, suggesting it is merely a political choice.

Contrary to that suggestion, BAS is not a popularity contest. It is a reasonably objective synthesis of the most applicable scientific research about the impacts of our actions on our natural surroundings and the methods for diminishing those impacts. State law establishes the criteria that scientific information must meet to be considered BAS.

The County Council’s own actions over the past year show that as a body they do not believe that BAS is whatever four members of the council decide it is. The council has budgeted between $145,000 and $180,000 to pay experts to survey critical areas on the ground and to review the scientific literature on critical areas to identify BAS (rejecting the Department of Ecology’s offer to provide the county with its own thorough, court-approved BAS for free).

If BAS were merely up for vote, the council presumably would not have spent so much money on experts to tell them what the BAS actually is.

I encourage both candidates to learn more about the role that BAS plays in the Critical Areas Ordinance process.

Kyle Loring
San Juan Island