WSU Extension apprehension

Are property owners being asked to participate in their own demise?

Clallam County beachfront homeowners just got a $2 bill in the mail—with a warning. A new state-backed survey asks residents to imagine demolishing or relocating their homes, while collecting highly personal data tied to specific addresses. Behind the scenes, county agencies and WSU are quietly laying the groundwork for policies that could force families to "retreat" from their properties in the name of shoreline management. What looks like a survey may be another step in taking your land.

Residents living on beachfront property north of Sequim recently received an unexpected gift in the mail from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife—a crisp two-dollar bill. But the real surprise came with what the cash was meant to incentivize: a 47-question survey on shoreline management.

At first glance, this might seem like a harmless data-gathering effort. But a closer look reveals something far more concerning. Some of the questions have little to do with shoreline erosion or environmental protection, and everything to do with your private property, income, and personal background. Homeowners were asked to disclose the square footage of their homes, details of their septic systems, the distance from the shoreline, insurance coverage, rental income, mortgage status, even race, ethnicity, and education level.

To make matters worse, each survey came with a unique PIN that preloaded the property owner’s address—effectively tying each response to a specific home, despite assurances that no personally identifiable information would be used.

And this is no isolated data collection effort. Washington State University, which partnered with WDFW on the survey, has deep ties in Clallam County. The WSU Extension office runs programs like Master Gardeners and 4H, but also collaborates closely with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe on projects like drought preparedness and salmon habitat restoration. While these programs may sound benign, they show just how embedded WSU has become in regional planning and environmental policy.

Last December, the Jamestown Tribe sponsored a presentation on drought conditions. It was hosted by WSU Extension and primarily focused on tribal treaty rights and the Jamestown Tribe’s salmon restoration efforts.

Just last month, at a Charter Review Commission “Town Hall” in Sequim, Ann Soule, a member of the League of Women Voters, advocated for the creation of a county-wide Water Steward—an official who could be housed within the WSU Extension office. Soule is also the Vice Chair of the Marine Resources Committee, which recently advised county commissioners that residents on 3 Crabs Road should remove their homes and retreat.

For homeowners on 3 Crabs Road, this wasn’t just a policy recommendation—it was a direct threat. A county-backed agency had proposed that they not renovate, not reinforce, but retreat or demolish their homes entirely.

Clallam County WSU Extension also collaborates with the North Olympic Development Council (NODC), led by its President, Clallam County Commissioner Mark Ozias. During a 2021 workshop, the NODC was identified as an agency capable of assisting with the confiscation of private property from homeowners in coastal areas. The workshop said evicting landowners would be done for ecosystem resilience.

Clallam County WSU Extension regularly partners with the NODC to promote events, such as this one (advertised in a WSU Extension email), discussing property being converted to land trust.

The implications are chilling. If you’re a property owner, you may soon be asked to imagine financing your own displacement. In fact, this survey already did that. Respondents were presented with hypothetical shoreline management “scenarios” including options like demolishing their homes, moving them inland, or accepting loans or grants to help fund the process.

Let that sink in: you’re being asked to play a role in your own retreat from your property.

This isn’t about erosion—it’s about control.

If this reminds you of something, in a CC Watchdog interview last year, Clallam County resident Victor Laszlo described fleeing Eastern Europe as a teen in the 1980s. His family left everything behind to escape a regime that confiscated private property in the name of public good. He told readers there was a word for that type of government.

“Communism.”

And the signs of ideological bias may not be limited to policy. Washington State University was recently in the national spotlight when a WSU instructor and PhD student was arrested for allegedly assaulting a fellow student with differing political views. A staff photo of the instructor later surfaced. Notice anything?

Patrick Mahoney, instructor and PhD student at WSU’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs.

That’s a hammer and sickle pin on his lapel—the symbol of the Communist Party.

Coincidence? Maybe. But for Clallam County residents who are being asked to give up their homes in the name of shoreline management, it's a little too on the nose.

The survey may be voluntary—for now. But the policies it’s informing are already being written. And if property owners don’t speak up, they may find their rights swept out to sea.

From the WSU Extension Clallam County website.

All WSU Extension Clallam County emails end with this: "Washington State University acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native peoples, who have lived in this region from time immemorial. We recognize their continuing connection to the land, to the water, and to their ancestors."