23.03.140 Preservation of public property.
(1) The possession, destruction, injury, defacement, removal, or disturbance of any building, sign, equipment, monument, statue, marker, structure, or of any animal or plant matter and the direct or indirect products thereof, including but not limited to: petrified wood, flower, cane or other fruit (except rose hips, fish, or shellfish taken during a legal season with license, or edible mushrooms), egg, nest, or nesting site, marine life other than fish, clams or crabs, or of any soil, rock or mineral formation, artifact, relic, historic or prehistoric feature, or of any other public property of any kind without prior permission of the Director is prohibited.
(2) The destroying, digging, removing, or possession of any tree, shrub, or plant taken from park land is prohibited.
(3) Planting any vegetation in park lands without the prior approval of the Department is prohibited and subject to immediate removal by the Department.
(4) Dead timber which has been cut and stockpiled for public use within the park may be burned in proper fire pits. Removal of same from park for the purpose of sale or personal use off site is prohibited.
(a) Cutting firewood and removal of beach logs from any park land or beach is prohibited, except by nonprofit groups who have an approved Memorandum of Agreement for Clean-up and Wood Salvage.
(5) Entering, climbing upon, or tampering with County-owned motor vehicles and motorized or power equipment except by authorized County employees is prohibited.
(6) For the Salt Creek Recreation Area the following rules shall apply:
(a) It is unlawful for any person or persons to remove driftwood, shells, rocks, or any form of marine life; except with a permit, as provided in subsection (6)(b) of this section. Marine life is designated as sea stars, anemones, etc. This chapter does not apply to fish caught by sport fishing during season with legal limits.
(b) Removal of marine life as defined in subsection (6)(a) of this section shall be permitted for legitimate and serious scientific studies and purposes, providing that the following requirements are met:
(i) An application for a special occasion permit to remove marine life must be filed with the Department not less than 15 days before the proposed removal of marine life. Reference the Clallam County Code Parks Fee Schedule for appropriate fees to be paid upon delivery of the permit application to the Department.
(ii) The applicant demonstrates that they are undertaking a serious and legitimate scientific project. Documentation should at least show:
(A) The project is intended for a paper, report, or other document which will be available to the community and the public. The Department will receive a copy of the paper, report, or other document which resulted from the study.
(B) The project is intended for research, not teaching.
(C) The project is intended to provide information to help improve flora or fauna in the area.
(iii) The applicant shows that it is necessary to remove marine life to further the project.
(iv) The applicant shows the full extent of marine life anticipated to be removed.
(v) The Department shall consider the application. If they determine the application is for a serious and legitimate scientific project and/or study, they shall issue the permit.
(7) Clallam County reserves title to all historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources in all lands, rivers, lakes, and other areas owned and managed by Clallam County. The Department shall supervise all historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources on lands, shorelines, and other areas it currently has a management agreement with for lands owned by other entities. An example is the Marine Protected Area at Salt Creek Recreation Area. Historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources include all deposits, structures, or objects providing information pertaining to the historical or prehistorical culture of people within the boundaries of Clallam County; and fossils and other remains of animals, plants, insects, and other objects or natural history within such boundaries. Historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources include, in addition to the specific site or deposit, right-of-way access on County-owned land from a maintained public road for the exploration, protection, preservation, interpretation, and enhancement of the site or deposit proper.
(a) No person shall knowingly and willfully excavate upon; or remove, destroy, injure, or deface historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources including all deposits, structures, or objects that provide information pertaining to the historical or prehistorical culture of people, as well as fossils and other remains of animals, plants, insects, and other objects of natural history within the boundaries of Clallam County; except under a permit as provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section.
(b) Removal of historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources as defined in subsection (7)(a) of this section is permitted for legitimate and serious scientific studies and purposes providing that the following requirements are met:
(i) A permit application to remove historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources is filed with the Department not less than 15 days before the proposed removal of the resource. Reference the Clallam County Code Parks Fee Schedule for appropriate fees to be paid upon delivery of the permit application to the Parks Department.
(ii) The applicant demonstrates that they are undertaking a serious and legitimate scientific project. Documentation should at least show:
(A) The project is intended to result in a paper, report, or other document which will make the results available to the community and the public. The Department will receive a copy of the paper, report, or other document which resulted from the study.
(B) The project is intended for a research purpose rather than a teaching purpose.
(iii) The applicant shows that it is necessary to remove the historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources to further and fulfill the purposes of the project.
(iv) The applicant shows the full extent to which it is anticipated historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources will be removed from the designated area.
The Department shall consider the application. If the Department determines that the application is for a serious and legitimate scientific project and/or study that requires the removal of historical, prehistorical, and archaeological resources as defined above, they may issue the permit.
(8) Violation of this section is a misdemeanor.