As the county struggles to find a balance between protecting the environment and farmers’ rights to maintain their land, neither camp appears happy with the latest regulatory update.

The Island County commissioners are positioned to approve the state-mandated Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas update at their regular meeting Monday but may continue the public hearing based in response to input.

Farmers say the controversial document won’t provide exemptions for farmers who want to be able to maintain irrigation ditches that are also categorized as regulated streams. Environmentalists say that the county has not done enough to protect the county’s resources.

“They had the opportunity to do it right and they didn’t,” said Marianne Edain of the Whidbey Environmental Action Network. “Then the farmers came yayhooing out of the wood work and they made it more wrong.”

Regulated streams, under the ordinance, would be subject to more strict governmental oversight due to proximity of crucial wetlands or fish habitat.

Farmers mainly from the Maxwelton Creek area in South Whidbey told commissioners during the public hearing that the additional inspections and permitting would be expensive for farmers.

Maxwelton Valley farmer Ray Gabelein said that the latest update will still be financially punitive to agricultural businesses that run on a tight budget.

“I think they are going overboard,” Gabelein said. “They will be causing harm to our remaining agriculture and I think that’s a mistake.”

In an attempt to put farmers’ fears to rest, the commissioners directed staff to carefully define a “regulated stream” and outline the compliance process.

Gabelein said he doesn’t believe this new definition will help farmers who have drainage ditches that still fall under the “regulated” category.

Commissioners did provide for a multi-year permit that would be valid for farmers up to five years. They also exempted the need for a mitigation plan if a biological assessment is not necessary.

Planning Directer David Wechner said Friday that both farmers and environmentalists have been at the table over the long process that has included 28 public meetings. Due to the competing priorities, not everyone is going to be happy, he said.

“That’s part of the collaborative process,” Wechner said. “Not everyone gets what they want.”

After Wednesday’s work session when the clarifications were discussed, Whidbey Island Conservation District Director Karen Bishop said she is cautiously optimistic that the county would find a set of regulations that farmers can live with but still conserves critical areas and habitats.

Bishop said she was waiting to see what the farmers had to say in Monday’s public hearing.

“The Conservation District wants to ensure that the new Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas update allows for continued maintenance of agricultural drainage without burdening farmers with new, expensive and time-consuming regulation,” Bishop said.

Bishop said that some of the island’s best farmland is in these low-lying, stream-rich areas and that the Growth Management Act, which requires the fish and wildlife regulations, also prioritizes protection of farmland.

“I think this ordinance is getting closer to supporting both,” Bishop said. “Farmers are some of our best environmental land stewards and we don’t want to lose them and their farmland in this process.”

The latest draft also provides an exemption for farmers who need to disturb streams when managing the dams and flooding caused by the island’s beaver population.

Environmentalists with WEAN said they have seen the latest revision to the fish and wildlife regulations on regulated streams and are “pretty unimpressed.”

“It’s not at all clear to me that Maxwelton streams are protected,” said Steve Erickson of WEAN. “It’s very ambiguous now. The reality is the county has a duty here to all the people, not just this small group of farmers.”

Commissioner Helen Price Johnson said she would like to see a ditch maintenance manual created for farmers to make it easy for them to remain compliant.

Commissioner Jill Johnson said she believes the new regulations allow farmers to easily and affordably maintain their drainage systems while also meeting the state -required protection standards.

“I feel positive about where we landed on this,” Johnson said Friday.