It's been said that the Dungeness River can make a fool out of anyone. The river finds its way around bridges and levees, leaves irrigation outtakes high and dry, and eats away the banks under houses that were thought to be safe.

In order to address flood hazards, the Dungeness Flood Planning Committee - county, tribal and state agency

staff and property owners along the Dungeness River - has updated the Dungeness River Comprehensive Flood Hazard Management Plan.

The public is invited to a presentation of the updated plan on Thursday, April 30, at the Pioneer Memorial Park clubhouse, 387 E. Washington St., Sequim.

The river looks harmless enough in the summer, but in the winter it can be powerful and destructive.

Yet flooding in the Dungeness is more than just high water. Much of the lower riparian forest was logged, and the banks are destabilized. Its primary channels can change by hundreds of feet in one flood.

The working group for this plan wants to make it clear that this is not a flood control plan - floods cannot be controlled. Instead, it is a plan to minimize or reduce flood hazard within the Dungeness River lower watershed.

The meeting will include the opportunity to view maps and talk with members of the planning group followed by a presentation of the plan. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation begins at 7 p.m. To view the Dungeness River Flood Hazard Management Plan go to www.clallam.net/environment/html/DRFP.htm.

For more information, call Hannah Merrill at Clallam County Department of Natural Resources, 417-2563.