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SCCA: Wild West ProRally Postponed for Environmental Reasons

20 March 1999

Shelton, Washington--The Wild West ProRally, initially slated to have been round three of the 1999 Michelin SCCA ProRally Championship, has been postponed due to environmental necessities in the state of Washington. Originally set to take place April 9-10, the event has been rescheduled for June 18-19.

The area in which the rally will take place has been battered by an extremely hard winter that produced both all-time record snowfall and an all-time record for consecutive days of rain. The resulting runoff from the rain and pre-Spring snowmelt has produced extremely high silt contamination in waterways. Levels are so elevated that it was thought continued road use in the area could possibly increase silting to the point of interfering with the annual migration of salmon. With that in mind, organized activities in the area are being curtailed.

As if to underscore the decision, shortly after the process of notifying teams and other participants was underway the Federal Government added nine varieties of Western salmon to the Endangered Species List.

With the postponement of Wild West, Rim of the World ProRally is now next on the schedule, set for April 30-May 1 in Palmdale, California.