Puget Sound Recovery Caucus encouraged by $28 million provided to clean up Puget Sound (Suburban Times)
Coinciding with more than 60 local leaders traveling to Washington D.C. from the Pacific Northwest to advocate for Puget Sound recovery, U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Denny Heck (WA-10), and members of the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus applauded the 2017 omnibus budget proposal, which provides $28 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Puget Sound Geographic Program. This program provides federal grants for local, state, and tribal recovery programs in the Puget Sound region in order to improve water quality, enhance fish passage, increase salmon habitat, and protect shorelines.
To read more >>
See also:
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The Nature Conservancy and Microsoft bring tech
innovations to environmental efforts (GeekWire)
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with Microsoft to
bring machine learning and other tech innovations to the environmental group’s
online mapping tools. The interactive maps are used for numerous
eco-initiatives, including the protection of shoreline areas that are home to
endangered salmon and vulnerable to erosion and home-destroying floods, as well
as a tool to help prioritize projects to clean up polluted waterways — starting
with a soon-to-be-unveiled Puget Sound-focused tool. In a deal announced in
April, the international nonprofit will be moving its interactive, geospatial
tools to Azure cloud services and — even more importantly — will be
collaborating with Microsoft engineers to build more powerful software for
processing large data volumes and quickly generating results.
To read more >>
Duwamish River Opportunity Fund to provide $250,000 for
community-initiated projects (West Seattle Herald)
For many years, the neighborhoods along the Duwamish
River have been impacted by the Superfund clean-up that has been occurring in
and along the river. For that reason, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is
again seeking proposals to help fund community-based projects that increase the
sustainability of neighborhoods along the Duwamish River. Proposals to the Duwamish
River Opportunity Fund should address such topics as job training, economic
development, access to healthy food, affordable housing strategies,
environmental development or restoration, or major community development
activities that will have long-term, sustainable impacts. The total amount of
funding is $250,000.
To read more >>
Citizen-led marine cleanup tackles West Coast shorelines
of Vancouver Island (CBC News)
Debris from across the Pacific Ocean is washing up
throughout Clayoquot Sound and residents and First Nations on the west coast of
Vancouver Island say they're worried nothing is being done about it. So, though
a new organization, Clayoquot CleanUp, they've decided to take matters into
their own hands and initiate a major citizen-led clean-up effort. The first
large debris removal is set for June 1. Capt. Josh Temple, with Ocean
Outfitters in Tofino, is one of the people behind the environmental initiative.
To read more >>
Puyallup approves new South Hill Neighborhood Plan
(Puyallup Post)
Twenty years ago, Puyallup’s South Hill neighborhood was
designated as a regional growth center by the Puget Sound Regional Council. The
title brought about the requirement that Puyallup develop a neighborhood plan.
Ten years later, the grant was received, so that the plan-drafting process
could begin. Puyallup’s South Hill neighborhood (not to be confused with South
Hill, Wash) is a focal point for population and employment and the plan
establishes specific land use goals and policies for the area as well as
detailed development standards. The Puget Sound Regional Council has
established criteria and a checklist guide for the developments.
To read more >>
Navy tells public of Jefferson County training proposal
(Peninsula Daily News)
The Navy heard concerns about proposed onshore training
areas during an open house on plans for special operations training.... The
proposed training areas include shoreline from Port Townsend to the end of the
Dabob Peninsula as well as Fort Worden, Fort Flagler and Fort Townsend, all of
which are state parks. Shoreline along the east side of Hood Canal, the east
side of the Kitsap Peninsula and the north end of Bainbridge Island is also
included in the proposed onshore training area, as is a portion on the Pacific
Coast from Westhaven to Cape Disappointment.
To read more >>
See also:
Navy explains plans for expanded special forces training area (Kitsap Sun)
Legislature passes bills panned by growth-management watchdogs (Investigate West)
It's been a bad year for Washington state's Growth
Management Act, according to growth-management watchdogs. In an attempt to
close an extremely lenient loophole for developers, Democrats largely went
along with the concerns that traditionally have been embodied in Republican
critiques of the law. But Republicans refused to reciprocate with the
Democrats' bill to close the loophole. The growth watchdogs are asking Gov. Jay
Inslee to veto several bills.
To read more >>
Composite Recycling Technology Center wins award for
sustainability (Peninsula Daily News)
In the first five months of operation, the Composite
Recycling Technology Center has earned the Silver Award for Sustainability from
Seattle Business magazine. A total of 16 awards were made to pioneering
Washington manufacturing companies at an awards ceremony last week at the
Museum of Flight. The ceremony attracted business leaders from across the
state.... The CRTC is the only facility in the world to divert uncured carbon
fiber composites scrap from landfills and transform it into consumer products, according
to the business.
To read more >>
Ribbon-cutting ceremony held for North Creek Forest
(Bothell Reporter)
Long-time supporters of North Creek Forest gathered at
its entrance last week for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the City of
Bothell’s acquisition of the final parcel. The city hosted the ceremony in
collaboration with the Friends of the North Creek Forest (FNCF), who, along
with the Help Our Woods (HOW) group, led the movement to preserve all 63.4
acres of the land.
To read more >>
State Ecology Department OKs Edmonds Shoreline Master
Program update (My Edmonds News)
The Washington Department of Ecology announced Monday
that it has approved the Edmonds Shoreline Master Program comprehensive update
that was submitted by the City of Edmonds following a long debate by the
Edmonds City Council over Edmonds Marsh buffers.... The Shoreline Master
Program guides construction and development on local shorelines. Edmonds has
six miles of shoreline along Puget Sound, Lake Ballinger and the Edmonds Marsh.
Washington’s Shoreline Management Act requires local governments to adopt these
plans, which establish environmental designations for different types of
shorelines, including buffers and setbacks that protect ecological conditions.
To read more >>
State OKs program for protection of city’s shorelines
(Edmonds Beacon)
After more than a decade, it’s over. At least for now.
After years of debate, concessions, controversy and public input, the fate of
the Edmonds Marsh is settled. The Washington Department of Ecology has approved
the Edmonds Shoreline Master Program (SMP) comprehensive update, which the city
began in 2006, with an effective date of May 10. An SMP guides construction and
development on local shorelines. Edmonds has six miles of shoreline along Puget
Sound, Lake Ballinger and the Edmonds Marsh.
To read more >>
SoundToxins monitor harmful algal blooms (Islands
Sounder)
Four Orcas Island volunteers are currently monitoring
weekly for toxic plankton as part of a Puget Sound-wide SoundToxins program.
This program, funded until August 2018 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Monitoring and Event Response program, through a grant to the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Washington Sea Grant, provides very
early warning of potential harmful algal blooms (or HABs) before they begin to
affect shellfish or, in some cases, before the associated toxins even show up
in shellfish flesh.
To read more >>
Relocated marine life appears healthy in Puget Sound (King 5 News)
Marine life moved from toxic pilings appear to be adjusting to their new home deep down in Puget Sound. "These are purple sea stars here. This is a leather star," Rus Higley showed while diving near Maury Island. Higley works for Highline Community College. He and Randy Williams, a member of Washington Scuba Alliance, used a camera underwater with other divers to show KING 5 what they found. They wanted to see the results of a project from last year that no one had done there before. In September, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decided to remove pilings left behind from gravel mining. The pilings were covered with a toxic preservative called creosote. It's bad for fish and other marine life.
To read more >>
Legislature paves way for more farm, forestland
development (Crosscut)
State Rep. Liz Pike was hard at work, baking cookies.
Ninety-eight cookies to be precise — one for each member of the Washington
House of Representatives. The homemade treats were part of her bid to pass a
bill she had been working on for years to allow more building under the state’s
Growth Management Act. As a member of the minority Republican party in the
House, she was pulling out all the stops. It’s hard to say how much the cookies
helped, but Pike’s bill passed both the House and Senate with more than a
three-fourths majority. Despite that veto-proof vote margin, growth-management
advocates are urging Gov. Jay Inslee to reject the measure.
To read more >>
Why Kent farmers used to sneak out to blow up dams (KUOW)
This is a story of a war between farmers. Farmers in Kent
and Auburn were frustrated because their valley was constantly flooding. And
that made it difficult to farm in their beautiful, very fertile valley. That
led those farmers to do some naughty things.
To read more >>
This dam protects jobs south of Seattle. Someday it won't
(KUOW)
The Green River hasn’t flooded in more than half a
century. It used to all the time. Every other year or so, the valley filled
with water and turned into one long lake, from Auburn, Kent, and Renton up to
Seattle. Now the area holds the largest collection of warehouse and
manufacturing jobs in the state, worth billions of dollars. Someday, it will
probably be under water again.
To read more >>
Kirkland Solid Waste Division named Washington State
Recycler of the Year (Kirkland Reporter)
On May 9, the Washington State Recycling Association
(WSRA) will honor the City of Kirkland’s Solid Waste Division as its Public
Agency Recycler of the Year for 2016. Nine other organizations, businesses and
individuals will receive awards for their outstanding recycling achievements,
held at the 37th Annual WSRA Conference and Trade Show in Pasco, Wash.
Recyclers of the Year and Recycling Hall of Fame inductees are chosen by a
panel of WSRA members, board members and hall of fame inductees.
To read more >>
Lake Washington School District receives national
environmental award (Kirkland Reporter)
In 2012, custodians at Lake Washington School District
(LWSD) decided to move their schools in a greener direction, and nearly five years
later, their efforts paid off with the top level Green Cleaning award. The
award is presented by the American School and University Magazine and
recognizes education institutions that implement environmentally friendly
practices.
To read more >>
Kent Valley: The boom nobody's heard of (KUOW)
When you think about the Puget Sound Region’s boom, where
do you think it’s coming from? Many people would answer Amazon, in South Lake
Union. Or the Eastside, with its band of glittering tech companies. Few people
would think of the Kent Valley, but there too a boom is underway. The Kent
Valley runs from Renton at the foot of Lake Washington, through Kent and past
Auburn. Besides the Green River, which meanders through the valley, its main
feature is its canyons of warehouses. It’s the second largest distribution zone
on the West Coast and has been for a long time.
To read more >>
Land trust faces a hairy situation: removal of 100 acres
of noxious weed (Whidbey News Times)
Crockett Lake is known for attracting an array of bird
species, making it one of Whidbey Island’s most popular destinations for
birders. On windy days, the lake is alluring to kite surfers. Also rather fond
of the lake and its surrounding wetlands is a fuzzy weed that’s crowding out
other plants and has long since worn out its welcome. Whidbey Camano Land Trust
is preparing to commence a noxious weed removal project at its nearly 500-acre
Crockett Lake Wetland Preserve with much of its efforts focused squarely on the
invasive weed known as hairy willow-herb. The land trust is partnering with the
state Department of Fish and Wildlife in an attempt to eradicate the aggressive,
fast-spreading weed. It now covers more than 100 acres of the preserve, making
it the largest single infestation of the species in Washington State.
To read more >>
Shhh. Hear the rustle of grass? Not so much now in US
parks (Seattle Times)
Scientists measured sound levels at 492 places — from
city parks to remote federal wilderness. They calculated that in nearly
two-thirds of the Lower 48’s parks, the noise can at times be twice the natural
background level because of airplanes, cars, logging, mining and oil and gas
drilling. That increase can harm wildlife, making it harder for them to find
food or mates, and make it harder for people to hear those natural sounds, the
researchers said. Colorado State University biologist George Wittemyer said
people hear only half the sounds that they would in natural silence.
To read more >>
See also:
America's Protected Natural Areas Are Polluted, By Noise (OPB)
Urban lifestyles help to protect the Puget Sound
ecosystem (Salish Sea Currents)
The state of Washington estimates that the Puget Sound
area will grow by more than 1.5 million residents within the next two decades.
That is expected to have profound effects on the environment as more and more
people move to undeveloped areas. The race is on to protect this critical rural
habitat, but planners say what happens in the cities may be just as important.
To read more >>
Neighbors want more monitoring as Tacoma companies seek
to expand fuel operations (Tacoma News Tribune)
Two companies on the Tacoma Tideflats that work with
fossil fuels want to expand their operations, but first must get approval from
a regional air quality agency. Targa Sound Terminal, which leases petroleum and
biofuel storage tanks, wants to add natural gasoline to the products it
receives by rail, stores and sends out from its location in the Port of
Tacoma. ... Emerald Services, a
waste-treatment and storage facility that operates a used motor oil refinery,
wants to increase its permitted capacity by 10 percent. ...Riedener pointed out
that Emerald Services has a history of environmental violations: In 2010, the
state Department of Ecology fined the company $14,000 by for mishandling the
cleanup of an oil spill on the Tideflats.
To read more >>
What’s happening with EPA cleanup of old biofuels plant
near Ferndale? (Bellingham Herald)
The Environmental Protection Agency will resume its
cleanup of an abandoned biofuels processing plant northwest of Ferndale in
July. Located on 34 acres, TreOil Industries Biorefinery is no longer
operating. It was used to process distilled tall oil, as a biodiesel refinery
and for other small-scale miscellaneous industrial operations, according to
EPA. EPA was on site in March for an emergency cleanup, expected to cost $1
million, after regulators found hazardous substances leaking from containers.
To read more >>
Environmental lawsuit against province over jet fuel
spill approved by B.C. court (CBC News)
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has approved a
class-action lawsuit against the provincial government over a fuel spill that
forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in the Slocan Valley four years
ago. The law firm representing 2,500 residents says it's the first such
environmental lawsuit certified by the court against the province of B.C. The
firm, Rosenberg Kosakoski Litigation, says in a statement the tanker truck that
overturned, spilling 35,000 litres of jet fuel into the Slocan River water
system was part of a province-led refuelling operation for firefighting
helicopters.
To read more >>
Burbank: Just planting a tree can do a world of good
(Everett Herald | Column)
My friend called me last week and invited me to the
Climate March that Saturday in Seattle. I decided not to go. Maybe I just had
enough marching, with the Women’s March the day after the presidential
inauguration, and the March for Science earlier in April. These were good
marches, protests and political celebrations. I was good with that. They were
enough for me. So I thought, what should I do for the climate?... Trees are
good for us. Carbon dioxide is one of the major contributors to global warming
and climate change. Trees trap carbon dioxide and “exhale” oxygen in return. A
mature tree can absorb roughly 48 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and in turn
release enough oxygen to sustain two people.
To read more >>
Vancouver Aquarium set to release Oregon spotted frog
tadpoles (Vancouver Sun)
Darren Smy fell in love with reptiles and amphibians as a
lad, to the point that his dad wound up converting the family’s dining room to
floor-to-ceiling holding tanks for his collection of the critters back home in
East Anglia, England. On Friday, Smy continues his labour of love, as he and a
team from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre will release 1,000
tadpoles of the endangered Oregon spotted frog near Agassiz….The Oregon spotted
frogs are indigenous to the west coast from northern California to the Lower
Mainland and Fraser Valley.
To read more >>
More invasive green crabs found on Dungeness Spit (Peninsula
Daily News)
Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team has captured seven more
green crabs on the Dungeness Spit since 13 of the invasive European green crabs
were found there last week. Crab Team Program coordinator Emily Grason said
traps have been pulled from the water on Graveyard Spit, a part of the
Dungeness Spit across from Dungeness Landing near Sequim, until stakeholders
meet today to discuss their findings and next steps. Grason said 20 crabs might
not sound alarming, but to researchers, it causes concern because a small
number of crabs can quickly become a large population.
To read more >>
See also:
'The blob' blamed for bringing invasive crab to
Puget Sound (KUOW)
Search resumes for invasive green crabs in area waters (Skagit
Valley Herald)
Herring Gets No Respect. This Man Wants To Change That. (KUOW)
Small oily fish get no respect—but as climate change
reshapes the food landscape and sustainable foods gain currency, it may be time
to change the way we eat. Driven by respect for the sea, Warner Lew is on a
crusade to bring herring back to your dinner table. Lew’s home is permeated by
the spirit of the ocean, from a harpoon-sized piece of baleen hanging on the
wall to an impressive collection of handmade fish-themed pottery.
To read more >>
The clock is ticking on B.C.'s election. Is it ticking
even faster for salmon, whales and bears? (National Observer)
Stimo’on. Misoo. Gyne’es. Ye’ee. Uuux. These are the
names of the five species of Pacific salmon in Sm’algyax, the language of the
Gitga’at First Nation on the northwest coast of British Columbia. It’s a territory they've occupied for
thousands of years, long before the names ‘pink,’ ‘sockeye,’ ‘chum,’ ‘chinook,’
and ‘coho,’ were conceived by scientists. The salmon are the lifeline of the
First Nation, says Gitga’at Councillor Cameron Hill. As the salmon go, they go.
To read more >>
In Puget Sound, Water Quality Is Measured In A Salty,
Smoky Package (KUOW)
Ecologists and volunteers are busy in Bainbridge making
“shell posts:” Oyster shells with holes drilled in them, stacked on each other
on a wooden dowel. The Puget Sound Restoration Fund makes the posts and gives
them away to be placed in the Sound at the beginning of summer and picked up at
the end. People are moving to Western Washington in droves and that’s putting
the Puget Sound in danger. Stormwater runoff and industrial agriculture are
contributing to the pollution found in the Sound.
To read more >>
Connelly: 'Mr. Floatie' to be retired as Victoria touts
sewage treatment (SeattlePI.com | Column)
Officials in Victoria reacted with cold fury to "Mr.
Floatie," when a grad student named James Skwarok dressed up as a
7-foot-tall turd wearing a sailor hat to protest the dumping of 34 million
gallons of raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca each day. The touristy
capital of British Columbia finally got off the pot, with the Capital Regional
District approving construction of a $765 million (Canadian) treatment plant at
McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, just west of Victoria.
To read more >>
See also:
Long sewage plant battle leaves Victoria’s Mr. Floatie
pooped (Vancouver Sun)
Bellingham city crews fixing broken pipe at wastewater
plant; no changes to water use (Bellingham Herald)
City crews are working to clean up flooding at the Post
Point Wastewater Treatment Plant after a pipe broke early Saturday, according
to the Public Works Department. The failed pipe means the plant at 200 McKenzie
Ave. will only be able to provide basic treatment to wastewater until it’s
fixed, said Eric Johnston, assistant director for public works operations. But
it shouldn’t affect day-to-day water users in the city, he added. The 30-inch
pipe broke at about 1 a.m. Saturday, Johnston said. The on-site operator
immediately called for back-up crews to help fix it.
To read more >>
Dairy aims to be first to test system that reclaims waste
(Everett Herald)
Cows circle slowly on a carousel where they are cleaned
and milked. They’re unfazed by attention, whether it’s from the farm workers or
an excited 4-year-old and her older siblings just home from school. In a nearby
barn, automated scrapers clean manure from the floor every couple of hours.
From there, fiber is separated from the wet waste and composted. Piles of the
soft, dry composted fibers sit in a white canvas hoop barn for a few days
before being used as bedding for the cows. The remainder of the manure is bound
for a lagoon. It might be used on this farm as fertilizer or transported to
others that grow feed.
To read more >>
See also:
New Janicki Bioenergy dairy project draws inspiration
from Omniprocessor (Skagit Valley Herald)
Dairy aims to be first to test system that
reclaims waste (Capital Press)
False Creek's high bacteria count likely due to resident
boaters (CBC News)
It's dirty, it's smelly — and in the summer the E. coli
count can get dangerously high. Now, a new report before city council says the
main cause of seasonally high bacteria counts in False Creek is some people
living on their boats aren't properly disposing their sewage....A boater survey conducted by the city in March found many
people living on their boats are doing so without a permit. Having a permit
guarantees access for boaters to empty their sewage tanks at specified marinas.
According to Mayberry, the survey showed boaters are not satisfied with those
services, likely because there are too few services or they are inconvenient to
use.
To read more >>
Tacoma Lumber company’s hard lesson: If you pollute, you
pay (Tacoma News Tribune | Editorial)
Don’t look for Tacoma’s Manke Lumber Company to win any
good neighbor awards this year. The company’s numerous violations have grabbed
the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A complaint filed in
federal court alleges the 50-year-old company has been sending polluted water
into the Hylebos Waterway since at least 2012 without a proper permit.... The degree
to which Manke’s polluted runoff is adding to the degradation of the Sound is
difficult to quantify. But given this record season for rainfall, a lot of
polluted runoff has likely made it into the Hylebos.
To read more >>
Port Townsend City Council approves action on two
projects (Peninsula Daily News)
The Port Townsend City Council has taken steps to move
forward on two major projects: a stormwater management plan and development of
Howard Street and Upper Sims Way subarea.... A draft of the stormwater plan now
will head back to the planning commission for review. “All this does is make
sure the stormwater plan is consistent with the provisions in the comprehensive
plan,” said Lance Bailey, director of the planning commission. City officials
hope to start working with consultants this month and have the stormwater plan
finalized by the end of 2017, Clow said.
To read more >>
EPA asks what rules to cut, gets earful about dirty water
(Seattle Times | Associated Press)
The Trump administration got an earful Tuesday from
people who say federal rules limiting air and water pollution aren’t tough
enough, even as it was seeking suggestions about what environmental regulations
it should gut. The Environmental Protection Agency held a three-hour “virtual
listening session” on Tuesday to collect public comments by phone about which
clean water regulations should be targeted for repeal, replacement or
modification. The call was part of the agency’s response to President Donald Trump’s
order to get rid of regulations that are burdensome to business and industry.
To read more >>
Environmental groups sue EPA over rollback of pollution
rule (Seattle Times | Associated Press)
Environmentalists and public health advocates are going
to court to fight the Trump administration’s move to rewrite Obama-era rules
limiting water pollution from coal-fired power plants. A coalition of about a
dozen groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Environmental Protection
Agency in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The action
challenges the decision by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last month seeking to
rewrite the 2015 water pollution regulations.
To read more >>
State Senate passes bill (again) aimed at solving
controversy over rural wells (Bellingham Herald)
For the second time this year, the Senate approved a bill
Tuesday aimed at reversing a state Supreme Court decision against Whatcom
County that has kept hundreds of rural homeowners statewide from using or
digging new water wells. Why now? Legislators began a 30-day special session
April 24 and, due to procedural rules, bills that passed one chamber but not
the other during the regular 105-day session must be re-approved when lawmakers
reconvene in overtime. Among those was Senate Bill 5239, billed as a fix to
decision that has confounded politicians and rural homeowners alike in Whatcom
and other counties.
To read more >>
Tons of toxic trash targeted in state budget cuts
(Whidbey News Times)
... Last year, Island County collected 297,000 pounds of
household hazardous waste. Motor oil accounted for 195,000 pounds; none of that
came from auto shops, “just a lot of do-it-yourself oil changes,” Clark said.
Funded by a state program called Coordinated Prevention Grants, the hazardous
waste collection is targeted as one of many areas to cut in order to boost
education. It’s managed by the Washington Department of Ecology as an incentive
to reduce exposure to toxins.... Four years ago, $28 million was allocated to
counties for Coordinated Prevention Grants. Two years ago, that amount was
reduced to $15 million. In the current proposed capital budget still undergoing
revisions in a legislative Special Session, $10 million is allocated in both
the governor’s and senate budgets.
To read more >>
Sea Grant, which sustains more than 20,000 marine jobs,
faces uncertain future (Bay Journal)
... In a draft budget released in March, the Trump
administration proposed eliminating the entire $73 million Sea Grant program,
which operates at universities in all coastal states, the Great Lakes and Guam.
Founded in 1966 as a means to connect healthy ecosystems with thriving
economies, Sea Grant functions much like the agricultural extension offices
associated with Land Grant universities. Its funds have helped enhance working
waterfronts, study stormwater runoff, bolster shellfish aquaculture, mitigate
sea level rise, restore fish populations and address marine hazards. The idea
is to get unbiased science in the hands of the people who can use the
information to improve their lives and businesses. NOAA funds Sea Grant, but
states also chip in.
To read more >>
New shipping alliances jam up truck traffic for Port of
Seattle (KOMO News)
Truck traffic often generates complaints around the port,
but the stack-up of semis in the past week even has shipping officials looking
for solutions. Ocean carriers realigned their partnerships last month to better
manage costs. Now those ships are just arriving to the West Coast out of Asia
and operating under these newly forged alliances. However, this quickly
evolving industry is causing major slowdowns for the Port of Seattle.
To read more >>
Edmonds gets $1.7M to improve waterfront, Highway 99
(Everett Herald)
Two key city projects have received a big boost — $1.7
million in state money for improving waterfront access and safety along Highway
99. The two-mile stretch of highway through Edmonds is used by some 39,000 cars
and trucks daily. The city has been working for several years on plans for
improvements.... Some $700,000 in additional state money will be used to
continue design work on fixing a decades-long problem on the city’s waterfront.
The two access points to the area, Main and Dayton streets, can be blocked for
hours by trains when there’s an accident.... When complete, it will provide
pedestrian access to the nearby beaches, parks and businesses.
To read more >>
Fishing, clamming restrictions painful but necessary
(Whidbey News Times | Opinion)
People driving by Penn Cove over the weekend probably
assumed from the dozens of people digging in the sand that clamming season is
open. They would be wrong. The state delayed shellfish harvesting at the
popular Central Whidbey beach until June 1 in order to allow the beds more time
to regenerate.... It’s easy to become angry or be annoyed at the state for
keeping a tight leash on the state’s most popular natural resources. These
restrictions, however, give shellfish and salmon time to restore to healthy
levels. Without such limits, that may never happen. Fishing may not have caused
the drop in salmon numbers, but it certainly won’t help bring the numbers back.
To read more >>
Upper Skagit tribe gives thanks in Blessing of the Fleet
(Skagit Valley Herald)
With a fire crackling and the Skagit River churning,
members of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe gathered Friday on the riverbank for
the annual Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. Elders, tribal officials, families
and children gathered in song and prayer. Tribal elders said the Upper Skagit
bless the mountains and river, and pray for the safe return of their fishermen
each year.
To read more >>
Mike Lowry, proudly progressive ex-governor, dies early
on May Day (SeattlePI)
Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry, a fiery populist in
the politics of modern Washington, died at the age of 78 in the early hours of
May Day, his wife Mary Carlson Lowry informed friends Monday morning. Lowry was
a larger-than-life figure in Washington politics for two decades, a highly
effective Seattle congressman from 1978 to 1988, and a governor crossing swords
with Republican legislators from 1992 to 1996. He was a demonstrative
politician. Lowry and a few House colleagues once camped on a grate above
Washington, D.C.'s Metro subway, to bring attention to the plight of the
capital's homeless. He hiked up the Greenwater River to bring attention to
exclusion of salmon spawning streams from the pending Washington wilderness
bill.
To read more >>
See also:
Gov. Mike Lowry remembered for compassion, humility and
service (Bainbridge Isalnd Review)
Former Gov. Mike Lowry dies after stroke (Kitsap Sun)
People in Politics: Miguel Pérez-Gibson (Thurston Talk)
Miguel Pérez-Gibson is truly a renaissance man. Recently
retired from his role as legislative director for Governor Jay Inslee, Miguel
is about as busy as he has ever been. He is a classically trained guitar player
who gets hired for gigs all around town. As a certified mental health
counselor, he also sees patients in private practice. In addition, he consults
on forestry issues for the Washington Environmental Council. He likes the mix
of work he gets to do and it is all the type he really loves.... Miguel is very
proud of the pieces of legislation he has worked on over the years. He says
that getting climate change policy passed while at the governor’s office so
that Washington State could start monitoring emissions felt like a big
accomplishment. Miguel also worked on the Indian Child Welfare Act and the
Puget Sound Partnership, both of which were years in the making.
To read more >>
Bob Heirman, who died Saturday, was advocate for outdoors
(Everett Herald)
When members of the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club recently
planted 20,000 small coho salmon in area creeks, it was their first such
project without Bob Heirman. A man who knew every stream, river and lake in
these parts, a man who loved his lifelong home, Heirman died Saturday. He was
84.... His legacy lives on at the Bob Heirman Wildlife Preserve at Thomas’
Eddy, a fishing spot at a peaceful bend in the Snohomish River. The county park
isn’t far from Heirman’s home at Blackmans Lake. Heirman, with the Tulalip
Tribes’ help, fought to stop gravel mining at the eddy and to save it from
development.
To read more >>
How is the Puget Sound ecosystem doing?
The 2015 State of the Sound reports on the current state of the ecosystem and the status of regional recovery actions. Learn more at www.psp.wa.gov/sos.
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