EVENT: 28 May–7PM–PA Harbor Cleanup Update

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Al B.

Dr. Peter deFur, of Environmental Stewardship Concepts LLC, will tie together and update the public on the Rayonier and the Port Angeles Harbor cleanup efforts at a forum on Tuesday, 28 May at 7 PM in the Port Angeles Landing Mall 2nd floor meeting room.    The Landing Mall is on the east side of the Pt Angeles-Victoria B.C. ferry dock.

The Department of Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program is working to investigate and clean up contamination around Port Angeles from Harbor sources of pollution. Cleanup sites and investigations include the Rayonier Mill, the Harbor Sediments Investigation, the Rayonier Mill Off-Property Soil Dioxin Study, (dioxins in Port Angeles area soils), the North Olympic Peninsula Regional Background study, Western Port Angeles Harbor (Nippon and areas of Ediz Hook), KPly, and the Marine Trades Area (central portion of the Harbor). Dr. deFur will present a summary of the status of these efforts and provide comments on the various reports and activities.

Dr. deFur is Technical Advisor  for the Olympic Environmental Council Coalition for technical document reviews and public outreach and education.

Rayonier Mill: The Rayonier Mill was closed and demolished in 1997.  At present, the Department of Ecology is reviewing Rayonier’s report about sediment contamination in the immediate area of the former mill site.

Sediments Investigation and the Western Harbor Site: Through the Puget Sound Initiative, the Department of Ecology did a large-scale sediment sampling study in Port Angeles Harbor. The study found the highest contamination in the western harbor and near the former Rayonier Mill in the eastern harbor. Ecology identified the Western Port Angeles Harbor cleanup site based on the Harbor investigation findings. The responsible parties plan to do sampling for the Western Harbor investigation this summer.

Regional Background: This spring and summer, Ecology will sample sediments in bays east of the Harbor in an effort to determine background sediment conditions for the North Olympic Peninsula region. The Department of Ecology previously conducted a similar sampling effort in the Port Gardner (Everett) region.

Dr. deFur also serves as Technical Advisor to the non-profit citizen based Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, in addition to several other major hazardous waste cleanup sites throughout the nation.

Dr. Peter deFur is Olympic Environmental Council’s Technical Advisor for the Port Angeles projects through a grant from the Washington Department of Ecology.  Ecology reviewed this announcement for technical accuracy.  Olympic Environmental Council positions are not those of Ecology’s.

For additional information, contact Darlene Schanfald, <darlenes@olympus.net>

Filed under: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Rayonier Cleanup | Leave a Comment »

Hearing in tree-poaching case reset for Tuesday – PDN

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Al B.

Mr. Johnston has already been sentenced to a year in prison, and this hearing is about how much restitution should be paid on his thefts.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130310/news/303109992/hearing-in-tree-poaching-case-reset-for-tuesday

and an older story with photos:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Washington-old-growth-poacher-stole-a-national-4116933.php

If you ever wondered about why we need to fund game wardens and park rangers, here is a great example. Reid B. Johnston is his name, out of Brinnon. Mr. Johnston has illegally cut down hundreds of trees,trees belonging to us, the public, as part of his personal operation to sell wood to instrument makers. These came out of the Dosewallips Drainage. Some of these trees supported the endangered Marbled Murelett, which has been an endangered bird species that led to some of the restrictions on logging that many loggers have blamed on job losses. Cutting down more habitat illegally will not help bring the species back to a number that can allow harvesting of the forest in years to come.

Hopefully, the feds will put him on multiyear probation to follow up on whether he actually stops poaching. It would also be great to see him tell the Feds who he has sold his wood to. I say this not to necessarily bust the buyers, but to determine which have bought the wood knowing it was stolen and which were duped. All should be helped to understand that purchasing wood like this may make their instruments subject to seizure. The days of “any old wood” are unfortunately gone. It’s been very difficult to bring in instruments from outside the US because of tightening of the demands of customs to prove you aren’t bringing in wood that’s been pillaged from rainforests, such as rosewood. I would hope that our local builders, and there are lots, are clearly checking their sources. I can imagine how easy it would be to ‘look the other way’ or buy some choice wood with a nod and a wink. And many of the builders are buying in very small lots. These are folks building in their garages,and their homes. Not big businesses like Martin or Gibson. Some buy old distressed wood. Some buy wood from folks who have been storing it out of the weather for years. It’s not always clear as to where the wood came from originally, or if it’s ‘legal’. There is so little actual enforcement in this area. It’s almost amazing that Mr. Johnston was caught, given the amount of forest around here and the small number of agents.

Mr. Johnston comes from a well known family in Brinnon. He apparently had some kind of drug habit, and this is not his first time in trouble. The PI reports that he was convicted of selling shellfish harvested from a beach that had been closed due to health reasons. Certainly, drug treatment would be a good thing while in prison. Rehabilitation if drugs like meth were involved could help him get back into society afterwards.

If you see cutting going on in what you consider a suspicious way, contact the local police or park. If you can take photos or video of the logger, do so.  But be cautious, if Mr. Johnston was doing meth, these kinds of people can be very aggressive and dangerous if armed. Only photograph if you know you can be far enough away to not put yourself in danger.  If you are a buyer, and it seems like the source isn’t being above board, walk away. You are supporting the rape of our forests. This one guy cut down a 300+ year old Doug Fir,8ft in diameter, along with over 100 other trees from the forest.

There are organizations supporting sustainable harvest, such as the Forest Stewardship Council,

https://us.fsc.org/

and organizations like the Rainforest Alliance.

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/certification

Locally, Edensaw Woods strives to market woods that support are certified. We support their efforts and hope you do too.

Filed under: Dosewallips River, Hood Canal, Olympic Peninsula, Tree Poaching | 2 Comments »

Senate Bill 5805 Supporter Says, “It’s all about gravel” – Bellingham Herald

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Al B.

A very insiteful article showing that this bill, moving through the Senate, and according to Democrats in the House is DOA, is actually about taking any local control away from Jefferson County on Pit To Pier, and moving this project forward. Please call your Senator or Representatives and let them know that this bill should die.

February 27th, 2013 9 AM PST by john - The Bellingham Herald

By John Stark

A Washington State Senate bill calling for expedited processing of permits for–among other things–”basic commodity transportation” is getting a lot of attention from opponents of the Gateway Pacific Terminal coal export pier proposed for Cherry Point.

Filed under: Around the Sound, Jefferson County, legislation, Olympic Peninsula, Pit To Pier | Leave a Comment »

Net Pen Bill Dies in Committee – Time to change the rules of the game

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Al B.

You would have been excused if you were at the hearing for Net Pen legislation this week, and you thought it was the Department of Commerce and not Ecology sitting hand in hand with the net pen industry lobbyist. Reminiscent of The Walrus and the Carpenter in Lewis Carrol, who went walking hand in hand, crying fake tears as they bemoaned the  carving up  of the oysters, who represented  the ‘little people’. Not much has changed it seems, in the 150 years, since Carroll penned this quaint little poem, about the  cozy relationship of government with industry, despite  the concerns of those who pay their salaries. This short  bill would have allowed local jurisdictions to prohibit net pens in their Shoreline Master Programs (SMPs). It would have allowed the rules to be strengthened, not weakened. It wouldn’t have even prohibited net pens , but allowed those jurisdictions that wanted to prohibit them to do so. And to be clear, there are *no* net pens currently in Jefferson County, so we aren’t even talking about affecting a current industry. No jobs are being “lost”. Why? Because it isn’t economically viable to put pens in Jefferson County. You would think that DOE, after allowing us to put in large shoreline buffers would have been in support of  giving us the right to prohibit an industry that has mounting scientific evidence of harm to the very species that agency is supposed to be trying to save. But after hearing the  testimony, and allowing this  industry that is a  recipient of our  government largess, along with the professional  bureaucratic stonewalling of DOE on their behalf to dominate the committee hearing, they allowed them to  run-out the clock  on testimony before the chairman arbitrarily changed the length of time for anti netpen forces to testify, and the bill died in committee this week. The bill’s sponsor(s) apparently never showed up to testify.

Our county commissioners will now have to send DOE their conditional use criteria for net pens.

This open  display of DOE collusion with the net pen industry, working together with the committee  officials to quash this bill, over objections by a wide range of water based industries and supporters, shows how weak the environmental community is in Olympia this year. Where was the new head of DOE, Maia Bellon?  Where was anyone from  The Puget Sound Partnership who is charged with helping make the Salish Sea ‘fishable, drinkable, swimmable” by 2020?    Where was any representation from the Governor’s office? Nowhere to be seen. Is Ms. Bellan  going to challenge the DOE bureaucrats that she oversees, those folks in Bellevue and Olympia  (yes, we know which departments they are in)  that have abrogated it’s jurisdiction over the mounting concern of the environmental effects of the Net Pen industry? Perhaps a significant series of lawsuits against the department,  it’s charter, and the industry that it claims to be overseeing is in order.  We’ve done all we can do to work inside the system. Now it’s probably time to mount legal attacks outside it.  We  can clearly assume from this hearing  that our Department of Ecology, at least as it relates to the Net Pen industry, like it’s British Columbia counterparts, have been bought and paid by the industry. They have shown no interest in the concerns of our county commissioners, one of whom is an ex-fisherman.  Ted Sturdevant, prior to leaving the head of DOE, told this reporter that he had no clue that there was any problem with net pens, and hadn’t read anything of concern from British Columbia. It was a rather shocking admission from the head of the agency that was charged with regulating it.

So I agree with Billy Frank Jr. who has, on numerous occasions gotten angry at our elected officials and assumed we can’t hope for any of them to do the right thing without pressure (listen to his impassioned speech from the Northwest Straits Annual Meeting last fall).  Billy Frank Jr. said last November, “When it comes to salmon, to Treaty Rights, no one is in charge. So how do we make it happen?  You make it happen, we all make it happen. In 1976 Judge Boldt took away the right of the State of Washington to manage the salmon, because they were not doing their job (emphasis mine).Well, the Federal Court put a stop to it. Today the State of Washington is broke, but when they had money they didn’t do anything to manage the resources. So here we are, we are the bad guys again. Why do we have to go to the United States Government and tell them about the laws? “

So where are we supposed to turn for a fair hearing if DOE isn’t even reading of the controversy  in BC?  First Nation tribes on Vancouver Island have been leading huge rallies (that have not been well reported here) and marching down the length of the Island to the Parliament  Is it time for us to lead a similar march down the length of the Hood Canal to Olympia? And one from Bellingham, perhaps tying in the Coal port proposal and the Net Pens? In the hearing DOE said that they made a mistake in Whatcom County that they intend to fix in the next round of the SMP there.  It seems that any further discussions with either body should be done in a court of law. Our State, and the Federal Government, are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to restore native salmon runs.  A small DNA mutation to the viruses attacking the net pen fish, which is what virus’ do, or the accumulated problems of sea lice that the pens breed, can be a tipping point that could make all that for nothing. Is it really worth the risk for a tiny industry? The implied threats of DOE to “fix” their bureaucratic ‘mistake’ on behalf of an industry makes a mockery out of their oversight of our Ecology.Let’s remember, that  it is not the Department of Ecology’s, Ecology. It is our ecology, we who are paying for these people to fight us for years over this issue. When they want an SMP done, they want us to do all the heavy lifting, for free, of putting in place buffers on their behalf  in the SMP, allowing us to prohibit shoreline mining,  fighting that fight over years of public meetings with screaming crowds that have been fed misinformation by the folks who want to do whatever they want with streams and the buffers. DOE  gave us nothing in the way of science to help with this. We had to go to scientists in other parts of the country to get the examples. They don’t even do their  homework in DOEland.

There’s an old blues song, that goes, “He’s got a hand full of gimme, and a mouth full of much obliged.” It seems apt to what Ecology is doing to us. They come here and want us to write the SMP, then when we make it work for us, more stringent than they would do, they say we can’t do that.   It’s time to change the game.

It’s time the environmental community got as angry as Billy Frank Jr, at our government inaction and endless meetings.   The NW Indian Fisheries Commission  are demanding that things get done.  We would like to see Governor Inslee and Ms. Bellan declare a moratorium on net pens, and spend as long studying the emerging science on them as they have fighting us over prohibiting them.  Governor Inslee  stood in the Rotunda of the Capital in front of hundreds of environmental supporters last week, as this bill was being killed, people who made the difference of getting him elected, and told them that he wanted to make Washington the “greenest” state in the union. Let’s see him start right here and now and open this debate back up. Let’s see our legislators get this done, as they say they want to. Throwing a bill over the wall to a committee that is manipulated to kill it, and not seeing it pushed through , is only playing half court basketball.  The least they can do for us is fight to reopen the scientific basis for the support of the industry, which  is over 20 years old. If Inslee and Bellam don’t want to see this done, then it’s time to change the game and take them to court.  Given the concerns being raised just over the border to the north, it’s time to challenge this cozy relationship. Go ahead, county commissioners,  and put the conditions in to the SMP, set the bar plenty high. We sincerely appreciate that you fought this as far as you have.  Let’s get this round of the SMP  done. But  Ms Bellon’s honeymoon  period with the environment that she is chartered to protect, is over. Her team suited up to play ball, but came out on the wrong side of the court. Now it’s time for those of us who care about restoring the salmon runs, to hire some ringers and win this game.

“It seems a shame,” the Walrus said,
“To play them such a trick,
After we’ve brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!”
The Carpenter said nothing but
“The butter’s spread too thick!”

“I weep for you,” the Walrus said:
“I deeply sympathize.”
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

“O Oysters,” said the Carpenter,
“You’ve had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?’
But answer came there none–
And this was scarcely odd, because
They’d eaten every one.

Filed under: Aquaculture, fisheries, Jefferson County, Net Pens Aquaculture, Olympic Peninsula, Puget Sound | 1 Comment »

Searching The Olympic Forest For The Elusive Marten – Earthfix

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Al B.

It’s about 25 degrees on a clear Saturday morning when Greg Treinish gathers a small group of outdoor adventurers around him near the Duckabush River in the Olympic National Forest. Treinish is the executive director of Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, a non-profit that puts volunteers to work gathering data for scientists around the world. The mission for this group: Help biologists figure out if there are any martens left in the Olympic National Forest. They’ll be setting up motion-activated cameras in some of the forest’s snowiest, most remote territory. The citizen scientists fill their packs with a strange assortment of gear, including chicken wire, hammers, folding saws and — wait for it — human-head-sized chunks of beaver carcass. Ashley Ahearn reports. 

http://earthfix.kuow.org/flora-and-fauna/article/volunteers-search-for-the-elusive-marten-in-olympi/

Filed under: Marten Survey, Olympic Peninsula, Places | Leave a Comment »

Sierra Club Film on Toxic Sludge–Feb 12th in Port Townsend

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Al B.

The WA State Chapter of Sierra Club recently started Sludge Free WA, a working group to end the land spreading of toxic municipal and industrial sewage treatment plant wastes in WA and find safe alternatives for reuse of the waste.  Currently, as across the nation, these toxic sludges are sprayed on forest and farm lands and sold to the general public as compost/fertilizer.  These solids from the treatment facilities are "treated" for very few constituents, but not for pharmaceuticals, personal care products, prions, hospital wastes, and many, many other things that are flushed down the toilet or dumped into the mix by industry.

A film and power point presentation on this subject will be given in the evening in Port Townsend on February 12 at the Recreation Center.

In the meantime, a petition to President Obama on the White House site is up.  The aim is to get 1000 signatures by January 25.  We have over 800, so need more to reach the 1000 goal.  Please follow the steps at the end of this message and sign this important petition.

Lisa  Jackson will be replaced by a new EPA administrator.  This is a golden opportunity for us  to use the We The People Whitehouse Petition Web site to request that Obama work with the new EPA Administrator to ban the land application of sewage sludge.

Here are the sign on directions.

1. Click the URL at the below.

2. Click on Create an Account in green box (next to "sign in")
3. Enter info in blank fields – (email name zip)
4. Enter nonsense words below  – you’ll get a message to wait for an email.

5. Wait a few minutes for the site to send you an email.

6. Open the new email and copy the URL address it provides and paste it into your web browser, hit enter, and you should see the original page you first saw only this time the "Sign the Petition" green box is enabled – just click it and you’re done.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/work-new-epa-administrator-ban-land-application-sewage-sludge-also-called-biosolids/1FKsqX5Z

Filed under: Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Battle over use of Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge brewing

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Al B.

Washington State Representative Kevin Van De Wege of the 24th Legislative District has threatened legislation revoking federal control of Dungeness Spit. This in response to a proposed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conservation plan that would ban all jogging and horseback riding on the Dungeness Spit and nearby upland trails, Rep. Van De Wege (D-Sequim) is looking into legislation allowing the state to retake control of part of the spit.

While we understand that jogging and horseback riding are not normally thought as being incompatible with a ‘park’, a gentle reminder is that this refuge was not set up as a standard ‘park’, such as Fort Worden, but as a wildlife refuge’, to protect specific birds that were nesting there. It was established in 1915 for the specific purpose of protecting nesting shorebirds. The refuge was not created to help people jog or horseback ride. To repeat, it is not a “park” it is a refuge.

There apparently was an incident last year between a horse and a pedestrian that has led to this current situation. The person had serious injuries. Whether this refuge is suitable for horse riding is certainly a separate and debatable issue.

We believe that Representative Van De Wege, who was elected with great help from the environmental community, should sit down and work with Olympic Audubon to forge a plan to help the horse community and the refuge come to a solution. It may be that jogging may have to be rerouted around a more workable situation, and an educational program for the community be mounted to help people understand the purpose of this ’wildlife refuge.”

Filed under: Around the Sound, Clallam County, Dungeness Wildlife Refuge, Government, Olympic Peninsula, Places | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Seeing More Hummingbirds In Winter Lately? – Earthfix

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Al B.

We have been seeing more Hummers this winter at our feeder. Interesting info here. It’s worth keeping an eye out for species other than Anna’s because that one is native.

As winter begins, humming bird experts say more of the tiny birds may be sticking around the Northwest instead of migrating south. There are three types of hummingbirds Northwesterners might be seeing more of at feeders or in their yards this time of year: the Rufous, the Anna’s or the Allen’s hummingbirds. Read the rest of the story at:

http://earthfix.kcts9.org/flora-and-fauna/article/seeing-more-hummingbirds-in-winter-lately/

Filed under: Around the Sound, Birds, Olympic Peninsula | Leave a Comment »

Peninsula counties get $2.3 million for salmon recovery–PDN

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Al B.

Salmon recovery efforts along the Elwha, Pyhst, Hoko, Crooked Creek, Dungeness River, Sands Creek, Clallam River, Calawah River, and Big River all were given money from the State Salmon Recovery Board. Projects in the Dosewallips, Duckabush,Discovery Bay, Big Quilcene, Snow Creek, Christmas (?)  Creek in Jefferson County were also funded.

The whole story is at:

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121217/NEWS/312179995/peninsula-counties-get-23-million-for-salmon-recovery

Support Local Journalism. Subscribe to the PDN.

Filed under: Clallam County, Government, Hood Canal, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Salmon Recovery | 2 Comments »

UPDATE ON: Rep.-elect Kilmer won’t support Wild Olympics bill as it is now–PDN

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Al B.

Trying to figure out whether the Demo who ran with heavy environmental support on the Peninsula now abandons one of his base, who worked hard for his election, or if this is just somewhat slanted reporting by the PDN. Kilmer could have said that he supports what he’s seen but needs more consensus building before he can push it over the top in DC. But he didn’t even apparently say that. He comes out in favor of increasing harvest levels in federal forests, with no explanation of why, or what’s currently wrong with the system.

While we agree that jobs are the primary thing to focus on, there has been an enormous amount of legwork done by the supporters of Wild Olympics, there does not appear to be any large scale negative issues with it, (read the scientific literature done researching it’s affects) and only a small contingent of folks against it, from all the polls that have been put out. Vocal opposition to be sure, some with big money, but not a majority of the public. 

UPDATE AS OF 12/14/2012 at 5:26PM

We contacted Connie Gallant, of the Wild Olympics Campaign. Her quote to us was:

"In speaking with Congressman-elect Derek Kilmer earlier today regarding the statements published on the PDN about his opposition to the Wild Olympics, he claims the PDN "mischaracterized" his statements, that he never has said he opposes Wild Olympics, that he simply wants to see some changes made and more consensus reached. After clarifying several points to  him about the proposal and the bill, he requested a meeting with the Wild Olympics coalition team very soon so that he can understand the issue better."

This update quote first appeared on the Olympic Peninsula Environmental News.

Read segments of the interview with him on the PDN today.

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121214/NEWS/312149989/rep-elect-kilmer-wont-support-wild-olympics-bill-as-it-is-now

subscribe to the PDN. Keep local journalism alive.

To find out more about the Wild Olympics Campaign, see

http://www.wildolympics.org/

Filed under: Around the Sound, Clallam County, Government, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Wild Olympics Campaign | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Human values count in Puget Sound recovery

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Al B.

Chris Dunagun has a solid overview of the Puget Sound Partnership as Governor Gregoire enters her last month in office. Interview with her and others in the Partnership, along with a view from the beach. Worth the read.

New indicators are being developed by the Puget Sound Partnership, now in its fifth year, to measure human health and well-being.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/nov/24/human-values-count-in-puget-sound-recovery/#ixzz2DIhGOBkh

Support the Kitsap Sun. Subscribe.

Filed under: Around the Sound, Hood Canal, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Places, Puget Sound Partnership | Leave a Comment »

Downstream or Upstream, It’s Uphill for Salmon: Tribes Work to Protect Habitat–Green Acre Radio

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Al B.

Martha Baskin has been doing a good job of covering environmental issues on her Green Acre Radio podcast. Here is a reminder warning by the NWIF and Stilaguamish, that we are still on a downhill trajectory, and more, much more needs to be done if we are to save our wild stocks.

Wild salmon runs have been in steep decline in the Pacific Northwest for decades. Restoring runs to historic levels involves substantial economic costs, competing societal priorities, and entrenched policy stances. The Stillaguamish Tribe and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission say there’s no time to wait. If we don’t act there won’t be any more salmon. Martha Baskin reports.

http://greenacreradio.blogspot.com/2012/11/november-15-2012-downstream-or-upstream.html

Filed under: Around the Sound, Olympic Peninsula, Puget Sound, Salmon | Leave a Comment »

New Study of Wild Olympics Shows No Impact to Timber Jobs

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Al B.

Stewardhip Forestry does first timber impact analysis of Murray/Dicks Legislation

QUILCENE, WA – Stewardship Forestry, an independent forestry consultant, released a study today on the impact of the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (H.R. 5995/ S.3329) on the Olympic National Forest (ONF) timber supply. The question of what that impact would be and what affect it might have on timber jobs has been much debated as the Wild Olympics proposal has been significantly modified over the past three years. The report concludes that “the proposed wilderness within the Wild Olympics legislation will not limit timber supply under the current management policy framework, and thus should not result in reduced harvesting or job losses.”

“We welcome this independent analysis by forester Derek Churchill of Stewardship Forestry Consulting, which concludes the revised wilderness and wild and scenic river designations in Senator Murray’s and Congressman Dicks’ Wild Olympics legislation will not cost timber jobs or have any significant impact on the Olympic National Forest (ONF) timber supply,” said Connie Gallant, Chair of the Wild Olympics Campaign. The Wild Olympics Campaign commissioned the timber analysis to help inform the public discussion about land management and conservation for parts of the Olympic National Forest.

Stewardship Forestry’s Derek Churchill, who has worked with ONF staff on designing and reviewing timber sales in the past, concluded that less than 1 percent of the proposed 126,000-acre wilderness is harvestable under the current management policies of the Olympic National Forest. Earlier drafts of the proposal had contained nearly five times that amount. The study showed more than 99 percent of the wilderness proposed in the final legislation is already out of the timber base either because of current Forest Service administrative protections, riparian areas, distance from roads, or other factors the agency considers when conducting timber sales. The proposed wilderness designation would simply make current administrative protections permanent. In addition, the report confirmed that the Wild and Scenic River designations proposed in the legislation will have no impact on ONF timber production.

The report illustrates that it is the rate of harvest, not available timber, that is the primary factor in determining what impacts, if any, there could be to timber supply or related jobs. It concludes that 190,000 acres of available timber harvest capacity exists on the Olympic National Forest that would be unaffected by the proposed designations in the Murray/Dicks legislation. Because the current rate of harvest averages only 1,350 acres annually, the report concludes that the Olympic National Forest could significantly accelerate its current rate of harvest for 50 years or more.

The full Stewardhip Forestry report and an associated detailed GIS map can be downloaded on the Wild Olympics Campaign website (www.wildolympics.org).


Mr. Churchill is available for comment at 206-391-9832 and Derek@stewardshipforestry.com

Ms. Gallant can also be reached at cg@conniegallant.com

Filed under: Olympic Peninsula, Wild Olympics Campaign | Leave a Comment »

Sol Duc River Photos by John Gussman

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Al B.

John,a friend and fellow filmmaker/photographer,  was out on the Sol Duc at Salmon Cascades this weekend. Great shots of the salmon jumping. No need to go to Alaska to watch this.

For those unfamiliar with the Sol Duc, it is part of the  largest watershed drainage 0in the North Olympic Peninsula.

Flash is needed to view this, so it likely won’t view on an iPad or iPhone.

http://www.dcproductions.com/solduc/

Filed under: Clallam County, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Places | Leave a Comment »

Biomass meet in Sequim draws a crowd of protesters–PDN

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Al B.

The battle over whether the biomass experiments at Port Angeles and Port Townsend continue to generate a lot of controversy. These experimental plants, and that’s how the legislature defined them in the law that authorized them in 2005/06, are going to be with us a long time, and will affect our air. The problem is, no one really knows how, and the State is fast tracking these plants with little concern for what happens once they are in and we have to breath their particulate. That the public has to fight to get any decent monitoring in, is indicative of how blind our state representatives have been on this.  It’s all about jobs jobs jobs.

A plan to place four temporary air-quality monitors in Port Angeles and Sequim in 2013 and monitors in Port Townsend in 2014 doesn’t go far enough, according to many at a packed Olympic Region Clean Air Agency board meeting in Sequim. Many among the more than two dozen Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend residents who gave maximum-three-minute comments at the meeting Monday night were concerned about biomass expansion projects under construction in Port Angeles and Port Townsend. Paul Gottlieb reports.

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121017/NEWS/310179999/biomass-meet-in-sequim-draws-a-crowd-of-protesters

Filed under: Biomass Cogeneration, Clallam County, Jefferson County, Nippon Biomass Project, Olympic Peninsula | Leave a Comment »

Groups Set On Twin Rivers Restoration–PDN

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Al B.

Another possible restoration of the shoreline from past industrial work. Helps restore for benefit of some of the best steelhead runs left.

JOYCE — Multiple agencies, both public and private, want to restore a chunk of land roughly 20 miles west of Joyce and are planning a community meeting to update local residents on the status of the project.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120917/NEWS/309179996/0/SEARCH

Filed under: Clallam County, Projects, Twin Rivers | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Caffeine flushed into Pacific Ocean stresses marine life–CBC

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Al B.

So my question is: Is Caffeine ‘legacy’ as well as modern? Does it have a half life? Is this the caffeine that was dumped by our fathers in the 30s into the Sound after drinking coffee? Or is it modern?

Caffeine has become a significant pollutant in the ocean off the U.S. Pacific Northwest, according to a university researcher. Elise Granek, a marine ecologist at Portland State University in Oregon, sampled waters up and down the Oregon coast and found measurable levels of caffeine…Granek, who did all her initial research in the waters off Oregon, said she’s curious about caffeine levels in the Strait of Juan de Fuca between southern Vancouver Island and the Washington coast. That’s where Victoria pumps untreated sewage effluent directly into its coastal waters, and won’t have a sewage treatment facility in place until 2018.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/08/28/bc-ocean-caffeine.html

Filed under: Around the Sound, Canada, Olympic Peninsula, Water Pollution | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Dr. Lawrence Dill Net Pen Presentation Now Online

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Al B.

If you are concerned about the latest proposals to bring net pen aquaculture to the Strait of Juan de Fuca (5 miles west of Port Angeles), or are concerned and unclear about the current standoff by the Department of Ecology and the Jefferson County Commissioners over allowing in water net pen aquaculture in Jefferson County (through the Shoreline Master Program updated), then you should take the time to listen to this lecture (it runs over an hour in total). It is, to be sure, one of the most comprehensive overviews of the possible negative impact of net pens I’ve ever heard, and is based on research done just north of us, in BC. While Dr. Dill clearly states that there are variations of environment between there and here, the issues are ones that we may face if they are allowed here. Then again, as pointed out in the Q&A session at the end, by the manager of one of the net pen companies south of Bainbridge Island, some of these issues have not shown up (though that comment was not based on peer review independent scientific research, but on experiential information. It was not independently verified and simply is presented as the point of view of the farm manager).

Dr.Dill is one of the foremost researchers on sea lice, and has a lot to say about the “possible” negative impacts of net pen aquaculture based on years of scientific, peer reviewed, published work. He was brought to lecture in Port Angeles last week, by a consortium of environmental groups concerned about the proposals for net pen aquaculture in Jefferson and Clallam counties lately. The event was sponsored by the Coastal Watershed Institute, Wild Salmon Center, Sierra Club Activist Network, and Olympic Peninsula Chapter Surfrider Foundation.

His talk was titled:
Evolutionary & Behavioral Ecology and Earth2Ocean Research Groups of Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada presented:
POTENTIAL NEGATIVE ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF OPEN NET PEN SALMON AQUACULTURE: LESSONS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA

The discussion included:
• The impacts that salmon farms can have on wild salmon stocks
• Recent research on sea lice and other pathogens.
• How the iconic Fraser River sockeye salmon have been put at risk by salmon aquaculture.
• Degradation of the bottom communities below the farms.
• Pollution, by-catch of other fish species, escapes, and inadvertent or intentional reduction of marine mammal populations.
• New potential open pen aquaculture projects near Port Angeles.

The introduction by Anne did not have a microphone so it’s a bit noisy. Dr. Dill did have a microphone on, so it sounds better when you get to him speaking. The video was published in two parts. A shorter 10+ minutes to allow you to get the gist of the presentation, and the rest of the presentation in Part 2. The audio podcast is presented in it’s entirety.

You can view Part 1 of the lecture online at https://vimeo.com/47903851.

Part 2 is located at
https://vimeo.com/47906547

Or you can listen to it online at:

http://soundcloud.com/mountainstone/dr-lawrence-dill-netpens

I am adding the links above to the “Educational” links on the left hand side of the front page. You can always find it there if you need to refer to it later. Thanks to Dr. Dill for allowing the sponsoring groups to videotape the presentation, and offer it to those who were unable to make it to the discussion.

Dr. Larry Dill on Net Pens

Filed under: Aquaculture, Canada, Jefferson County, Olympic Peninsula, Salmon | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Hood Canal Shellfish Closed Due To Vibrio – State of WA

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Al B.

If you have purchased or dug shellfish on Hood Canal in the last few days, you might want to consider this news.

Hood Canal 5 growing area is closed effective immediately because of a Vibrio parahaemolyticus-associated illness outbreak involving six unrelated people. According to the Model Ordinance Chapter II, when a
growing area is closed for naturally-occurring pathogens, a recall must be initiated; the recall will apply to all oyster product harvested on and after August 16, 2012. All growers in Hood Canal 5 will be
contacted telephonically with details. The growing area may be reopened when it is determined that the naturally-occurring pathogen is no longer a risk to public health. If you have any questions, please contact Richard G. Lillie, MPH State Standardization Officer at 360.236.3313 or via email, or Cari Franz-West at 360.236.3326. Questions about the recall may be addressed to Frank Cox at
360.236.3309.

Filed under: Clams, Hood Canal, Olympic Peninsula, Oysters, Shellfish, Vibro | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Return of the kings! Chinook salmon observed in undammed portion of Elwha River – Park & PDN

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Al B.

As the old saying goes, “nature abhors a vacuum”. The Olympic National Park have announced (and reported and commented on by The Peninsula Daily News) that chinook (King) salmon have been spotted above the site of the lower of the two dams that have been removed. This is the first time in almost a century that they have been able to reach this location. In addition to the Kings, Steelhead have also been seen in above the first dam.

The power of restoration again shows that once a place has been restored, nature tries and fill it, if the species still are alive.

The news bulletin from the park
http://www.nps.gov/olym/parknews/return-of-the-kings.htm

Additional information on the story at the PDN.

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120821/NEWS/308219989/return-of-the-kings-chinook-salmon-observed-in-undammed-portion-of

Filed under: Chinook, Clallam County, Elwa dam removal, Elwha River, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

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