The Kitsap Sun’s Christopher Dunagan starts a multipart series in looking at the indicators of the health of the Sound as seen by the Puget Sound Partnership. Check it out. Great work by Chris.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2013/mar/23/sounds-health-starts-bottom/#axzz2QXkladX8
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, Puget Sound | Leave a Comment »
Apparently Researcher Tessa Francis got to witness a herring spawn, a good reminder why this basic food of much of our larger predators like salmon, is critical to protection efforts.
A caviar day on Hood Canal
Submitted by jeffrice on Mon, 2013-03-18 17:16
Puget Sound Institute research scientist Tessa Francis reports a “lion country safari” on Hood Canal today. Thousands of spawning herring churned the otherwise calm waters of the canal, and brought the wildlife out in force.
http://www.eopugetsound.org/blogs/caviar-day-hood-canal
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: herring, hood canal | Leave a Comment »
Season will open in May. Hood Canal and South Puget Sound being closed to help protect the rockfish population, which could be argued is similarly threatened in the Strait, but for some reason the State scientists felt that the populations there are healthy enough to support more by catch.
We hope all you fishermen will stick to one Halibut a day, and report your catch. Your reporting helps make the science better, and ultimately leads to you being able to your grandchildren being able to fish. Given the current trend, that’s seriously in doubt.
Be aware that the Seattle Times is preparing to put a pay wall into affect. Soon you may have to subscribe to get any content from them. I recommend that anyone that appreciates getting substantial local news subscribe to their local papers. Us bloggers don’t get paid to go out and gather the news. The newspapers do, if ever so poorly since the Internet has hobbled their profit model.
Puget Sound getting ready for halibut seasons similar to last year’s
The Seattle Times
Halibut fishing will be closed in Hood Canal (Area 12) as well as
south-central and southern Puget Sound (Areas 11 and 13) to protect
endangered rockfish …
<http://seattletimes.com/html/othersports/2020525080_outn10.html
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: fish, halibut, hood canal, ling cod, Puget Sound, strait of juan de fuca | Leave a Comment »
While those in the middle and bottom of society are going to be the ones most affected by the budget crisis in Washington, the militarization, and urbanization of Hood Canal continues unabated. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, at least not here and now, but what it is, is the continued growth of urban like efforts in the last semi-natural fjord in the lower 48.
One military expense that’s not discussed in budget talks is construction of a $715 million dollar explosives handling wharf at the Navy’s Bangor Nuclear Submarine Base. The base occupies five miles of shoreline on the northern edge of Hood Canal, Puget Sound’s western arm. It manages the third largest collection of nuclear warheads in the country. A National Environmental Policy Act lawsuit was filed against the Navy last summer. Legal wrangling kept the case on hold. But last week the 9th Circuit said its first responsibility was to resolve issues raised by the suit and the case would move forward. Martha Baskin reports.
A Multi-Million Dollar Military Expense Not in ‘Budget Talk’: Construction of a 2nd Explosives Handling Wharf at Bangor Nuclear Submarine Base 20 Miles from Seattle
http://greenacreradio.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-5-2013-multi-million-dollar.html
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, military | Leave a Comment »
Undersea mapping efforts by Washington State Fish and Wildlife found less than they thought for geology, but did manage to find some new rockfish habitat, along with other species. This data appears to be useful in future rockfish assessments. Rockfish are key species needing protection, as they are not a migratory species, and take a long time to reproduce.
Specifically, they got video documentation of several species of rockfish from an underwater location not easily accessible. WDFW marine fish scientists also gained valuable insight into the spatial distribution and habitat use by rockfish in Hood Canal that will be used to design future rockfish assessment surveys. Also observed were burrowing anemone (Pachycerianthus fimbriatus), white sea whips (Osteocella septentrionalis), marine worms, ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei), and several species of flatfish.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, rockfish | Leave a Comment »
We continue to see the changing of the guard in the Northwest. As many of you know, there is no sure thing that these organizations will survive beyond their founders, as witnessed by the rapid end of People For Puget Sound after Kathy Fletcher’s retirement. We wish Neil Werner a wonderful retirement, and all the best to Ted Smith who takes over. The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group has accomplished a lot over their 17 years under Neil.
“Working at the helm of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group for the past 17 years has not been unlike raising a family, says Neil Werner.”
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: belfair, HCSE, hood canal, Salmon | Leave a Comment »
Ok to do some shellfish harvesting.
Port Townsend Bay, Oak Bay, Admiralty Inlet and North Hood Canal have reopened for recreational shellfishing. Levels of the marine biotoxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, or PSP, are now below the recreational closure level for these four areas, the Jefferson County Public Health announced Friday. Other beaches in Jefferson County — and all beaches in Clallam County — remain closed because of marine biotoxin levels or pollution. Kilisut Harbor, including Mystery Bay, remains closed to butter clams only.
Read the rest of the story at:
http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121111/news/311119990/some-beaches-open-for-shellfish
Support local news: Subscribe to the PDN.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: admiralty inlet, hood canal, oak bay, Port Townsend, PSP, Shellfish | Leave a Comment »
Chris Dunagan brings home the reality of the almost $7M in restoration projects that Norm Dicks and the Navy have traded out to allow work to be done on the sub base in Hood Canal.
Does anybody have an old dock he would like to sell? Does the dock happen to be located anywhere near the Navy’s submarine base at Bangor? Under a new mitigation program, the Hood Canal Coordinating Council will use $6.9 million from the Navy to compensate for habitat damage caused by the Navy’s $715-million explosives handling wharf, now under construction at Bangor. Besides removing old docks, projects under consideration include the removal of shoreline fill, creosote pilings and bulkheads located in tidal areas.
Chris Dunagan reports.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/nov/10/hood-canal-restoration-sought-for-69-million-in/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, Navy | Leave a Comment »
The difference between this piece and Chris Dunagan’s piece yesterday, is that this points out more issues about the septic issues. As someone who lobbied in Olympia to put the monitoring and upgrading of septic systems in place to protect against the fish kills, the *lack of definitive science studies on this issue* was the reason we were pushing to get something done immediately by making sure the septic systems weren’t root cause. As mentioned in the article below, the fish kills of the last decade were unprecedented, regardless if the Oxygen levels have been shown to be bad in the past. Now that we have the data, we can tune the regulations to match the science. It proves, once again, that while science is expensive, making assumptions based on best guesses is also expensive, and ultimately angers the voting public. There are not a lot of extensive long term studies on the Sound. The Puget Sound Partnership needs to get even more studies underway, to make sure that policy decisions are based on accurate underlying data, and not best guesses. We saw a similar situation happen because of a lack of studies of the beaches under geoduck farms. Environmental groups called for a go slow policy on geoduck farm licensing, because the data was lacking. Now that the data is in, it shows that the long term effects are not as serious as many believed. Whether the size of farms running over decades and thousands of acres can be destructive to an ecosystem is certainly a valid question, but the Sea Doc study seemed to show that concern for the beaches in smaller farms is not the issue that it once was. Or did I misread that study?
In case you missed Christopher Dunagan’s account yesterday of the Hood Canal study, here’s Craig Welch’s report: The most comprehensive review ever of existing research on Hood Canal has concluded that septic systems aren’t a leading cause of the massive fish kills that have hit the hooked fjord over the years.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019193768_hoodcanal19m.html
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal | Leave a Comment »
The militarization of the Hood Canal continues…no stopping the Navy when it wants something. Hope all you fishermen and sailors will be content to have yourselves harassed by Coast Guard vessels as you fish and sail the Canal in years to come. Speak now or forever hold your peace.
A draft environmental assessment of the Navy’s proposed Hood Canal electronic measurement ranging system has been published. It describes the proposed project, its purpose and need, and identifies alternatives to be analyzed. The range would measure the electromagnetic signature of the area’s submarines. Magnetic signatures can build up and be detected by planes and ships. The signatures must be reset occasionally at a magnetic silencing facility by exposing the boat to high electrical currents. Subs must now go to San Diego or Hawaii to be measured. The draft document can be viewed at
https://portal.navfac.navy.mil/portal/page/portal/navfac/navfac_ww_pp/navfac_efanw_pp. Comments can be made until Sept. 28 at http://www.emmrea.com.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/sep/17/public-can-comment-on-navys-magnetic-signature/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: EIS, hood canal, Navy | Leave a Comment »
Human sources of nitrogen no doubt contribute to low-oxygen problems in Southern Hood Canal, but federal and state officials say they will need more precise information before taking action under the Clean Water Act. Other actions to reduce pollution and nutrients in Hood Canal — some voluntary and some regulatory — remain under discussion by the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, which includes county and tribal officials. A new report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington Department of Ecology concludes that existing studies fail to show conclusively that nitrogen from septic systems, fertilizers and other human sources have caused Hood Canal’s oxygen levels to drop by 0.2 milligrams per liter — the threshold for legal enforcement. Chris Dunagan reports.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/sep/17/natural-trends-noted-in-hood-canal-oxygen-levels/http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/sep/17/natural-trends-noted-in-hood-canal-oxygen-levels/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: clean water act, epa, HCCC, hood canal, Septic Systems, tribes | 2 Comments »
Hood Canal from Seal Rock south to the Mason County line has reopened for recreational shellfishing. Levels of the marine biotoxin that causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning — or DSP — are currently below the recreational closure level, according to the Jefferson County Public Health Department. Many of East Jefferson County beaches were closed in July because of elevated levels of DSP as well as the more potentially serious paralytic shellfish poisoning — or PSP. Many remain closed by the state Department of Health because of marine biotoxin levels, with PSP the primary biotoxin of concern.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: biotoxin, hood canal, mason county, seal rock, Shellfish | Leave a Comment »
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: Closure, hood canal, illness, Shellfish, Vibrio | Leave a Comment »
Marine biotoxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), also known as “red tide,” have been detected in high levels in shellfish samples from north Hood Canal. As a result, the Washington State Department of Health and the Kitsap Public Health District have closed recreational shellfish harvesting in north Hood Canal from Foulweather Bluff south to the Hood Canal bridge, including all bays and inlets, for all species of clams, oysters and mussels. An existing PSP closure for all species of shellfish remains in effect on the eastern shoreline of Kitsap County from Foulweather Bluff south to the Pierce County line.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/aug/15/red-tide-closure-for-shellfish-harvesting/
Filed under: Hood Canal | Tagged: hood canal, red tide, Shellfish | Leave a Comment »
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, Shellfish, toxin | Leave a Comment »
If people won’t approve new taxes, and the job of permitting needs, by law to be done, we best expect and get used to higher fees for everything. Welcome to the future that so many anti-tax people were selling us. (and this happening under a mostly Democratic legislature!) You thought that being anti tax would reduce your costs? Certain laws of nature are not going to go away.
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A permit for construction in and around state waters — free of charge since the program started in 1943 — will now cost $150 for processing. The permit, called a hydraulic project approval, or HPA, is used to ensure that construction projects adequately protect fish and shellfish. Christopher Dunagan reports.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jun/13/permit-fee-added-for-construction-near-state/
Filed under: Around the Sound | Tagged: goverment, hood canal, permits | Leave a Comment »
Skanska’s U.S. unit will earn $149 million from a U.S. Navy contract for building an explosives handling wharf in Silverdale, Washington.
SILVERDALE, Wash., June 12 (UPI) — Skanska’s U.S. unit will earn $149 million from a U.S. Navy contract for building an explosives handling wharf in Silverdale, Wash.
Skanska is joining two other firms — American Bridge Company and Nova Group Inc. — in the project, which carries a value more than double what the U.S. unit of the Swedish construction joint will receive.
Read the whole story: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2012/06/12/Skanska-to-build-US-Navy-explosives-wharf/UPI-67381339534981/#ixzz1xg29g600
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, Navy | 2 Comments »
A mitigation program that could bring millions of federal dollars to restoration projects in Hood Canal was approved Friday by the Hood Canal Coordinating Council. If approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Washington Department of Ecology, the new program would first be used to compensate for environmental damage from the Navy’s $715-million explosives handling wharf to be built at Bangor.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jun/01/hood-canal-council-oks-program-to-handle-federal/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Bangor, HCCC, hood canal, Navy | Leave a Comment »
Some could look at this as a brilliant plan by the Navy to shut down environmental opposition to their plans to continue the militarization of the Hood Canal. Remember that with two sub bases we will have at least twice the closings of the Hood Canal Bridge, all unannounced. It’s already difficult to know when to leave for meetings and medical appointments in either Bremerton or Seattle. – Editor
5/9 Kitsap Sun
Hood Canal council could get millions from Navy for mitigation projects
By Christopher Dunagan
HOOD CANAL — Hood Canal Coordinating Council could be put in charge of environmental restoration projects worth millions of dollars, as the Navy moves forward with construction of an explosives handling wharf at Bangor.
Under federal law, the Navy must provide mitigation for environmental damage caused by the $715-million wharf, currently going through an environmental review process.
Instead of identifying its own mitigation projects, the Navy favors making payments to a government entity such as the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, which would ensure that restoration projects fit into the larger goals of restoring Hood Canal, said Lynn Wall, environmental planner for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, based in Silverdale.
More at
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/may/09/hood-canal-council-could-get-millions-from-navy/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, Navy | Leave a Comment »
So do we really want double the amount of Navy subs and subsequent support staff? Everything is a secret, and everything is national security. Speak up now to stop expansion of the sub base, or forever hold your silence, and complaints – editor
5/6 Kitsap Sun
Navy’s floating acoustics lab doing work in Hood Canal
By Kitsap Sun staff
BANGOR — Residents have wondered for weeks, “What’s that white, windowless building being pushed up and down Hood Canal by a tugboat?”
It’s a floating Navy laboratory called M241, revealed Chief Dale Davis, Naval Base Kitsap spokesman. It provides an enclosed, protected structure with a moon pool — an opening in the floor — and a lift for placing test equipment in the water.
M241 is operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Detachment Puget Sound. The detachment provides management and logistic support for West Coast ship and submarine acoustic trials.
The M241 was brought to the Bangor waterfront in the summer of 2009 when facilities on Fox Island were closed. It will remain at Bangor as part of ongoing research, development, testing and evaluation projects.
What exactly it’s doing out there is secret.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/may/06/navys-floating-acoustics-lab-doing-work-in-hood/
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: hood canal, Navy | Leave a Comment »
