Watershed Day Oct 9th at WSU in Hadlock

PORT HADLOCK, Wash. WSU’s 12^th Annual Jefferson County Watershed Day will be held Saturday, October 9 and will explore the impacts of oil spills and pollution from stormwater runoff. The title of the day is Big Spills, Little Drips. Keynote speaker Dr. John Incardona will provide the latest research on the impacts of both big oil spills and the “little drips” of pollution from stormwater runoff. He will be joined by local experts who will take a look at oil spill response and provide examples of what is happening in Jefferson County to reduce the pollutants in our stormwater. WSU Watershed Day will be held from 9am to noon at the WSU Extension office in Port Hadlock. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Incardona is a research scientist with NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle and the principle investigator leading the Ecotoxicology Program’s Conservation Medicine Group. He has been studying the effects of pollution on fish development for nearly a decade. Dr. Incardona will be joined by local experts Bill Kalina, Environmental Manager of Naval Magazine Indian Island and Terry Khile, Environmental Compliance Officer for the Port of Port Townsend who will discuss stormwater and oil spill preparedness. Pat Pearson of WSU Extension will provide an overview of steps homeowners can take to reduce pollutants and runoff from on their own property.

WSU Watershed Day is presented to the community by the WSU Jefferson County Beach Watchers program and WSU Jefferson County Extension. In years past, local Beach Watchers were called “Water Watchers,” and Watershed Day topics included plastics in the environment, rain gardens and global warming. Last year, Dr. John Stark, Director of Washington State University’s Puyallup Research Center and WSU’s Salmon toxicology research laboratory, discussed pesticides in the water and the potential impacts on aquatic life.

WSU Jefferson County Extension is located at 201 W. Patison in Port Hadlock.  Watershed Day is free but an RSVP is requested to ensure a seat. For more information and to RSVP to Watershed Day please contact:  Darcy McNamara, Beach Watcher Coordinator at 360/379-5610 ext 230 or darcym@jefferson.wsu.edu.