This is the Olympic Peninsula Environmental News. We have been around since March of 2007, and cover all manner of environmental news, opinion, events, and links to groups doing work on the Peninsula. Feel free to contact us to be included in this listing. Or if you want to be a contributor, just ask, and we will set you up as an author! Just post any question to the site at the box below. We’ll have someone get back to you shortly.
If you want to support this site send donations of any amount to
Al Bergstein c/o Mountainstone Consulting
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Thanks for reading this news and opinion web site.
Al Bergstein
editor/publisher/reporter
albergstein AT gmail.com
Please consider posting this event:
Dr. Deborah Giles, “What Feces Can Tell Us About the Health of the Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales”
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
7:00 PM 8:30 PM
There will be a Q&A after with filmmaker Shane Anderson, The Lost Salmon.
Information can be found here: https://www.acs-sfbay.org/events
Hello Al,
On 28 September 2017 you have posted an article about Dr. Matsumura expressing Concern over new ad in Port Townsend Leader about the method of cancer treatment in his clinic in Berkley CA.
You have concluded the article saying :
“I am forwarding this information onto the State Attorney General asking him to look into this company’s advertising claims.
Since then nothing has happened and we still do not know if this treatment is reliable or if it is all fraud.
Thank you
Correct comment
In 2017 nit in 2027
Hello Al
On 28 September 2027 you have posted a very clear extensive article expressing Concern over new ad in Port Townsend Leader about Dr. MATSUMURA and his cancer treatment and you have concluded the article saying:
” I am forwarding this information onto the State Attorney General asking him to look into this company’s advertising claims.”
Since then nothing has happened and we are still do not know if dr. Matsumura and his orgsnization are real and reliable or there has been any sentence confirming fraud charges
Do not you think you should update the status.
Regards
Dear Al B,
Big Fan and longtime reader. I am forwarding a news worthy article I think will interest you.
https://ecology.news/2019-08-19-seattle-has-a-major-poop-problem-puget-sound.html
Let’s figure out a way to stop the Sewage and
Save the sound for real! Thankyou, Victoria
Thanks!
Check out PPF: A nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to environmental protection, enhancing the quality of life of the North Olympic Peninsula since 1973. http://www.protectpeninsulasfuture.org/
Will you all be presented at the public hearing in Port Angeles Sept. 7th regarding the relocation and expansion of fish farms into the Strait?
Thanks for your good work. We’d like you and your subscribers to know about this new Facebook group, and we hope many of you will help us get the still-contaminated and fenced off Rayonier pulp mill site cleaned up. It’s been 20 years. Enough!
Waterfront Toxic Waste Cleanup Campaign
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PAtoxicwaterfrontcleanup/
Be glad to sign up and see what I can do to get the word out. I know that there has been a lot of slow motion movement on this. Hope you can get the Dems at the State to do something!
Hi, I’m hoping you can help spread the word:
DNR is considering a proposal that would be a big conservation gain for the Olympic Peninsula, and the local conservation community is looking to actively spread the word to encourage input and participation. Please help get the word out to your friends and contacts, because this proposal represents a great conservation opportunity, and it will not happen without a strong show of public support. To help, we need a flood of notes of support by October 21 to AMPD@dnr.wa.gov and good attendance at the public hearing on Wednesday October 13, 6-8 pm at the Quilcene High School multi-purpose room. There’s an informational open house this Wednesday, September 28 (also 6-8 pm at the Quilcene High School multi-purpose room), and more info available at http://www.dnr.wa.gov/managed-lands/natural-areas,
I wanted to share news of a state-wide honor for a local conservationist – Jefferson Land Trust’s Conservation Director Sarah Spaeth has just been appointed by the governor to the Washington Conservation Commission: http://www.ptleader.com/news/spaeth-appointed-to-state-conservation-commission/article_7fad6478-7a07-11e6-8a25-b7b3a3481178.html
Great! I saw the article. I’ll post something on Thursday.
Thanks Al! Warmly, Caroline
Caroline Robertson Outreach Director
Jefferson Land Trust *Helping the community preserve open space, working lands and habitat forever.*
1033 Lawrence St Port Townsend WA 98368 360.379.9501 ext 105 http://www.saveland.org
*A land trust is a promise … a promise we as a community make that in 50 years, 75 years, 100 years, the wild spaces, and memory places of Jefferson County will still exist, and that the quality of life and legacy they represent will remain forever.*
On Wed, Sep 14, 2016 at 5:29 PM, Olympic Peninsula Environmental News wrote:
> Al B. commented: “Great! I saw the article. I’ll post something on > Thursday.” >
Please add Puget Soundkeeper http://www.pugetsoundkeeper.org to your list of Non Governmental Organizations. We are a water quality watch dog group that has been working to protect and preserve the waters of Puget Sound since 1984.
Our work covers the Sound, Straits, Hood Canal and the San Juan Islands as well as all freshwater tributaries. Our main initiatives address specific water quality problems facing Puget Sound including stormwater pollution, wastewater discharges, industrial discharges, marine debris, vessels, and various forms of non-point pollution.
Our work includes stewardship projects, education, on-water monitoring and citizen enforcement.
We can be reached at psa@pugetsoundkeeper.org or 206-297-7002
Will do. Thanks!
done!
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) released for the proposed Master Plan Resort at Pleasant Harbor, Black Point, Brinnon Washington.
Public Meeting and testimony to be heard before the Jefferson County Planning Commission on January 6, 2016 at the Brinnon School, beginning at 6:30pm.
Project Documents: http://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/commdevelopment/Brinnon_MPR.htm
Opposition:
http://www.brinnongroup.org
I am a student at the Univeristy of Washington Atmosphereic Science Department leading a project to measure the air polution in the Port Angeles area. I will be using an aircraft to more accurately measure the air polution and to help draw conculsions regaurding sources of polution. Very little air quality research has been conducted from aircraft in this area and I beleive the residences of the Port Angles area have the right to know what they are breathing. This reaserch could expose polluting sources could untimatley lead to inprovments in the air quality. I was wondering if anyone has information on where I could get some funding to help offset the costs of equipment and fuel. Thank you!
Eric, it would help if you could tell us about how much you need to raise.
A great article in today’s Leader with more in-depth details about the long-term, multi-phase collaborative project to preserve Chimacum Ridge as a community forest in the next five years:
http://www.ptleader.com/news/going-all-out-to-protect-chimacum-ridge/article_f9456572-3586-11e5-9190-7f774e36eafa.html
Hi, I wanted to share this news:
A partnership between Jefferson Land Trust, Rayonier, Ecotrust Forest Management, and The Trust for Public Land has successfully completed the first phase of a long-term project to preserve Chimacum Ridge.This provides the land trust a 5-year window to secure funding for this central and defining feature of the Chimacum landscape–850 acres of forested ridgeline that begins just south of the Chimacum crossroads and extends for approximately two and a quarter miles between Center and Beaver Valleys.
Now, the Land Trust has up to five years to raise funds, most likely through a combination of grants and community support, and determine the final ownership structure for the property, with a goal of turning the Ridgeinto a publicly-accessible community forest managed for timber production through sustainable harvest techniques that maintains a mature standing forest, providing wildlife habitat, recreational trails, and benefits our water and air quality as well as producing timber.
PDN coverage today:http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150723/news/307239988/land-trust-others-acquire-ridge-top-chimacum-forest-to-avoid-clearcut
More info:http://www.saveland.org/News/News_Detail.aspx?processID=190
Greetings,
Bonnie Phillips, forest activist extraordinaire with the Olympic Forest Coalition for over two decades, passed away today.
I was fortunate enough to conduct an interview with her a few weeks ago about her life’s work and reflections on the environmental movement and would like to turn it into an article for your publication.
Please let me know if this is something you’d be interested in.
Thanks,
Josh Schlossberg
Editor, The Biomass Monitor
Member, Society of Environmental Journalists
Please do Josh.
Hi, I tried to sign up for your email list and it would not accept my email address as legitimate! willowtree@olypen.com Thank you, Julia
Julia, I don’t control how people follow the blog. WordPress does that for me. If you go directly to the front page of the blog, not by using Facebook first (open your favorite browser and go to http://www.olyopen.com. Then try entering your email without the mailto: which you tried last time. It should be willow tree@olypen.com only. It appears for some reason you may have cut and paste your email last time, and it tried to use mailto:willow tree@olypen.com. Hope this helps!
Those in Port Townsend may be interested in the movement on Whidbey to shut down the Coupeville OLF landing strip. The effect would be fewer Navy jets flying anywhere near PT’s environment, as well as numerous environmental improvements for central Whidbey.
We have a potluck and informational event on June 29 at the Crockett Barn, about 3-8 pm. Our website is http://CitizensOfEbeysReserve.com and we hope the information there will be of interest on this site.
Thanks! We really appreciate it.
Hi Alf,
Trent here at Wild Fish Conservancy. Hope you are well. We are having a book signing event for Bill and John McMillan’s recently released book, “May the Rivers Never Sleep.” Event is Friday December 7, 6:30-8:30 PM, at the Seattle Flagship REI Store, North Meeting Room, 222 Yale Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109. The authors, a father-and-son team, have lived most of their lives along the very rivers that they have so eloquently described and photographed. Bill (father) is a biologist as well as a founder and past president of Wild Fish Conservancy. John (son) is an ecologist with NOAA Fisheries, and is currently monitoring the salmon recolonization of the Elwha River watershed. Book signing begins at 6:30 PM, followed by a presentation and Q&A with the authors at 7:30 PM. This is a free event. Additional info is available at: http://wildfishconservancy.org/about/events. Would you mind posting this and adding to the Local Event section?
Thanks,
Trent
Sure Trent. We don’t usually publish events outside the Peninsula, but we’ll make an exception. Good luck with it!
Alf
hi Alf,
Seems I never heard of you either. On the west end of Jefferson county is the Hoh River Trust. We’re a nonprofit land trust that owns about 6800 acres in a corridor along the Hoh River with goals of forest and habitat restoration on former industrial timber land. We use silviculture to accelerate the growth of old growth dependant species habitat and have been active in decommissioning roads and restoring salmon habitat. We’ve been here since 2005 and are working hard. I’d also like to mention our friends and partners, the Hoh Tribe, the Pacifc Coastal Salmon Coalition (PACSAC) and the North Pacific Coast lead entity (NPCLE).
Mike Hagen
Excellent news Mike. Please give a call if you are out this way in Port Townsend, would love to meet for coffee. The editor’s name is Al Bergstein. He’s in the PT phonebook, or you can ping him at mountainstoneproductions@gmail.com
Dear Editor,
As a fellow Green ambassador, I’d like to present you with this short note.
We’ve only today released an infographic that I feel will be of interest to the Olympic Peninsula Environmental News community.
Please have a look at http://www.jobvine.co.za/what-is-the-deal-with-green-jobs/
Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated!
Best Regards,
Elle
Linda Barnfather is running for Clallam County Commissioner, District 1, and would love to include her campaign website underneath your Governmental Sites. She would also love to have an interview with the site if that’s something you would also be interested in. Who should I talk to to inquire about those items? Thank you!
Hello,
I am a long-time member of OPA- Olympic Park Associates, and I don’t see them listed in your NGO’s. Could you please add them?
The current newsletter has an excellent article about the Wild Olympics Campaign, with suggestions for lending support. Perhaps you could post it?
Thank you!
Hi there,
I am writing to let you know about a project that we at Earth Economics have recently embarked upon. The project- Green Jobs in WA State- is looking at broadening and deepening the concept of a green job, and providing a framework that elucidates the fundamental reliance of all jobs on the environment and ecosystem services (clean water, flood protection etc.), and to some extent quantifies reliance of these jobs on green jobs. Many of these green jobs are of course supported by WA’s natural resource agencies, currently facing cuts.
Phase one of this project is thus centered on this legislative session, with the goal of providing the WA environmental community with concepts and economic data they can use to make arguments for investing in job creation that promotes sustainability, climate adaptation and the conservation of our increasingly scarce and threatened natural systems in Washington State.
This Wednesday, March 2, at 10 am we are holding a webinar to introduce the project and present some preliminary findings, and would be glad if you would spread the word through any means possible. The link to register for the webinar is at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/887319526
or http://www.eartheconomics.org
Thank you!
Hey,
Can you add the Coastal Watershed Institute to the list of NGO’s for the Olympic Peninsula? Our website is http://www.coastalwatershedinstitute.org. We’ll be posting the recent KUOW interview on the Elwha project in the next day or two… Thanks…jas
And thank you for listing SavePulali.org under “Non Government Organizations” If you really want to get micro (and we do) check out this web page. It’s just some links and archived news but it claims a digital stake to record what is going on in this particular spot, where we live. We’re lucky enough to live somewhere worth saving. I’m glad to see an expanding digital environmental footprint because accurate information, on the ground, is critical to saving habitat, aquifer, marine life – the whole shebang. So, yeah, maybe it’s worth a wiki!
Now, that’s an idea. Maybe this can the environmental portal for the Peninsula, with everybody contributing. Then, we’d have to do work, it might get overloaded and be open to subterfuge. You do have an impressive array of links and news here.
Changed. Thanks. Perhaps this should be a Wiki!
Left side, Government sites, you want to swap out Kessler for Tharinger?
http://www.leg.wa.gov/house/representatives/pages/tharinger.aspx
Hi,
I am the executive director and marine biologist with the Coastal Watershed Institute, a non-profit formed back in 1996 who’s mission is to bring substantive science and citizenry together to preserve our critical resources thru on the ground wise, longterm, science based ecosystem management. We coordinate the Elwha Nearshore Consortium, a group of scientists, citizens, and managers dedicated to the Elwha nearshore. We have regular events that the community might be interested in. How do we contribute/ post these to your good site?
I am chair of the Sustainability Committee in the League of Women Voters of Clallam County. We have been organized since last Octobeer and are working on a number of issues.
We have long recongized the need for a network which can link all groups together who are working on the issue of sustainability which is a bit broader than just the envrionment.
I would welcome an opportunity to talk to Al about this and other issues. Your website was a welcomed sight.
Thanks for the kind words, Carrol. I’ll be in touch with you this week.