Olympic Peninsula Environmental News

The sediment behind the Elwah dams is one of the factors that makes the $325 million Elwha restoration the largest dam removal project ever anywhere, with some 24 million cubic yards of sediment to manage. Much of the material will remain behind in the watershed, distributed along the river’s middle and lower run. But a lot of it is also rinsing out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it is expected the material will help rebuild the near shore and beaches eroded to ankle-turning cobble. Here it comes: sediment starts to really hit the Elwha

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/fieldnotes/2018020167_here_it_come_the_sediment_starts_to_really_hit_the_elwha.html

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The federal government is closing B.C.’s command centre for emergency oil spills at a time when the province is facing two possible pipeline projects and a potential spike in tanker traffic in West Coast waterways. Ottawa has said it will shut down B.C.’s regional office for emergency oil-spill responders, located in Vancouver, and centralize operations in Quebec in the wake of the cost-cutting March 29 federal budget.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/spill+centre+moving/6483914/story.html

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Reseachers say that preliminary findings seem to point to the whale being killed off the mouth of the Columbia and drifting north to Long Beach. It seems highly odd that a whale would be drifting north in a current that seems to usually go south. But perhaps I’m not aware of how the currents work off the mouth of the Columbia. 

Read more:

Article in the Times Colonist

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Researchers said Wednesday they have conclusive evidence that ocean acidification is at least partly responsible for killing oysters on the West Coast. 

oceanacidification killing oysters

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While we can cheer the growth of sea lions, our sea birds are vanishing, and have been for some years now.

To the untrained eye, there is nothing remarkable about the loose knot of waterbirds bobbing innocently just offshore, south of the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. To biologist Pete Davidson, however, they are signs of trouble brewing in the Salish Sea. Coastal waterbirds in B.C. slipping away

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Coastal+waterbirds+slipping+away/6463446/story.html

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Larry Pynn in the Vancouver Sun writes: “The shared inland waters of Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C.’s Strait of Georgia, and Washington state’s Puget Sound may once again approach its former greatness. Steller sea lions have thrived since the federal government afforded them protection in 1970 — with new abundance estimates pegging their population at 48,000 animals in winter on the B.C. coast. The breeding population had dipped to an estimated 3,400 animals before their protection. Similarly, harbour seals today total an estimated 105,000 animals, one of the densest such populations on earth, compared with fewer than 15,000 in the late 1960s.”

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/oceans/Marine+mammals+coming+back+Salish/6456476/story.html

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If you like to watch: KCTS 9 and EarthFix on Wednesday at 7 PM chronicle the historic removal of two dams from the Elwha River, and show how it will impact people, salmon and the environment for years to come.

Undamming the Elwha http://kcts9.org/undamming-elwha

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Clallam County invites you to attend, learn more about, and comment on the Shoreline Master Program Update at one of the 4 upcoming public forums.

The updated draft SMP Update incorporates information from the existing SMP.  It proposes new policies and regulations intended to achieve the goals of the Shoreline Management Act and the community’s vision for shoreline management.  See the Forum Schedule below.  For more information visit the Clallam County SMP webpage at:  http://www.clallam.net/RealEstate/html/shoreline_management.htm

EVENT

Day/Time

Place

SMP PUBLIC FORUM #1

Tuesday—April 24, 2012

5:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Sekiu Community Center, Lower Level

42 Rice Street, Sekiu

SMP PUBLIC FORUM #2

Wednesday—April 25, 2012

12:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Pioneer Memorial Park, Sequim Prairie Garden Club Bldg.

387 East Washington Street, Sequim

SMP PUBLIC FORUM #3

Wednesday—April 25, 2012

5:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Clallam County Courthouse, BOCC Room 160

223 East 4^th Street, Port Angeles

SMP PUBLIC FORUM #4

Thursday—May 10, 2012

5:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Forks Community Center, Main Dining Room

91 Maple Avenue, Forks

Public Forums begin with a half hour Open House, followed by a presentation of the draft SMP Update, and end with time for public comment.

The SMP Public Forums Flyer is at the following  link: http://www.clallam.net/RealEstate/assets/applets/SMPFlyer042012.pdf

The SMP Public Forum Press Release link is:  SMP Public Forum Press Release

Please feel free to forward it to interested folks.

Thank you,

Hannah Merrill

DCD Natural Resources Planner
Clallam County Dept. of Community Development
223 East 4th Street, Suite 5; Port Angeles, WA  98362-3015
T:  360-417-2563  W:  http://www.clallam.net/RealEstate/html/shoreline_management.htm

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This is excellent news. While not perfect, this will lower green house gases, and it’s pretty cheap at current. A win all around while on our way to non polluting sources altogether, which likely will be end of century the way things are going…
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Two large Puget Sound-area ship operators are planning to spend $100 million each to convert their vessels from diesel fuel to liquefied natural gas — and they expect to save a lot of money in the process. The Washington State Ferries and cargo operator Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) are just two among many big energy users turning to natural gas as its price plummets. State ferries seek $100M conversion to liquefied natural gas

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/print-edition/2012/04/06/state-ferries-seek-100m-conversion-to.html

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The 2012 salmon fishing seasons, developed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and treaty tribes, were finalized yesterday during the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Seattle. The package sets regulations for salmon fisheries in Puget Sound, Washington’s ocean and coastal areas and the Columbia River.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure/2012/04/05/washington-tribes-agree-to-salmon-fishing-seasons-for-2012/

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North Sound Baykeeper blogs: “What happens when a dozen farmers, a half dozen interested citizens, a shellfish farmer, a Skagit County Commissioner, staff from Skagit County Public Works and the Skagit Conservations District, and a couple environmentalists all get together? A lot of ideas are generated! This happened during a recent meeting at the Alger Community Hall hosted by the Skagit Conservation District. The purpose of the meeting was to give everyone a chance to talk about ways to solve fecal coliform pollution in the Samish River caused by animal waste.”

Brainstorming for Clean Water at the Alger Community Hall – Got Ideas?

http://northsoundbaykeeper.blogspot.com/2012/04/brainstorming-for-clean-water-at-alger.html

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The Port Townsend Marine Science Center  invites you to come learn from distinguished lecturer, Dr. Steve D’Hondt. speaking about "Life in the Subseafloor Ocean."

Date: April 16th

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Natural History Exhibit building (across from the pier) at Fort Worden State Park

Fee: Donation

Discovery Pass: Not required if parked near the the Natural History Exhibit

More about out the lecture:

Dr. Steve D’Hondt

Earth’s subseafloor ocean contains a vast ecosystem. Exploration of that ecosystem by scientific ocean drilling directly addresses several fundamental topics such as Earth’s total biomass, the distribution of life, and the factors that control it. We also determine the impact of subsurface life on Earth’s surface, ocean and atmosphere. Additionally we discover new organisms, measure the rates at which they live and die, and chart the border of the organic-fueled world. Finally, we examine the possibility of life on other worlds.

Dr. Steve D’Hondt was co-chief scientist of the first and second ocean drilling expeditions to focus primarily on life beneath the seafloor. He is a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.

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The Port Townsend Marine Science Center has announced that Eleanor Stopps, the great citizen activist who was extremely influential in seeing Protection Island turned into a national bird sanctuary, is in failing health.

We wish our best to this enormously influential lady, who shows again how much one person can do to make a positive difference in this world.

Eleanor has lent her name to a yearly award that celebrates the people making a difference on the Olympic Peninsula.

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Got a good idea for a project? Marine Reseach, education or public outreach allows a wide range of opportunities. Be creative!

Subject: Request for Proposals: North Pacific Coast MRC 2012-13

The North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee (NPC MRC) is soliciting project proposals to be completed on the ground between July 2012 and June 2013. Attached is the application package. PROPOSALS ARE DUE May 11th, 2012.

Projects must be for marine oriented research, education or public outreach activities that focus on the Washington State outer coast between Cape Flattery and Kalaloch, or also engages the other Coastal MRCs for a coast-wide project. Proposals can range from $500 to $20,000 and can be stand alone or part of a match for a bigger project. If you want more information or have any questions please email or call at the contact information below.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE.

———————————————————————-
Richard Osborne, Restoration Coordinator / Planner II

North Pacific Coast Lead Entity & MRC (WRIA 20)
Clallam County, DCD, Natural Resources

223 E. 4th Street #5, Port Angeles, WA 98362

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So far, so good, but continued monitoring is needed, as the story shows. The good news is that there isn’t wide spread dangerous levels being seen in waters that are easily tied to the food chain, and to the surface. But obviously, this is preliminary data, and will need more study.

An international research team is reporting the results of a research cruise they organized to study the amount, spread, and impacts of radiation released into the ocean from the tsunami-crippled reactors in Fukushima, Japan. The group of 17 researchers and technicians from eight institutions spent 15 days at sea in June 2011 studying ocean currents, and sampling water and marine organisms up to the edge of the exclusion zone around the reactors.

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More fuel for the fire of global warming science, pun intended…

Nearly 140 years after Canadian-born scientist John Murray began gathering the first comprehensive data on sea water temperatures around the world, a team of U.S. and British researchers has revisited the pioneering discoveries from the famous 1872-76 voyage of the HMS Challenger to create the clearest picture yet of the steady warming trend now threatening the planet’s marine environment.

http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Canadian+scientist+year+data+sheds+light+global+warming/6402350/story.html

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Billy Frank, Jr. at Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission says what’s killing our fish is a poison soup of brake pad dust, oil, gasoline and other pollutants that are washed by rain or melting snow from yards, sidewalks, parking lots and roads, right into our streams and Puget Sound.

These stormwater permits have already been delayed by the political process. They need to move forward, and soon. Puget Sound chinook have been on the Endangered Species Act list for more than a decade, yet there have been no substantial improvements to the environmental laws that got us into the problem to begin with. That needs to change, and the stormwater permitting process is a step in the right direction.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://nwifc.org/2012/04/stop-the-slow-down-to-save-puget-sound/

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Snohomish Public Utility District is exploring whether undersea turbines near Fort Casey could someday generate electricity for Puget Sound homes and businesses by placing two test units in Admiralty Inlet within several years.

http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/144440375.html

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Developers will get more time to bring their projects to construction under a bill sponsored by Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, and signed into law Thursday by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Under the new law, developers will have seven years to complete any plat approved before Dec. 31, 2014. For plats approved after that, the developer will have five years. Developers given
more time for plats

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/mar/30/developers-given-more-time-for-plats/

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