Hood Canal estuary takes shape – Various Articles

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Al Bergstein

And to add to the older posts, today Chris Dunagan’s Watching Our Waterways column has a story about the Nalley Island, and another estuary about to get protection.  Bit by bit, we are clawing back these critical wildlife and water purification locations (which is one major function that estuaries contribute to the natural world) as we can.  Many of us look for positive signs of restoration, these are two…

Last week, I had a rare opportunity to take a mental trip back in time. It happened twice, as I stood in two different Hood Canal wetlands and recalled the past while pondering the future.”Read more: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2010/10/13/sharing-the-joy-of-restoring-hood-canal-wetlands/#ixzz12ROu83oN

——————————————

10/9 Olympian

Hood Canal estuary takes shape
JOHN DODGE; Staff writer

The final piece of a three-mile dike that encircled Nalley Island at the mouth of the Skokomish River was scooped up and hauled away Friday, a major milestone in recovery of Hood Canal’s largest estuary.

The 214-acre island once was the home of the Skokomish Tribe but was purchased, diked and farmed by the Tacoma-based Nalley’s Inc. food products company in the 1930s.

The $2 million project to restore tidal influence to the island is part of the largest estuary-restoration project on Hood Canal, following on the heels of a 108-acre dike-removal project just west of the island in 2007 that cost $1.6 million.

The tribal project has been years in the making and was made possible by state and federal funding; Tacoma Power, which bought the island from Nalley after the farm was abandoned in the 1980s; and other partners.

More at
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/10/09/1397803/hood-canal-estuary-takes-shape.html

Read also 10/10 Kitsap Sun
A River Will Re-Run Through It, This Winter
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/oct/10/skokomish-river-nearly-ready-to-get-back-to-its/

Filed under: Places | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Smith & Minor Islands Designated Aquatic Reserves – 10/14 at 10AM

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Al Bergstein

The  dedication ceremony for the final designation of the Smith & Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve will take place at  10 am on October 14, 2010, at the beach picnic shelter at Fort Ebey State Park, 400 Hill Valley Dr., Coupeville.Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark will be signing the final document at this event.

The comprehensive management plan will serve as a guide for the continuing protection, restoration, monitoring, environmental education and public enjoyment of the more than 30,000 acres protected within the aquatic reserve.

This event marks the culmination of several years of hard work and dedication by the many individuals and groups that partnered with DNR to protect the important habitat found within surrounding Smith & Minor Island, and along the western shore of Whidbey Island.

Contact Kyle Murphy  (360) 902-1073, or kyle.murphy@dnr.wa.gov it you have any questions.

Filed under: Events, Places | Comments Off on Smith & Minor Islands Designated Aquatic Reserves – 10/14 at 10AM

Coast Guard Bill – Huge win for protection of the Strait!

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Al Bergstein

-Update – Chris Dunagan goes into detail on this bill. This is really significant and is one of the most important pieces of legislation to help us protect our coasts since the Magnuson Act. Read the overview at

http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2010/10/10/coast-guard-bill-covers-safety-and-budget-issues/

President Obama is expected to sign a sweeping authorization bill that reorganizes U.S Coast Guard operations, increases maritime safety rules and calls for improved oil-spill prevention and response in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

This bill has been blocked for over a year, so this is great news. It is a great win for everyone who fishes, or makes a living off people enjoying the Straits. Thanks are in order to Senator Cantwell and Senator Murray, as well as all the other people behind the scenes who pushed this, like Fred Felleman,  People For Puget Sound, The Makah Nation, and many others. This has been a major effort for over 10 years. It is sad that it took losing the Gulf to get this over the hump, but we are there. Now to the House for a final vote. This also will help better protect fishermen who have the most dangerous job in America.

9/30 Seattle Times
Bill OK’d that overhauls fishing-industry safety, protects Sound
Seattle Times staff
The U.S. Senate late Wednesday night unanimously approved a Coast Guard authorization bill that includes a major overhaul of federal fishing-industry safety laws, and measures to strengthen efforts to prevent Puget Sound oil spills.
The bill was expected to soon be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to the President Obama for signing.
“It has been nearly four years in the making to get this important legislation through Congress,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wa., who chaired a Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over the legislation. “This bill establishes new safety laws on oil-spill prevention and fishing vessel safety so that we can continue to operate in these pristine waters in a safe and effective manner.
…. The oil-spill provisions will include measures to expand oil-spill response capabilities around the entrance of Strait of Juan de Fuca and increase the role of Indian tribes in the response effort. The legislation will result in oil-spill response equipment, including booms and barriers, positioned along the strait.
Approximately 600 oil tankers and 3,000 oil barges travel each year through Puget Sound and carry about 15 billion gallons of oil to Washington refineries, according to Cantwell.
More at
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013032351_webcoastguardbill.html

Filed under: Admiralty Inlet, Government, Olympic Peninsula, Straits of Juan de Fuca | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Videos show fish in distress in Hood Canal

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Al Bergstein

Dive videos by Janna Nichols at Sund Rock on September 27th. Janna says these videos show huge amounts of fish that normally don’t school in these numbers ‘forced’ into shallower water to breathe.

http://nwgeogirl.smugmug.com/The-Beautiful-Briny-Sea/lowo220100927/13955430_ECSLC#1025350039_GjzTp

 

Filed under: Places | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

North Olympic Sierra Club endorses Austin and John Miller

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Al Bergstein

The Sierra Club’s North Olympic Group is endorsing John Austin to retain his seat
as District 3 Commissioner of Jefferson County and has endorsed John Miller for
Director of Clallam County Department of Community Development.

As Jefferson County Commissioner, John has worked hard for our environment.
In the last four years he has supported the Critical Areas Ordinance and the
Shoreline Master Program.

John was instrumental in keeping State Parks open, saved a mature forest between
two county parks by initiating a transfer from the Department of Natural Resources
(the forest between Gibbs Lake and Beausite Lake), and is working to curb
transferring DNR public forest lands in Eastern Jefferson County into private
ownership — keeping public lands in public ownership.

John serves on the climate Advisory Council which is developing a model on
how local government and businesses can reduce their carbon footprint, and co-
Chairs the Strait Environmental Ecosystem Recovery Network which consists
of representatives from business, tribes, government, and non governmental
organizations.

John Austin is educated on the issues, has shown strength of leadership, and has
the experience to responsibly lead Jefferson County for the betterment of its health
and that of his constituents.

Questionnaires were sent to both John Miller and Sheila Miller (no relationship), but Sheila Miller declined to complete hers. An interview was conducted with John Miller and the results,combined with his environmental record while in office, make John Miller exceptionally qualified for the Sierra Club endorsement.

As Director of Clallam County Department of Community Development,
John Miller oversees comprehensive planning, permitting for development and building, managing environmental health programs, and performing the functions of the County Fire Marshal. To uphold his responsibilities, John supports watershed buffers to protect streams, salmon and flooding, which can affect private property. He
influenced watershed protection in WRIA 19 and 20. He has his staff working collaboratively with multi local factions to develop a good storm water plan. He served on the Governor’s advisory committee addressing rising sea level impacts, an issue critical to coastal communities such as Clallam County. John has worked to clear all
growth management appeals facing the County in 2007, except sewer in Carlsborg, and there is a funding plan being developed for solving that. John Miller has the insight and the breadth of experience to take Clallam County through the needed planning steps, together with the environmental issues and pending decisions faced by the County. His concern, actions and knowledge make him the candidate that will
elevate Clallam County towards meeting its 21st century needs and
responsibilities.

The Sierra Club also endorses:
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
6th Congressional District Norm Dicks
Yes on Referendum 52, Healthy Schools for Washington
No on I-1053, requiring a two-thirds majority vote of the Washington State
Legislature, or a statewide popular vote, for any tax increases

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on North Olympic Sierra Club endorses Austin and John Miller

Two Whidbey beaches get an F for water quality

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Al Bergstein

10/6 Everett Herald
Two Whidbey beaches get an F for water quality
California environmental group’s pilot project monitored only a small percentage of state beaches
By Gale Fiege, Herald Writer

COUPEVILLE — A California environmental watchdog group says that while most regularly monitored Washington state beaches report good water quality, two on Whidbey Island earned failing grades.

In its first “Beach Report Card <http://www.healthebay.org/assets/pdfdocs/brc/summer/2010/2010%20BRC%20Summer%20Report.pdf> ,” the Santa Monica-based nonprofit organization Heal the Bay listed bacterial pollution on beaches in California, Oregon and Washington.

Last week, the report noted that 93 percent of monitored beaches in Washington received A or B grades, but three in the state, including the two on Whidbey Island, earned F grades.

The beaches are the Freeland County Park on Holmes Harbor and the west end of Oak Harbor’s City Beach Park. The other polluted beach is in Kitsap County.

More at
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101006/NEWS01/710069851/-1/News

Filed under: Places | Comments Off on Two Whidbey beaches get an F for water quality

Land Trust Executive Director Sarah Spaeth Wins Environmental Leadership Award

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Al Bergstein

From their web site:

imageJefferson Land Trust is happy to announce that Executive Director Sarah Spaeth is the recipient of the prestigious 2010 Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award.

At the Port Townsend Marine Science Center breakfast on Sept. 30 when the award was presented, Sarah paid tribute to Eleanor Stopps, who was in the audience. Eleanor Stopps was primarily responsible for the designation of Protection Island as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1982. Sarah celebrated Stopps’s passion for preserving habitat as a model for her own work with the Land Trust.

Eric Harrington, president of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, which administers the award, cited Sarah for her “ability to form productive partnerships with other organizations, to engage community members honestly and clearly, and to manage sometimes difficult and complex transactions efficiently and transparently” as well as for her role in writing over $4 million worth of successful land acquisition proposals and the preservation of over 8,400 acres in Jefferson County during her fifteen years at the Land Trust.

read the rest of the story at

http://www.saveland.org/News/News_Detail.aspx?processID=83

and read more about the Land Trust at:http://www.saveland.org/

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on Land Trust Executive Director Sarah Spaeth Wins Environmental Leadership Award

North of the Border, happy birthday to the Georgia Strait Alliance.

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Al Bergstein

The Georgia Strait Alliance turns 20 this fall. We wish them well. They have done fabulous work to protect the Strait, which is home to 70% of British Columbia residents, who share it with Orca, many salmon species, and numerous other flora and fauna.

The pressures on the Strait and it’s watershed habitat are enormous. If you want to check out the work they are doing, if for nothing else than to see what’s important to our friends ‘north of the border’, check out their web site http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node and their blog http://georgiastraitalliance.blogspot.com/ 

Happy anniversary and many more!

Salish Sea map

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on North of the Border, happy birthday to the Georgia Strait Alliance.

No, Double Hull Tankers Do Not Ensure ‘Total Safety’

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Al Bergstein

While this is an old story from last June, it’s only now come to our attention, and needs being shared.

From our friends north of the border on the Tyee Opinion. The whitewash from the Canadian government  and the oil industry on tanker safety in the Straits.

While 65 oil tankers traversed Burrard Inlet last year,  it’s not clear how many single hull vessels currently traverse Burrard Inlet. Is BC providing escort tugs for all these tankers?

While tankers in the US need escort tugs, freighters have never needed them. And what’s missing in this analysis is that in 2012 escort tugs come off US  tankers (not freighters) in the US, as the Magnuson act only protected us from single hull tankers. The fact that an incident hasn’t yet happened is cold comfort given the disasters in Alaska in 79, the huge number of tanker and freighter sinkings since 79, and even San Francisco’s calamity just last winter. Canada’s lackluster investigation and lack of transparency on the sinking of a ferry a year or so ago shows that the government cannot be trusted.

The issue of Canada protection for the Straits is huge. Canada has never taken adequate protection of the Straits, relying on the US to protect the whole waterway. This whole ‘special meeting’ seems like a whitewash, as just last November the Canadian government and Coast Guard was caught unawares as a freighter that was anchored at Mayne Inlet in Plumper Sound drug anchor and narrowly avoided a disaster. Captain Brown’s statement in the following article  is total PR BS, frankly, and the kind of whitewash that we have seen over the years from countless other officials of industry and the government of many countries just prior to major spills.

Last winter, as I and a few other small news organizations watched the Plumper Sound event unfold, Canadian officials were in the dark, unaware, and had to be contacted by US officials who were alerted to the issue by citizens. There were 1.2 million gallons of fuel on this freighter!  It was over a day before the Canadians had a clue, and it was not reported on any major news outlet in Canada for at least 72 hours! So excuse me if I’m underwhelmed by the government official and B.C. Chamber Stewart pronouncements….If a major disaster occurs, it will affect us as well as Canada.

Let’s be clear, a major tanker or freighter spill in the Straits or the Straits of Georgia can undo hundreds of billions of dollars of environmental work, and decades of protection efforts on our marine habitat. We cannot let PR doublespeak like this go unchallenged. There is an agenda here of trying to expand the tanker traffic for the Alberta Tar Sands pipeline for sales to China. This is all about money, not environmental safety.

more on that old story here:
http://olyopen.com/2009/11/20/update-on-canadian-tanker-grounding/

Here is the current crop of governmental bs as appropriately covered by the Tyee Opinion

___________________________________________________

9/27 The Tyee Opinion
Contrary to industry reassurances, Vancouver faces increasing risks of oil spill.
By Mitch Anderson
Is it safe? That was the question posed last July when Mayor Gregor Robertson convened a special meeting of Vancouver city council to discuss increased oil tanker traffic through the treacherous waters of Burrard Inlet.
Vancouver has quietly become <http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/06/03/VancouverOilTankers>  a major oil port, as the capacity of the Kinder Morgan pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby has recently been scaled up to 300,000 barrels per day. Every week several oil tankers squeeze through Second Narrows at the highest tides with less than two metres of water under the keel. These shipments have doubled over the last two years.
At the July meeting, Captain Stephen Brown of the B.C. Chamber of Shipping assured the city that these transits were happening in "total safety" and that "We have yet to have a pollution incident from a double hull tanker."
More at
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/09/27/DoubleHullTankers/

Filed under: Oil Spills, Straits of Juan de Fuca | Tagged: , | Comments Off on No, Double Hull Tankers Do Not Ensure ‘Total Safety’

Smith & Minor Islands pass threshold to become Aquatic Reserves

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Al Bergstein

DNR has approved the Smith and Minor Islands Aquatic Reserves determination of  of non-significance (DNS) after receiving 318 public comments, all positive for the plan. This apparently paves the way to officially name it an Aquatics Reserve, protecting the bottom lands below it from possible commercial uses, such as tidal energy, or pipelines. Given the vast amount of other areas around for these things, it’s important to give what protection we can to these areas. It’s worth noting that a state major dredge spoils dump is nearby this area. It’s those kinds of things that can spoil the bottom around these places.

Anyway, thanks to DNR and congratulations to People For Puget Sound, who proposed this in the first place, and the Marine Resource Committees who championed it.  Hope I’ve not missed anyone else!

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Conditions Stabilizing After Hood Canal Fish Kill

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Al Bergstein

9/24 Kitsap Sun-By Kitsap Sun staff -HOODSPORT —
Surface conditions in lower Hood Canal appear to be stabilizing after an extensive fish kill <http://http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/sep/21/hundreds-of-fish-thousands-of-shrimp-dead-in/>&#160; was reported in the area earlier in the week.
Low oxygen levels in the waters between about Hoodsport and Twanoh proved fatal for thousands of spot prawns and hundreds of fish. But by Wednesday, oxygen levels were normalizing.
More at
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/sep/24/conditions-stabilizing-after-hood-canal-fish/

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on Conditions Stabilizing After Hood Canal Fish Kill

Natural Resources schedules meeting in PT on Oct 6th to discuss Protection Island management plan

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Al Bergstein

9/26 Peninsula Daily News
Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — A public meeting will be held next month by the state Department of Natural Resources on the draft Protection Island Aquatic Reserve Management Plan.
The meeting will be at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6.
More at
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100926/news/309269986/natural-resources-schedules-meeting-to-discuss-protection-island

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on Natural Resources schedules meeting in PT on Oct 6th to discuss Protection Island management plan

The end of the line: Harbor-Works’ initial $1.3 million down to $168,588 – PDN

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Al Bergstein

9/22 Peninsula Daily News

By Paige Dickerson
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — The Harbor-Works Development Authority will return at least $168,588 in public money once it is formally dissolved next month.
That’s what the five board members of the public development authority — which was created by the city of Port Angeles more than two years ago — decided Tuesday during what they expect to be their final meeting.
The money is the amount of money left from the $1.3 million in loans from the City of Port Angeles and the Port of Port Angeles.
A cashier’s check will be issued to the city if the City Council formally votes to dissolve the authority at its Oct. 19 meeting, City Manager Kent Myers said.
More at
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100922/news/309229980/the-end-of-the-line-harbor-works-initial-13-million-down-to-168
—-

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on The end of the line: Harbor-Works’ initial $1.3 million down to $168,588 – PDN

Navy NW Training Range EIS now out – Comments welcome

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Al Bergstein

In case you missed it, (which wouldn’t be hard to do), the Navy have finally released the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed NW Training range. This range, which would include helicopter training over the triangle that makes up Admiralty Inlet and a bit beyond, would greatly increase noise levels at any and all hours of day or night that the Navy sees fit. Add to that the heightened security for all us boaters to deal with, the meshing of Navy traffic with freighter traffic, threats to sea life, and general raising of security seems to make this an unwanted project for our area.  This blog certainly appreciates  our military, and it’s job protecting our country from threats. But training sailors and soldiers in the midst of a population center like Port Townsend, given that we have seen (and heard) Navy training jets from Whidbey Naval Station flying at all hours of day and night, along with the likelyhood of increased accidents and sealife threats (noise etc.) just seems like a recipe for problems.  It would be great to see this training idea moved further west, perhaps off Neah Bay area, where they already train.

Comments are due by OCTOBER 12th.  Please visit the Navy web site, http://www.NWTRangeComplexEIS.com to download, read and comment on this proposal.

Filed under: Admiralty Inlet, Jefferson County, Port Townsend | Tagged: | Comments Off on Navy NW Training Range EIS now out – Comments welcome

Thursday – Neah Bay- Voices of the Strait showing

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Al Bergstein

In addition to running this web site, I also produce videos.  We have just finished “Voices of the Strait”, a short video documentary interviewing people who have lived out here on the Peninsula over the last 50 years. They discuss the way they grew up, the changes they’ve seen in our natural resources along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, what we have lost, and how we might restore them.

We will also be showing a short documentary video interviewing some of the SCUBA community on the changes they have seen in our natural resources over  the last twenty years. The SCUBA video was done by local Port Angeles graduate Cameron Little.

Voices of the Strait is a production of Mountainstone Productions of Port Townsend, with sponsorship by the Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles. Both of these documentaries were supported by  the Puget Sound Partnerships,  a network of educators and communicators.

Please come out to see these short videos, at one of the community events listed below, and participate in the questions and answers with a panel of video participants, the video production team, and the local groups that helped sponsor the video.

Attached is a poster that will be used to advertise for these community events.This version will not print well at 8×10 as it was reduced in size for email use only.  If you wish a larger size version to post at appropriate locations within your community, email me. If you want to print it for local PR and then put your local information in, feel free to do so.

If you wish to arrange for a showing at your location, other than these dates, let me know. We expect to be releasing this to the Internet (i.e. Youtube and/or Vimeo) in early September. We have no plans to sell videos but if there is a need for an actual video, please contact me and we can discuss it.

“This documentary, though it lasts a mere 16 minutes, has the goods to drive a new conversation about restoring the body of water that sustains the North Olympic Peninsula” – Diane Urbani de la Paz – Peninsula Daily News

Please forward this email to your email distribution lists, as appropriate. Thank you!

Al Bergstein
Producer/Director
Mountainstone Productions
Port Townsend, WA

Community Events:
September 16th  – 6:30 PM  – Makah Community Hall – Neah Bay
October 20th – 7PM  Joyce Area – A potluck will be  held at 6:30  Video shows afterwards – Crescent Grange in Joyce.

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

Voices of the Strait now live on the web

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Al Bergstein

The Voices of the Strait video project is now live on the web. Enjoy!

http://www.vimeo.com/12452315

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on Voices of the Strait now live on the web

Boyer crosses line into strange new territory…new questions are raised about him

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Al Bergstein

With the latest odd story quoting Jim Boyer that he believes the U.N. may somehow be involved in the environmental protection efforts of Jefferson County, we now have a new chapter opening in the race for county commissioner from District 3. The most disturbing part of this ‘allegation’ is that this is the kind of conspiracy theory that was initiated in the late 1950s by the John Birch Society. It is still a John Birch tenet, that somehow the U.N. (“get U.S. out of the UN!” bill boards still around today), is behind some kind of world domination effort to subvert the U.S. By throwing out this comment, it raises the question that I would have never asked before this, which is, “Mr. Boyer, are you or have you been a member of the John Birch Society?” I believe that moderate Republican and swing voters would like to clearly have this laid out for them before choosing to vote. Up to now, Mr. Boyer simply seemed like a conservative Republican, painting all environmental efforts as “bad”. Now we wonder, what is going on here? What beliefs does he really represent? I can’t for the life of me, understand how the U.N. factors into shoreline protection in Jefferson County.

As Mark Twain once said:
“A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.”

From Sunday’s Peninsula Daily News: Please link through and read the whole story at their web site.

PORT TOWNSEND — Is there a link between the United Nations, Olympic National Park and possible control of Jefferson County shoreline regulations and water policy?

Republican District 3 county commissioner candidate Jim Boyer, who has called his opponent an “enviro-wacko,” suspects there is a connection through the U.N.’s Biosphere Program.

“I am interested in what is entailed and how it manifests itself into the control of our water for farmers and in the Chimacum Valley and Snow Creek Watershed and how these different entities intertwine,” Boyer, a 64-year-old Port Ludlow home-builder, said Thursday.

“I have concerns about why it seems like we have subordinated our sovereignty to an international body that makes its own rules,” he added

Read this rest of this odd story at:

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100912/news/309129990/olympic-national-parks-un-designation-worries-jefferson

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on Boyer crosses line into strange new territory…new questions are raised about him

Snohomish PUD tidal project gets $10 million federal grant

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Al Bergstein

While I have some reservations from an environmental point of view, I am happy that the PUD is going to be able to do more experimentation on this. If we are ever going to get off coal and oil, we have to do some new generation on something and tidal does seem to hold some promise. Solar in the NW and wind are not going to get us there.

—————————————————————————————-
The Everett Herald
Tidal power here is suddenly riding a wave of cash. The Snohomish County Public Utility District was told Thursday it’s receiving $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for its pilot tidal energy project in Admiralty Inlet. The PUD will match the grant with $10.1 million of its own. Only a handful of tidal power projects are operating worldwide, PUD officials said. "We’re excited to be leading the way in the research of this innovative energy source — another tool to help us and the nation combat climate change and attain energy independence," PUD general manager Steven Klein said in a press release.
To continue reading >> <http://psp.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1e527a1c4505cbd9d6662d091&id=822cda4018&e=7fe7e0e103>

Filed under: Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound | Tagged: | Comments Off on Snohomish PUD tidal project gets $10 million federal grant

New Money for Puget Sound Research

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Al Bergstein

So now that everyone has calmed down a bit on whether David Dicks drives his car home , or buys Macs instead of PCs, the real value of the Partnership, along with it’s family ties to pursestrings  in Washington, is showing up. They put out a document last year that tried to prioritize the cleanup and now the Feds have come back with a significant amount of money to do what many of us have asked for, for years. Real solid monitoring of the efforts. State government, while always wanting results, has not appropriately funded the efforts. This is a great start. It does mean something significant. And it will give jobs to scientists on the ground here in Washington. Let’s at least give a small amount of gratitude for the Partnership for helping get this done.

9/8 KPLU-FM
Liam Moriarty
SEATTLE (KPLU) – The effort to restore Puget Sound to health depends a lot on good science. A new infusion of federal money for research sheds light on that complex and wide-ranging task.
The nearly $13 million will pay for 17 projects aimed at increasing our knowledge of specific aspects of what’s ailing Puget Sound   and how to heal it.
Michael Rylko – with the Environmental Protection Agency – says the research will cover a lot of ground.
Listen at KPLU

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Lowering Lake Mills begins today; preparation central to clearing Elwha River of dams – PDN

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Al Bergstein

9/9 Peninsula Daily News
By Paul Gottlieb
Peninsula Daily News
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Lake Mills will be lowered 5 feet starting today in the beginning of the end for the reservoir behind Glines Canyon Dam west of Port Angeles — and an essential part of preparations for the demolition of the two dams on the Elwha River.
On Wednesday, workers finished barging a big-bucket excavator, a crane and several fuel tanks to a delta of at least 13 million yards of sediment at the southeast portion of the lake.
The delta was created where the Elwha River slows down as it empties into Lake Mills’ broader boundaries.
More at
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100909/NEWS/309099988/lowering-lake-mills-begins-today-preparation-central-to-clearing

Filed under: Places | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on Lowering Lake Mills begins today; preparation central to clearing Elwha River of dams – PDN

« Previous Page — Next Page »