Latest Puget Sound Partnership Straits Meeting

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Al Bergstein

The quarterly meeting of local ecosystem recovery groups sponsored by the The Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) was held on Friday May 16th in Blyn. The PSP helps fund these  quarterly planning meetings with all the various groups that exist to protect and restore ecosystems, in order to disseminate information and to gather planning information for future funding efforts.  Our Strait of Juan de Fuca group is called the Strait ERN (for Ecosystem Recovery Network).

Some good news was that the extensive planning meetings that had helped us to identify and prioritize the vast array of projects (which can exist from something as large as the Elwha Dam removal to the restoration of one small locale, like the bulkhead removal at Fort Townsend), had shown that we had the largest list of projects from all the various ERN’s around the Sound.

These will be rolled back up to the planning efforts over the summer that the PSP is going to do in order to help seek funding in the next federal budget year, starting later this year.

Additionally, we heard information about sewage sludge, it’s collection and uses, including newly emerging concerns of it’s toxicity. A few short takeaways included that while King County routinely spreads it’s sludge on vast amounts of the forests above the East Side, where it is clearly leaching back into the water sheds and Puget Sound,  our two counties are composting it and reusing it. Compost with sludge in it is called “biosolids” and you should not be adding this compost to your family garden. It is more appropriate to flower gardens and other areas where you are unlikely to ingest it. Also, biosolid based compost cannot be used on organic food production.

Short term, we need more extensive testing to identify the vast array of chemicals that are not being treated in biosolids. The laws covering this were created decades ago, long before we were aware of the dangers of pass through drugs from our bodies. Better consumer knowledge is needed, and that is a federal and state issue.

Long term, it is likely we will need to incinerate our biosolids, in order to keep out the hazards of chemical contamination of our waters and food. Incineration is the only way to fully destroy these elements. It apparently reduces the waste stream to a very small amount, comparatively speaking.

It has been my contention that the continued dumping of our sewage into the Salish Sea is likely to be shown to be a root cause of the destruction of the waters, and this is another clear data point that this assumption is probably correct. The ability to incinerate our wastes, and remove storm water runoff would likely be a huge factor in restoring water quality.

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Latest news from the NW Straits Foundation and Initiative

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Al Bergstein

The latest (and first!) newsletter from the NW Straits Foundation is available on their web site.The Foundation is focused on funding both regional projects like the  Derelict Gear Recovery project and the local initiatives like the Marine Resource Committees in the North Sound.

http://www.nwstraits.org/Resources/Past-Newsletters/NWSF-May-2014.aspx

 

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Salmon grown in B.C. land-based tanks come to market – Vancouver Sun

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Al Bergstein

A very positive milestone has been reached in the net pen debate. Finally an alternative to net pen fish has hit the market. We strongly suggest that readers in BC purchase this fish *if* they want to buy farmed fish. Of  course, we continue to promote eating wild fish as the best alternative of all.

The first Atlantic salmon grown entirely on land are now landing on grocery store shelves, marketed as a sustainable alternative to salmon grown in ocean-based net pens. The land-based Atlantic salmon, branded under the name Kuterra, is being distributed by Albion Fisheries and sold at 140 Safeway stores in B.C. and Alberta. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Salmon+grown+land+based+tanks+come+market/9839481/story.html

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Great new film from Olympic National Park

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Check this out. A good story on the Olympic Coast and Ocean Acidification and global warming.

Coastal ecologist Dr. Steve Fradkin is a National Park Service scientist who spends his days in the intertidal zone of Olympic National Park. There, a spectacular diversity of plants and animals interact to form a living, breathing ecosystem that is an especially sensitive indicator of environmental health. Climate change is beginning to take its toll on this fragile ecosystem, but as long as Steve gets a good cup of coffee, he’ll be out there monitoring the changes and figuring out what we as humans can do to help.

Climate change will have many of its first impacts to our coasts and intertidal communities. This film highlights Dr. Steven Fradkin, coastal ecologist at Olympic National Park and his work monitoring intertidal life.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZt0OS12ty0#t=563

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No Logging Moratorium In Wake Of Oso Landslide – Earthfix

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Al Bergstein

http://earthfix.kcts9.org/land/article/no-logging-moratorium-in-wake-of-oso-landslide/

In the wake of the deadly landslide near Oso, Washington, there will be no immediate moratorium on logging around unstable slopes. Some conservationists and regulators wanted to push for that. One of them, Peter Goldman, director of the Washington Forest Law Center in Seattle, says the state Forest Practices Board learned Tuesday it doesn’t have the authority to impose a logging moratorium. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

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Coexisting with Cougars: A Presentation at the Jefferson Museum of Art & History

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Al Bergstein
Having been around a few cougar hunters in my day, I think this might be an interesting lecture. I have an interesting cougar story. I was taking care of my dad, in Tucson a couple of years ago. I went to the store, in his convertible (that’s another story entirely).  On the way, about 3PM, I saw a large animal I took to be a great dane walking across the road in front of me, when I realized that great danes don’t have tails that look like a mountain lion. I slowed down and pulled up to where the animal had entered the scrub, and there, 15 feet away, was a cougar, looking right at me, lazily. I was fascinated, until I realized I was sitting in an open convertible and probably could be mistaken for prey! I hit the accelerator, but stopped 100 yards down the road to warn two high school students walking home, who ignored me and kept on walking towards it, thinking I was nuts. Oh well.
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Cougars, mountain lions, pumas…no matter what you call them these powerful animals are undoubtedly intriguing. Join Paula Wild, author of The Cougar: Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous (Douglas & McIntyre; $34.95) as she gives a presentation about our evolving relationship with this enigmatic predator. The event will take place on Friday, June 6 at 7pm, as part of the Jefferson County Historical Society’s Friday lecture series, at the Jefferson Museum of Art & History (540 Water Street, Port Townsend). 


Cougars are the perfect predator. They can weigh up to 230 pounds, 90% of which is pure muscle. They can leap nearly 18 feet up from a stand-still, and 45 feet horizontally. In 1936, John Huelsdonk, known as the Iron Man of the Hoh River on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, shot a cougar that measured 11 feet from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail. Cougars’ large padded paws allow this elusive cat to travel great distances in near silence and they’re absolute masters at blending in. 

Chances are, anyone who spends time in the woods in cougar country has been close to a cougar, whether they knew it or not. It can be a scary thought, especially combined with the lengthy history of recorded encounters that have occurred in North America in the last two hundred years or more. Many of these stories are recounted in Paula Wild’s The Cougar, which was recently nominated as a finalist in theForeword Reviews 2013 Book of the Year Awards, in the category of Nonfiction – Nature.

Her book includes tales of bounty hunters like Jay C. Bruce, California’s first state lion hunter, who killed nearly 700 cougars; stories like that of 12-year-old Walter Farnham, who chased a cougar up a tree to save his younger brother when they were attacked near Olympia; and surprising accounts of encounters occurring where you’d least expect it, such as a brightly lit and noisy dock full of workers at the Port of Kalama, WA.

However, as Wild writes in The Cougar, “co-existing with cougars isn’t about fear, it’s about knowledge.” Her book provides a skillful blend of natural history, scientific research and first-hand accounts, along with amazing photos and detailed information on what to do in the case of a cougar encounter. Throughout, she explores what makes this animal that both fascinates and frightens us so beautiful, so dangerous, and why cougars remain such an important and valuable part of our environment. 

Paula Wild is the author of several books, including One River, Two Cultures, The Comox Valley and Sointula: Island Utopia, winner of a B.C. Historical Federation Certificate of Merit. She saw her first live cougar in Washington state before she could walk, and now lives on Vancouver Island in Canada.

Co-existing with Cougars is open to the public with admission by donation (suggested donation: $5.00). For more information, contact the Jefferson County Historical Society at 360-385-1003.

For more information, or to schedule an interview with Paula Wild,
please contact Heather Lohnes at Douglas & McIntyre
Email: heather@harbourpublishing.com
Phone: 604.254.7191
Web: www.douglas-mcintyre.com

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New timber rules after Oso – Various

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Goldmark was on KUOW this morning in a much more conciliatory mood than his rant against environmentalists after the slide. He now seems to be totally on board with stiffer regulations, though he warns that his bureaucracy takes a long time to accomplish anything, and even then, might not (referring to the slide down on the Chehalis a decade back). The interviewer didn’t ask him the hard questions, which are, “your department was aware of the issues in Oso, yet chose to ignore or minimize them, why should we think you are going to be any different in the future?”  This doesn’t appear to be so much a process issue, but an issue of using the process to minimize risk for DNR. Color us skeptical that in the end anything of substance in regards to banning timber harvest in areas of danger will ever be accomplished.

New timber-harvest rules not enough, state board told http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023593992_moratoriumonlogginginslideproneareassoughtxml.html

 

See also: USGS Geologist Doubts Cause Of Oso Landslide Will Ever Be Pinned Down http://kplu.org/post/usgs-geologist-doubts-cause-oso-landslide-will-ever-be-pinned-down Tom Banse reports (KPLU)

See also: Landslide risk prompts warning to Pemberton-area homeowners http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Landslide+risk+prompts+warning+Pemberton+area+homeowners/9832244/story.html Kelly Sinoski reports. (Vancouver Sun)

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60 Minutes documents BC salmon farming

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Al Bergstein

And the industry does not come off well. While the opening interview with salmon farming manager Ian Roberts paints a ‘normal’ picture of the industry, much to their credit, 60 minutes Dr. Gupta works in Alexandra Morton and her concerns, along with Alaskan wild salmon supporters. When he finally gets around to interviewing a government official, Brian Wallace, he comes off totally inadequate to the task of defending the government’s inaction in the face of real scientific concern.

Based on this, and the rest of the scientific information that we have presented here over the last years, is it any wonder why our county commissioners have fought to create a moratorium on salmon farming in our county until more science is brought to the table on this issue?

Or is it any wonder why we have been so critical of the Washington State Department of Ecology and NOAA in their bureaucratic stance that net pen aquaculture is fine, based on 25 year old science?  The recently resigned Ted Sturdevant, highlighted here just yesterday, was a typical bureaucratic supporter of the industry, and stonewalled county efforts to bring even a moratorium over the last five years.

Watch the 60 Minute segment here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/saving-the-wild-salmon/

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Ted Sturdevant Leaving the Governor’s Office

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Al Bergstein

The Governor’s policy advisor and legislative liaison, Ted Sturdevant, is stepping away from politics. Sturdevant, who also ran the Department of Ecology under Christine Gregoire, has decided it’s time for something new.  It’s a welcome change to see. While running the DOE not only did Sturdevant side with the net pen industry over the controversial regulations of the Shoreline Master Program in Jefferson County, he claimed total ignorance of the issue when I talked to him not long before he left that post. This after years of contentious battles between the Jefferson County Commissioners, especially Phil Johnson, who met with him on a number of occasions to discuss finding a way out of the impasse.  That he was then put in a key policy advisory role for the new Governor was extremely disappointing.  My perspective on him is that he either was simply an out of touch senior administrator or purposely deceptive to being in favor of allowing net pens wherever in the Sound they could be implemented.  No doubt he’ll be back, folks who have run larger bureaucracies surface in other political bureaucracies or in the ranks of lobbyists that get hired to come back in the revolving door.  Now we will better see what the governor’s newly hired coal lobbyist is going to offer. Sturdevant’s replacement at Ecology, Maia Bellon, essentially ignored the Jefferson County Commissioners that went to see her.

The issue that Ted and others at the State level have so clearly shown over the last few years, is that they are the first to run to the doors of those of us in the towns and counties who are working the hardest to make the real change happen, to implement laws and get them enforced. When these pols  want money to get elected, or seek support for appointment they show up.  But after the elections have died down, the same folks tend to conveniently miss appointments, or shun our elected officials when they come to see them. They become more interested in some middle of the road situation, even when the opposing parties don’t the slightest intention of meeting anyone halfway. Like Maia Bellon, they tend to view us as a possible lawsuit in waiting, or just an aggravation to their day.  Given the stalemate in government today, it would be quite more refreshing to see people such as Ted Sturdevant actually stand for implementing grass roots requests for improvement in the ecology, rather than bureaucratic stalemate. He and these others just might find that the grassroots are much more likely to support their efforts, when we aren’t fighting the very people we helped elect to implement progressive policies.

Here’s his resignation letter.

Dear legislators, I want to let you know that I’ve made the difficult decision to leave the Governor’s Office, effective June 30. You, more than most, understand how demanding these jobs are, and I’ve decided it’s time for a different pace and a different work-life balance. I know I’ll take the summer to catch up with family, friends and life in general. After that, we’ll see. But I hope we cross paths again as we work in our different ways for this wonderful state. I am a wholehearted supporter of Gov. Inslee’s values and vision for Washington, and I’m sure I’ll find a new way to contribute to realizing that vision. I leave knowing the Governor’s Policy Office is in good hands. We have developed a terrific group of policy advisors, and I am thrilled that Matt Steuerwalt has recently joined the team as Policy Director. Matt has the integrity, experience and talent to lead that strong team. As we bring on a new legislative director in the coming weeks to work with you all, the Governor will have a great team to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead. On a personal note, I first volunteered for a local campaign in Oregon almost 35 years ago, and I took my first job with the Oregon Legislature just shy of 30 years ago. I have seen such change in that time, and most of it has made the job of being an elected official more difficult. The pace, the money, the shrinking media, the permanent campaign, the lack of privacy, public disclosure (oh that’s right, you don’t have that!) – if it weren’t for the enormous salaries you earn (that’s right, you don’t have those either!), I don’t know how you do it. I have an enormous amount of respect for those of you who are willing to surmount those obstacles and make the sacrifices required to serve the state as elected leaders. I have even more respect for those of you who do the hard and risky work of balancing the necessities of partisanship with the opportunities found in collaboration and compromise. So many sustainable solutions are available when we choose that path.

Thanks for all you do for this state and the people and values you represent. It’s been a real honor to work with you.

All the best, Ted

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The Legend Leaves the Room: Billy Frank Jr. passes.

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Al Bergstein

It is hard to imagine the world of Northwest environmental protection without Billy Frank Jr’s voice being heard. I will let the eulogies from the Tribes carry that, and will add them as they show up, but from my non-Tribal perspective, he loomed over the landscape like a giant among us. It was his (and a few others like Robert Satiacum, etc.) fight that blossomed into Fish Wars and the ultimate Boldt Decision, that changed the balance of power in the environment here forever. It brought the voice of the people who cared the most about the environment, the Tribes, his people, to the table of the powerful. And it empowered a generation of Tribal leaders to stand tall and demand what was legally, by US Treaty, theirs.

He never stopped fighting for the environment and it’s iconic and real symbol, the salmon.

If you want to hear his words, here is a good start, both for the history of the Treaty Rights battle, his own struggles, and the perspective of activism on behalf of the Salish Sea. I recorded them as part of the Northwest Straits Annual Conference in 2012. The talk was entitled:”Treaty Rights At Risk”. Introduced by Terry Williams.
https://soundcloud.com/mountainstone/2012-nw-straits-annual-1

Billy’s last column for the Northwest Indian Fisheries
http://nwifc.org/2014/05/keep-big-oil-grays-harbor/

His Facebook page, with his latest issues. Worth a look at what is important now. https://www.facebook.com/billyfrankjr

His autobiography, which is a very interesting read for anyone interested in the NW history.
http://www.amazon.com/Where-Salmon-Legacy-Billy-Frank-ebook/dp/B0088QPXA0

It was a great honor to have met him briefly on a couple of occasions. He always shook my hand, looked me in the eye and said hi, and thanks. Thank you Billy Frank Jr. for a life well lived. We are all in your debt forever.

“I hope I can live to be 120 because it’s going to take that long to turn this ship around…You got to be very patient at what we are doing…I talked to the President, the Department of Interior, Secretaries of Commerce, the Governor, and a lot of these people are talking the happy talk, ‘Oh we love salmon, we love Puget Sound, we love to go fishing, all the business community loves salmon’ but then no one does anything about it. No one is in charge. So that’s why we are here…If the United States Government doesn’t take back their authority, we are gone. There will be no fish. But this is our country. All of us. So how are we going to make it happen? That change. You have to make it happen. We have to make it happen. We all have to keep the pressure on the United States Government to make that change. We haven’t seen a change yet, but…we are going to see a change. So here we are. You guys are so important to everything we do. I just want to thank you.” Billy Frank Jr. 2012

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Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference ends: Now What? Thoughts by Mike Sato

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Like all good things, the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference came to an end on Friday, and it no doubt left those who experienced the entire three days of speeches, presentations and festivities exhilarated and as exhausted as conference organizers. Even for those who came for a day, the proceedings proved edifying and sometimes entertaining.

Read the rest of the story at:

http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2014/05/ssec14-day-3-now-what.html?showComment=1399308810008#c6734582238165918525

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Thanks and good luck to Brady Scott

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Brady Scott, the Aquatic District Manager for our district in the Department of Natural Resources is leaving DNR for greener pastures. Here’s part of his goodbye email. We wish him well.

Dear Associates: I would like to share with you that I am resigning from DNR, my last day is May 19, 2014. I will be moving to Bellingham where I got a job with the Port as their new Marine Trades Real Estate Representative. It is an exciting opportunity and a return to a wonderful community for both my wife and I.

Despite my excitement, decisions like this are always bittersweet. I will miss living on the Olympic Peninsula. I have particularly enjoyed all the great people and professional relationships I have gotten to develop over the last seven years. Thank you for helping to make my time here so enjoyable and interesting, and good luck to you in the future.

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New killer video for Sound Action

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Eric Becker is a great video producer from Seattle. Here’s his latest efforts for Sound Action. Don’t know who they are? A new group actually getting stuff done! Watch this film! It’s only one minute long.

SOUND ACTION! from Sound Action on Vimeo.

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EVENT: WHALE EXPERT ERICH HOYT IN PORT TOWNSEND AND PORT ANGELES – May 7 and 8

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Al Bergstein

ON WHALE TRAIL OF ENDANGERED SOUTHERN RESIDENT KILLER WHALES

Noted author and marine conservationist Erich Hoyt is the featured speaker when The Whale Trail’s Orca Tour 2014 comes to the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and to the Port Angeles Red Lion Inn on May 7 and May 8.
ErichHoytForestPhoto60LRes
Hoyt is the author of the books, Orca: The Whale Called Killer and Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, and will speak on “Adventures with Orcas in the North Pacific—From A1 Stubbs to Iceberg, the White Russian Bull.”

“We are living in an era and in a part of the world where whale research has exploded,” says Erich Hoyt. “And we’ve got some amazing orca stories to tell here—mostly positive, some heartbreaking, but all compelling.”

Orca Tour 2014 is a month-long series of event in May that follows The Whale Trail, a series of 50 sites where people in British Columbia and Washington, Oregon and California can view orcas and other marine mammals from shore.

“Extending The Whale Trail down the Pacific coast is an important step that strengthens the Killer Whale sighting network,” said Brad Hanson, NOAA Fisheries wildlife biologist. “At The Whale Trail markers people spend more time looking and they see and report more whales.  I think this is an excellent opportunity for citizen-scientists to provide valuable data on the distribution and seasonal occurrence of Killer Whales, particularly Southern Residents, as well as other species along the U.S. West Coast.”

“The tour is especially timely in light of National Marine Fisheries Service’s recent decision to consider designating the Pacific Coast from Cape Flattery to Point Reyes as part of the Southern Resident Killer Whale critical habitat,” said Donna Sandstrom, executive director of The Whale Trail. “From his early work in Johnstone Strait to his current research in Far East Russia, Erich inspires us all to better protect whales, dolphins, and the world’s oceans.We are thrilled to partner with Erich on this tour, and grateful for the host organizations and sponsors who have made it possible, from BC to California.”

Erich’s talk on May 7 will begin at 5 PM at Fort Worden, Building 204, immediately following the Marine Science Center’s annual meeting. Erich will sell and sign his books at 6:30 following his talk. Admission to the talk is free for Marine Science Center members; admission for adults is $7; youth under 18,  $3. The program is sponsored by the Marine Science Center and The Whale Trail.

In Port Angeles on May 8, Erich’s talk will begin at 7 PM (doors will open at 6:30 PM) at the Port Angeles Red Lion Inn.  Admission to the talk is $5 for adults; children under 12 are free. The program is presented by the Olympic Coast National Marine, the Feiro Marine Life Center and The Whale Trail and cosponsored by Sound Community Bank. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets www.brownpapertickets.com/event/633364

“Like” Orca Tour 2014 on Facebook; Orca Tour information and local event information can be found at http://www.orcatour.org

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Goodbye and thank you to Carol Burns – Northwest Filmmaker

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Al Bergstein

On this 40th anniversary of the Boldt Decision, news has come that filmmaker Carol Burns passed away on April 22nd in Olympia. She was a young filmmaker when she documented the struggles of the native people around Tacoma and Olympia, including Billy Frank Jr. that led up to the legal challenge that became the Boldt Decision. Her film is the only known original documentary footage that tracked the tribal people who were being harassed and arrested along the rivers of that area. Her work will survive as the lasting documentary of that era, as many of the prinicipals have now died, or are elderly. I attempted to get a new, updated documentary done on this last year, talking to many people in Olympia and Seattle, but found no real interest in it among any of the agencies or peoples that were involved. No one had any desire to fund such an independent effort, including the State Historical Society. In ten more years,  the remaining people who could tell the story first person are likely to be gone. I understand that the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission has done video interviews with many of the original tribal participants, but not as a focused documentary film. Hopefully, somewhere down the road an enterprising filmmaker will go to them and work out a way to fund a project to relook at Boldt 40+ years after.

You can watch, “As Long As The Rivers Run” on the Internet Archive here:

https://archive.org/details/AsLongAsTheRiversRun

Part of Carol’s Obituary from the Olympian Newspaper:

Carol M. Burns was born in Olympia, Washington on February 19, 1939, and passed away April 22, 2014. Carol was well known in the Olympia area for her many contributions to the causes that were close to her heart. A filmmaker, she was one of the founders of Capital Area Community Television Association, now in its 32nd year, and known as TCTV. Her best known work is the 1970 film As Long As the Rivers Run, about one Indian family and their struggle to hold on to their treaty rights and traditional way of life. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 10, 2014, at 12:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Olympia. 

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Summer Volunteers Wanted for Trail & Road Survey on the Queets – OFCO

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Al Bergstein
OFCO is looking for volunteers this summer, for important field surveys in the Queets watershed. If you’ve never done this kind of work, don’t worry—we’ll give you all the training you need. It’s a great opportunity to get to know the terrain while doing valuable work and enjoying the good fellowship of like-minded folks.
  OFCO is a long-time proponent of collaborative efforts to protect and restore our beloved Olympic Peninsula forests and streams. One of our most successful recent collaborative efforts has been our citizen road survey and monitoring program on Olympic National Forest (ONF) lands. For the past three years we have collaborated with the ONF and Great Old Broads for Wilderness to conduct surveys on the condition of roads and trails already existing or proposed for reconstruction in the South Fork Skokomish watershed. We have focused surveys on those roads and trails that have the greatest potential to impact the watershed’s streams and rivers and their inhabitants.

Success of this project depends on citizen volunteers-people like you! Even if you have never been a citizen road condition surveyor, we will train you in data collection, GPS use, map and compass reading, and identification of features such as tension cracks and post-construction channel adjustments that can contribute sediment to streams. And, thanks to a generous grant from The Burning Foundation and in-kind contributions of OFCO board members, we will be able to provide food for meals plus accommodations in a lovely cabin overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Each survey expedition will be for three days, with two overnights. The following are dates we are considering for citizen volunteer surveys: July 4-6; August 1-3; August 8-10; and/or August 15-17.
Please contact Shelley at saschar44@gmail.com if you are interested and willing to partake in this important work. It should be fun!

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New law: Septic system inspections required at time of property sale in Clallam County  – PDN

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Al Bergstein

I was pondering this very issue as I drove through the Sequim valley last week. Thousands of homes, virtually all of them on septic systems, and the knowledge that the beaches around the Dungeness estuary, Spit and surrounding areas are often closed to shellfish harvest because of fecal coliform levels. While many, if not most septics are fine, having at least a check every time a sale is transacted is a good start.  The thing to remember is that there is groundwater under there. At some point a failing system is likely to affect it.

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20140428/NEWS/304289982/new-law-septic-system-inspections-required-at-time-of-property-sale

A septic system inspection will be required at the time of a property sale under a revised Clallam County sewage code that takes effectThursday (May 1). 

 

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Washington state tribes ask for action on climate change – Tacoma News Tribune

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Tribal leaders continue to push the Federal Government to do more to protect them (and us!) from climate change. Again, we see that the Tribes take a leading role when the rest of us are off trying to stop coal trains, etc.

Representatives of nine Washington Indian tribes told Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Thursday that consequences of climate change are threatening their economies and cultures and that they need federal help to deal with intensifying climate-related problems. The tribes, with low-lying reservations on Washington’s ocean coast and along Puget Sound, said rising sea levels caused by global warming, ocean acidification and more severe weather patterns are endangering the natural resources on which their cultures are based. Rob Carson reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/04/24/3164916/state-tribes-ask-for-climate-action.html

 

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Feds weigh protecting orcas off Pacific coast – Komo & San Juan Journal

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Setting up for a showdown with the military over protecting the Orca?  

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Feds-weigh-protecting-orcas-off-Pacific-coast-256578531.html

NOAA Fisheries is weighing whether to protect endangered orcas in the waters off the West Coast. The federal agency said Thursday it would consider a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity seeking to expand the critical habitat for southern resident killer whales. NOAA has already designated inland waters of Washington as critical to orca conservation, but the group’s petition says offshore areas from Cape Flattery, Wash., to Point Reyes, Calif., should now be added as critical habitat. Such a designation would require federal officials to limit activities that harm the whales.

(Associated Press) See also: Fate of orcas? Depends on fish—and lately, both have been scarce http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/256441941.html (San Juan Journal)

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Watching Starfish Waste Away – Not much new news – Salish Sea Communications

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Al Bergstein

Mike Sato, my East Sound compatriot reporting on issues there in his blog, Salish Sea Communications, went to a lecture by Dr. Ben Miner, who is researching the starfish wasting disease.

(Bellingham) Those of us who might have wanted Dr. Ben Miner of Western Washington University to identify the mysterious disease that is killing starfish along the Pacific West Coast would have left his talk last Tuesday sadly unsatisfied after an hour or so. Real life and death isn’t like an hour’s episode of CSI. As with all good, rigorous science, establishing what isn’t the cause is as important as hypothesizing what might be the cause.

Mike mentions in his reporting that the disease could be either bacterial or viral, then quotes the Dr. as saying that they have protected starfish with antibiotics. If that’s true, then it’s not a virus, which would not respond to antibiotics. Just to be clear.

Read the rest of the story:
http://salishseacommunications.blogspot.com/2014/04/watching-starfish-waste-away.html

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