Inslee’s commitment to the environment questioned – Everett Herald

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Al Bergstein

I have heard from some that the Governor appears to be jumping on the PR bandwagon a bit too fast in some cases, getting ahead of his own parade. This article seems to point to that issue. While there is no doubt that Inslee is one of the most forceful proponents for the environment in the Governor’s mansion we have ever seen, it seems that closing the circle and working more closely with agents of change, will secure the changes he needs to make a difference. Having his own agencies fighting them is not a way forward, and undermines his credibility.

Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee’s strategy as a warrior for the environment is once again coming under fire from other fighters in the environmentalist movement. They’re angry the state Department of Ecology he oversees is appealing a court order requiring new clean air rules be adopted by the end of the year, even though Inslee himself lauded that legal decision in statements issued by his office and campaign last month. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Everett Herald)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20160623/BLOG13/160629712/Inslee’s-commitment-to-the-environment-questioned

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The Life & Times of Wolf Bauer – Podcast

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Al Bergstein

There is nothing more important for Earth Day, than to re-evaluate your commitment to helping be a force for change. One person can have an enormous amount of influence on the future. Here’s the story of a man who never stopped recommitting. A true hero for the environment, as well as many other arenas of life.

I’ve just completed a radio documentary on the life and times of Wolf Bauer in time for celebrating on Earth Day.  It aired in April. Here is the link to the podcast version.

FullSizeRenderThe Life and Times of Wolf Bauer is my one hour radio documentary on the life of a most extraordinary modern outdoorsman, who died in January a month shy of his 104th birthday. Pioneering mountain climber, mountain rescue founder, ceramics engineer, kayak pioneer, coastal geologist, environmentalist. Featuring new interviews with Jim and Lou Whittaker who Wolf mentored, George Yount who flew and kayaked with Wolf, and Jim Johannessen who worked with Wolf on his pioneering shoreline restorations.

 

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Earth Day: a time to consider diverse accomplishments – Chris Dunagan

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Chris Dunagan in Watching Our Water Ways writes: “On this Earth Day, I would like to share some “environmental victories” at the national level, take note of advancements in environmental education at the state and local levels, recognize a global climate accomplishment at the international level and celebrate the birthday of John Muir, a giant in the conservation movement….”

http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2016/04/22/earth-day-a-time-to-consider-diverse-accomplishments/

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Feds Cut Oregon Funds Over Failure To Protect Coastal Waters From Logging  – Earthfix

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Al Bergstein

This is a good thing. I’m glad to see the Federal government use the economic, rather than the legal stick to attempt to change behavior. Unfortunately for the forests, and the coastal streams, some of this comes too late. Would have been nice to have had boots on the ground to make sure the right decisions were made, since obviously the locals logging companies didn’t give a damn. The Oregon Department of Forestry was not created yesterday. They have had the charter to protect streams from destruction by logging for decades now, and apparently haven’t done so.  Has anyone compared their regs to ours? Could we be up for such a lawsuit next? Certainly driving around the Peninsula especially out past Physt could make you think so. The logging there has dumped trees directly into the streams along the south side of the road. It hardly looks like the kind of outcome you would expect.

After warning Oregon that its rules don’t adequately protect water in coastal streams from logging, two federal agencies are denying the state $1.2 million in grant funds. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent a letter this week notifying the state’s natural resources director that Oregon hasn’t done enough to prevent pollution from forestry practices like logging and road building. Cassandra Profita reports. (EarthFix)

http://www.opb.org/news/article/feds-cut-oregon-funds-for-failing-to-protect-coastal-waters-from-logging/

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Elwha Roaring Back to Life – Seattle Times

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Great aerial photography of the new Elwha river and a wonderful story with illustrations. While the jury is still out on the long term viability of the returning salmon runs, it does appear, at this early point, that the project is a success. But we won’t know for sure for probably at least 30 years. In the meantime, enjoy the view, and give thanks to the Lower Elwha Tribe, and the individuals and politicians of both parties here on the Peninsula that supported this effort, funded it, and are helping to restore it. The whole world is really watching this one.

 

ELWHA RIVER — The Elwha watershed is booming with new life, after the world’s largest dam removal.

The first concrete went flying in September 2011, and Elwha Dam was out the following March. Glines Canyon Dam upriver tumbled for good in September 2014. Today the river roars through the tight rock canyon once plugged by Elwha Dam, and surges past the bald, rocky hill where the powerhouse stood. The hum of the generators is replaced by the river singing in full voice, shrugging off a century of confinement like it never happened. Nature’s resurgence is visible everywhere.

http://projects.seattletimes.com/2016/elwha/

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Sequim scientists work to restore eelgrass in Puget Sound  – PDN

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Al Bergstein

Many of us on the Peninsula are helping to protect and better understand eel grass. In Port Townsend, the local Marine Resources Committee (of which I currently am chair) has been managing the Eelgrass Protection Buoys, helping boaters understand the right spot to anchor to protect the remaining eel grass, which is home to all sorts of underwater life. There’s a lot left to know about restoring it.

Local scientists are lending their expertise to offset the global decline of seagrass by studying and restoring eelgrass throughout Puget Sound. To help address this decline, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Sciences Lab in Sequim are working with the state on restoring eelgrass throughout the Puget Sound…. Eelgrass is recognized by the Puget Sound Partnership as both critical habitat and a vital sign of Puget Sound because changes in its abundance or distribution reflect changes in environmental conditions. Alana Lineroth reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20160201/NEWS/302019992/sequim-scientists-work-to-restore-eelgrass-in-puget-sound

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On Malheur, The Peninsula and the real work needed to change things

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Al Bergstein

I came across this article today, from the Salt Lake Tribune by Lesli Allison. It’s important, because it points out what is really happening away from the ego driven takeover by the Bundy’s, now nearing it’s inevitable deadly climax.

It’s relevant to us here as well, because the hard work to get a large number of stakeholders in environmental issues to make change, is not usually headline news. But it is happening all around us. And it is being successful.

If you want to see the good stuff happening in the West, look up one or more of the many rancher-led collaborative efforts such as the Malpai Borderlands Group, the Blackfoot Challenge, the Chama Peak Land Alliance, the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, the Diablo Trust and the California Rangelands Conservation Coalition. Look up the Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award winners, the Sage Grouse Initiative and the Western Landowners Alliance.

Here on the Olympic Peninsula, collaboration between the Tribes, environmental restoration organizations like the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, and local stakeholders like the Dungeness River Management Team, continue to spend years in meetings to come up with innovative programs that get funded by agencies like the Puget Sound Partnership, EPA, and others. Many of us joke about the endless meetings, but we understand the importance of coming to agreement over the science of an issue, and usually those who attack us from the community, haven’t taken the time to get involved, learn the science and help build consensus.

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to participate in a long rang planning meeting for the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee. The Committee, which advises the Jefferson County Commissioners on aquatic issues, is made up of a very active group of volunteers representing a wide range of local interests. From Taylor Shellfish, Washington State University Extension Program, marine scientists and researchers, the marine trades, recreational boating, representatives of the citizens of the various political districts, along with the Port of Port Townsend, the City of Port Townsend, and environmental activists, we do our best to better understand our shorelines. We try and come to consensus on sticky environmental issues,  involve ourselves in marine projects to expand the science based work we value, and educate the public, who we represent.  We don’t always agree on everything, and there are some intense debates on key issues. But we work things through, and either choose to agree or not.  There are a lot of meetings, often about educating our members and the public to an issue, but we try our best to make it fun and bring in knowledgeable speakers. We also  get to get out on the beach and waters a lot. That’s one of the payoffs.

So while there are a vocal minority in the American west that refuse to work cooperatively to solve problems, the Bundy’s of this world usually end up just hurting their own cause. What you might not have heard reported was that the community  around Burns had been working on a collaborative agreement with BLM for a number of years. It was coming to an end, public comment had been asked for, and community meetings had been planned for January, before the Bundy’s blundered in and got a lot of the locals upset. Now that the standoff is ending, the community will likely get back to the hard work of figuring out the right land management plan for all, given the legal constraints of science based management, which  the courts have almost always supported when challenged. Intimidating people with guns to get your way, is not the way of the west anymore. And most of the real positive work that has ever been done out here, when you read the histories, has been collaborative, with communities coming together, not being torn apart.

The unfortunate thing is that many people live behind their computers or TVs for most of their news, and get that news from outlets like Fox that manipulate it and highlight divisiveness for their own reasons. In many places it is getting harder and harder to get people to come out and participate in their democracy. Often boards don’t have full representation for months on end. Do yourself a favor and get involved if you aren’t already. Oh, and while you are at it, take time to vote.

 

Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, Environmental Protection, Puget Sound | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

New report adds billions to cost of oil spill off B.C.’s south coast – Vancouver Sun

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Al Bergstein

The bad seeds planted under the Harper Administration in Canada continue to sprout. Once again we see that a Canadian Government risk assessment was far too conservative (lets say they left out a lot) in not assessing the true costs of allowing expansion of oil overseas through the Strait. I’m not clear on whether this assessed the United States costs, as well.

Why should we trade off the possible loss, through a one time event like an Exxon Valdez tanker mistake? Worth remembering is that the mistake was due to human error from a drunk captain, and *may* have been averted by tanker escort and local pilots, which Washington State put in place and has used successfully since that disaster. Canada does no such thing, and relies on the best intentions of industry, which has rarely paid for the actual cost to the public for their errors.

The track record of the British Columbia environmental protection agencies is dismal, especially under Christie Clark, as can be seen in the lack of any real followup after the disastrous tail pond collapse of Mount Polley. It still ranks as the fifth worse tailing pond collapse of all time. So no, I don’t trust the Christie Clark government to do the right thing at all, when it comes to the environment. Especially when it means protecting our joint assets in the Strait. In a year or two she’ll be out of office and working for business concerns again. She just doesn’t care folks.

Environmental and risk assessments for projects that would increase tanker traffic in southwestern B.C. fail to consider billions of dollars in potential social, economic and environmental impacts, according to a new report on the region by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. The environmental assessments required by senior governments are much too narrow and fail to consider the broader impacts of marine traffic on the ecological health of the region, which includes the Strait of Georgia, Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound, argue the authors of the 108-page report Our Threatened Coast. The Salish Sea’s 7,000 kilometres of intricate coastline support ecosystem services from tourism and recreation to flood protection, climate regulation and fish habitat worth tens of billions of dollars, according to studies cited by the authors. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/report+adds+billions+cost+spill+south+coast/11663656/story.html

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12 projects receive state grants to restore Puget Sound shorelines

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Al Bergstein

 Here’s the list with the specifics for Jefferson County. Congratulations to the North Olympic Salmon Coalition

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has begun distributing $8.2 million in funding for 12 local projects designed to protect and restore the natural shorelines around Puget Sound.

Project sponsors include local governments, tribes and non-profit organizations from Hood Canal to the Snohomish River Delta who applied for funding through two competitive grant programs administered by the department.

Funding distributed by WDFW through those programs comes from a combination of state capital funds and federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Projects funded this year involve restoring beaches for fish habitat and public use, correcting barriers that prevent salmon from reaching key spawning and feeding areas, and restoring tidal functions altered by land-use practices over the past century, said Jay Krienitz, who manages WDFW’s Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP).

“Seawalls and other structures line more than a quarter of Puget Sound’s 2,500-mile shoreline,” Krienitz said. “These projects play an important role in restoring the Sound’s natural shorelines, helping to ensure these areas are healthy and productive for fish, wildlife and people.”

Ten projects will be solely funded this year with revenue from the state’s capital construction budget. One project will be funded through EPA grants administered by WDFW’s Marine and Nearshore Grant Program, and another will be funded by both programs.

This year’s funding was directed to qualified projects that will protect and restore Puget Sound shorelines through the removal of bulkheads and protection of bluffs, said Patricia Jatczak, WDFW manager for the EPA grant program.

“Sediment from bluffs is critical in providing new beach material and creating the healthy shorelines necessary for salmon survival,” Jatczak said. “Loss of sediment can lead to reduced breeding habitat for nearshore fish, such as surf smelt, that salmon feed on.”

These grant programs provide many public benefits aside from restoring Puget Sound shorelines and salmon runs, said Krienitz.

“Every $1 million invested in restoration and protection programs, such as ESRP, results in at least 17 jobs and more than $3 million in economic activity,” Krienitz said. “Investments in ESRP projects provide sustainable fish and shellfish populations that support recreational and commercial fishing industries critical to the economies of coastal communities.”

ESRP is a collaboration between WDFW, the Recreation and Conservation Office, and the Puget Sound Partnership.

Here is a summary of the 12 restoration projects funded this year:

JEFFERSON COUNTY
Discovery Bay Restoration ($257,862)
Grant funding will be provided to complete the restoration of 37 acres of shoreline and estuary in the Snow/Salmon Creek estuary and Discovery Bay. Restoration actions include removal and modification of an abandoned railroad grade and associated infrastructure, and removal of dredge spoils and sediment. The area is critical habitat for Hood Canal summer chum salmon, which are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Phase: Implementation
Sponsor: North Olympic Salmon Coalition
Contact: Kevin Long (360) 379-8051

Kilisut Harbor Restoration ($2,000,000)
Grant funding will be provided to remove 450 feet of causeway to connect Kilisut Harbor, a coastal inlet between Indian and Marrowstone islands, with Oak Bay. This project will provide migrating juvenile salmon access to a relatively pristine bay with abundant forage fish and intact eelgrass beds. The project is conditionally approved barring a final report of sediment transport and assurance of adequate channel stability.
Phase: Implementation
Sponsor: North Olympic Salmon Coalition
Contact: Kevin Long (360) 379-8051

West Dabob Bay Restoration ($527,000)
Grant funding will be provided to protect and restore a portion of the Dabob Bay Natural Area, one of the highest quality estuarine embayments remaining in Puget Sound. Three adjoining residential parcels along Dabob Bay at the mouth of Anderson Creek will be acquired by Northwest Watershed Institute and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (as match to the ESRP grant). The project involves removing a 400-foot long rock bulkhead along the shoreline, tideland fill, a boat ramp and shoreline structure. In addition, the project includes re­shaping the low bank shoreline and meandering a 1,000 feet of lower Anderson Creek where it joins Dabob Bay.
Phase: Design and implementation
Sponsor: Northwest Watershed Institute
Contact: Peter Bahls (360) 385-6786

MASON COUNTY
Beard’s Cove Restoration ($409,000 – Funded with federal EPA grant dollars)
Grant funding will be provided for the restoration of nearshore and estuarine habitat in Lynch Cove, on the Union River Estuary in Hood Canal. The project will restore up to 1,550 feet of natural shoreline and 1,200 feet of tidal channels, and approximately 7.3 acres of tidal marsh/estuary habitat. The restoration will include the acquisition of approximately 2 acres of Beards Cove Community Organization property that presently contains derelict structures and fill. The restoration, along with a 7-acre conservation easement donation, will reconnect 1.7 miles of contiguous, preserved estuarine habitat.
Phase: Implementation
Sponsor: Great Peninsula Conservancy
Contact: Kate Kuhlman (360) 373-3500

Skokomish Delta Restoration ($1,231,929)
Grant funding will be provided to reconnect forested wetlands to the Skokomish River estuary by removing existing barriers to stream flow and salmon. This project, which will significantly increase the area of wetlands critical for juvenile salmon, includes 17 new stream crossings and restoration of 0.5 miles of existing stream habitat.  The overall goal is to restore quality and diverse habitat to the estuary.
Phase: Implementation
Sponsor: Mason Conservation District
Contact: Gavin Glore (360) 427-9436, ext. 120

PUGET SOUND-WIDE
Prioritization for Bluffline Structure Protection ($149,621)
Grant funding will be provided to identify actions that will help manage coastal erosion and reduce risk of damage to private and public property. Coastal Geologic Services will compile, augment, and analyze a geodatabase of long-term coastal bluff erosion rates in Puget Sound. This information will be used to characterize risk to properties, identify priority sites to remove shoreline armor, and inform protective strategies involving setback regulations and easement acquisitions.
Phase: Feasibility
Sponsor: Coastal Geologic Services
Contact:  Andrea McClennan (360) 671-6654

Identifying Target Beaches for Restoration and Protection (*$34,685.)
Grant funding will be provided to develop a consistent and strategic regional approach for directing site-level restoration and protection proposals for Puget Sound beaches. This effort will provide new and refined spatial data and tools to natural resource managers and local organizations working to restore and protect Puget Sound beach systems. (*Only partial funding due to current level of remaining ESRP funds.)
Phase: Feasibility
Sponsor: Coastal Geologic Services
Contact:  Andrea McClennan (360) 671-6654

 

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Event: JeffCo Democrats discuss Marbled Murrelet Resolution – 10/27

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Al Bergstein
Tuesday, October 27, JCD Membership Meeting, Program and Business Meeting on Murrelet Resolution, 
Port Townsend Community Center, 7 p.m.
Following a presentation by Kevin Schmelzlen (Murrelet Survival Project) and Peter Bahls (Northwest Watershed Institute

), the members will meet to discuss a resolution regarding Survival of the Marbled Murrelet. Here are the meeting agenda, minutes of last meeting, and the resolution.
The Marbled Murrelet is more than a cute little bird. This threatened species is in decline in Washington, partly because our state has taken a very long time to adopt public policies for managing our mature and ancient forests, a source of revenue for the state and local governments, in a way that provides for its long-term survival.
If passed, the resolution calls on the state to immediately adopt a long-term survival plan for the marbled murrelet, and it calls on the  Board of County Commissioners to speak up, as well. If passed, the resolution would also go forward to the Washington State Democrats for their consideration in January.

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Judge dismisses lawsuit against easement that blocks ‘pit-to-pier’ project on Hood Canal – PDN

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Al Bergstein

And so it goes. The Pit to Pier people never seem to give up, and seem to have an inexhaustible amount of money to spend fighting anything that stands in their way. I wonder if this is the end of the line for them though?

A federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Navy challenging a conservation easement that would block development of a 998-foot pier and gravel-loading project sought by Hood Canal Sand and Gravel. U. S. District Judge Benjamin Settle on Tuesday granted a motion to dismiss, ruling that the Navy did not exceed its authority in granting the 55-year easement on state-owned tidelands along Hood Canal…. The easement is an agreement between the Navy and the state Department of Natural Resources announced in July 2014 that would block development on more than 4,800 acres of state land along Hood Canal, stretching from the Hood Canal Bridge south to just below the border between Jefferson and Mason counties. (Peninsula Daily News)

lhttp://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150903/NEWS/150909989/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-easement-that-blocks-pit-to-pier

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Coordinated Assault on Endangered Species Act – Audubon

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Al Bergstein

We’ve known that the Republican controlled Congress has been working to catch up with the Canadian government’s destruction of environmental regulations. Now Audubon puts it in context.

America’s strongest and most important law for protecting wildlife, the Endangered Species Act, is under a coordinated assault. Since January, over 30 bills and amendments have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate that would dismantle the Act, including eight extreme bills in the Senate that received a hearing last week.

http://www.audubonaction.org/site/News2?abbr=aa_&page=NewsArticle&id=6293&pgwrap=n&autologin=true&utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2015-05-14-advisory#skip_interests

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Jefferson County SMP to finally be adopted! Dec 16th

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Al Bergstein

No really! After local adoption, the County will then forward the new Shoreline Master Program (SMP)  to Ecology for final adoption and anticipates the new program will be in effect by mid-January 2014.

From Michelle McConnell of the Department of Community Development:

Monday, December 16, 2013

City of Port Townsend’s Cotton Building

(former Police station)

607 Water Street – downtown

See the Board’s agenda (to be posted on Friday) for final estimated time (likely ~ 10:30am). The meeting is open to the public – please note this is not a public hearing.

This has been a long and collaborative project for our community and your involvement has been important – whether you just tuned-in or have been following this for years, whether just tracking progress via web & email updates, submitting comments, attending the many public hearings and outreach events, or participating in the extensive advisory committees and Planning Commission process.  The result is an updated Shoreline Master Program that is robust and flexible, rooted in current science, reflective of local values, and better able to address the diversity of our approximate 500 miles of lake, river, and saltwater shorelines under SMP jurisdiction.  The SMP gives us all a much-improved toolbox for allowing appropriate waterfront development in balance with our fragile natural resources:  Let’s Do More With Our Shores:  Protect – Use – Develop – Restore!

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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