Clallam County Marine Resources Committee offers paid internships!

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Al Bergstein

Due date extended!

Do you enjoy doing citizen science work in our community? Do you want to earn while you learn? This year the Clallam Marine Resources Committee is expanding their internship program by offering two internships for Summer 2022.

The duration of the internships is approximately 80 hours @ $15/hr. with most of the work to be completed between June – August 2022. The interns will work closely with MRC members, Makah, Jamestown Biologists on one or more of these projects:

  • Green Crab Trapping and Removal: The intern will assist the Makah Tribe’s Marine Ecology program with their efforts to trap invasive European green crab in estuaries on the Makah Reservation. The internship will include both fieldwork and office/lab work.
  • Olympia Oyster monitoring: The intern will assist Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Natural Resource Department with all aspects of Olympia Oyster surveys and monitoring. The internship will include both fieldwork and office/lab work.
  • Other: Pigeon Guillemot colony monitoring, kelp surveys via kayak, shellfish biotoxin sampling,data entry and other duties as assigned.

The interns will present their work at the Intern Celebration August 15, 2022.

If you are interested in being an intern, we recommend you browse the MRC website http://www.clallamcountymrc.org/ for more background, and then submit a letter of intent to the Clallam MRC at rebecca.mahan@co.clallam.wa.us or 223 East 4th St. Suite 5, Port Angeles, WA 98362. The application due date for the two internships is May 27, 2022.

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Volunteers Needed for Seabird Monitoring Program (June – August)

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Al Bergstein

Looking for some fun volunteer opportunities this summer?

Do you enjoy watching wildlife and early morning solitude? If so please consider being a one day per week volunteer monitoring breeding and feeding behavior of Pigeon Guillemots along beach segments in Clallam County (this is part of a regional Salish Sea citizen science program[http://www.pigeonguillemot.org]).

Training (or refresher training) will be provided before surveys begin in early June. Volunteers commit to one morning hour each week for 10 weeks (through August). The Clallam Marine Resources Committee and Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society hope that sufficient numbers of returning and/or new volunteers will allow for substitutes for those taking summer vacations.

If interested, please contact Ed Bowlby (edbowlby2@gmail.com). Thanks for considering being a volunteer and please alert others who might be interested.

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Mussels fetched from Kitsap waters give insight into contamination – Kitsap Sun

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Al Bergstein

For many years Mussel Watch has been the method by which we have been able to monitor the water quality  throughout Puget Sound by  looking at the contaminants in our shellfish. During my time on the Jefferson County Marine Resources committee we petitioned and got a muscle watch station in Discovery Bay and other locations during the cycle that ended in 2017.

Work being done by this program is absolutely critical in understanding both where we are now and whether or not we’re making progress in making the waters of the Salish Sea cleaner. The findings are concerning, and should be of particular concern to feeding large amounts of shellfish to children. Much more research needs to be done to better understand what the levels found in these results actually mean to long term ingestion of them.

“Results from the last cycle — in 2017 — showed that Puget Sound has particles from fuel and laundry detergent, and 100% of sites tested showed a presence of antibiotics used for livestock. All sites also tested positive for antidepressant medication, said Mariko Langness, WDFW fish and wildlife biologist.”

Kitsap Sun

https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2020/03/04/mussels-fetched-kitsap-waters-give-insight-into-contamination/4925353002/

 

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Phil Johnson won’t run, Kate Dean steps up

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Al Bergstein

News in the Port Townsend Leader that long time County Councilman Phil Johnson has decided not to run for office. Phil has held the post for three terms. In his wake, District 1 sees the first candidate to emerge for his position, Kate Dean. Kate has lived in the District for 17 years, she is a well respected business person as well as an active parent in the community . She also currently runs the North Olympic Peninsula Conservation and Development Council. For a more in-depth overview of her background and credentials, see the story in the Port Townsend Leader at

http://www.ptleader.com/news/kate-dean-announces-for-bocc/article_0c40bce0-f601-11e5-b530-47035fa6e752.html

I have known Kate and her work for a couple of years, and have the highest respect for her. I believe she would be an excellent County Commissioner, both balancing the needs of businesspeople with those of the rural parts of the county. Additionally, her work on Climate Change recently was exceptional, and her environmental credentials are first rate. I have not heard who else is going to run, but Kate would be an outstanding replacement for Phil.

Phil will be sorely missed. He has been a long time champion of environmental concerns and I’ve worked with him on the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) and on the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee (MRC). He has been key in fighting net pens in Jefferson County and his background as a fisherman brought great credence to his point of view. Best of luck to Phil and to Kate!

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New shoreline restoration project in Jefferson County – NW Straits.org

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Al Bergstein

It was a blustery day when Jefferson MRC members, Northwest Straits Commission and Northwest Straits Foundation staff, and others recently toured the site of beach restoration planned at Fort Townsend State Park. The MRC is partnering with Washington State Parks and the Foundation to restore shoreline that has been dramatically altered by rip rap, decommissioned military wharves, and related construction. Spawning herring and surf smelt have been documented close by.

The project design is now out for bid; work will restore forage fish habitat and improve access to the beach for kayakers and other visitors.

www.nwstraits.org

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Will term limits lead to MRC overhaul? – San Juan Journal

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Al Bergstein

Why is this story important to the Peninsula? Because as we in Jefferson County debate the possible conversion to a Charter County, the San Juans, which converted to a Charter County in the middle of the last decade, are now in the process of politicizing their advisory committees because the Tea Party activists that now control the county have chosen to do so. Folks, as we look at the choice of whether to turn Charter, the hard reality is that it is very likely to have severe unintended consequences. While the current process here seems to be pushed by liberals, the outcome is not guaranteed to be environmental leaning.

NOTE: There is an active comments section on this story. Feel free to read it and join in.

A newly established policy that ushered in term limits to San Juan County’s numerous advisory committees could lead to a major overhaul of the MRC. Eight positions on the Marine Resources Committee will be appointed by the County Council in the coming weeks and a new MRC coordinator will soon be announced.
On July 30, Philip Green, Robin Hirsch and Chuck Schietinger were appointed to MRC positions 2, 1 and 4, respectively.

The appointments were made without notice or prior naming of the candidates during the final agenda time, titled “County Manager and Clerk Updates.”

Steve Wehrly reports.
http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/220528501.html

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