Olympic Peninsula Environmental News

As usual, veteran reporter on Puget Sound, Chris Dunagan, gets it right. A good overview of the issues involved in getting cancer causing chemicals out of the Sound.

When it comes to eliminating toxic pollution from our waterways and the foods we eat, almost everyone agrees that the best idea is to track down the chemicals, find out how they are getting into the environment and then make decisions about how to handle the situation. It’s all common sense until politics comes into play. Chris Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

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http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2015/04/11/reducing-toxics-in-fish-involves-politics-maybe-more-than-science/

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Just the other day a friend was trying to tell me that the emergency tug was no longer being funded out in Neah Bay. It appears he was wrong. Even so, to be adrift for two hours, especially if it it happened in 30 knot winds and incoming tide, could have been a disaster.

A Navy Military Sealift Command cargo ship was towed into Port Angeles on Saturday after it lost power overnight in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The 685-foot Cape Intrepid was undergoing sea trials after a long period docked in Tacoma when it lost power about 2:30 a.m. Saturday north of Clallam Bay in Canadian waters, according to the Coast Guard. Clallam Bay is 50 miles west of Port Angeles. Coast Guard Lt. Ben Weber said the Cape Intrepid drifted about two miles before the emergency tug Jeffrey Foss reached it approximately two hours later. (Peninsula Daily News)

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http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150413/NEWS/304139974/navy-cargo-ship-towed-into-port-angeles-harbor-after-losing-power-in

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Important news for fisheries and our salmon stock, along with the forage fish they rely on it.

A new study shows for the first time that fishing likely worsens population collapses in species of forage fish, including herring, anchovies and sardines. Some of the largest fisheries in the world target these species, and these “baitfish” are also a key source of food for larger marine animals, including salmon, tuna, seabirds and whales. Scientists have long known about wide fluctuations in the abundance of forage fish, including the occasional population collapse. But they had not figured out whether collapses were entirely natural or related to fishing. The study, published April 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, implicates fishing in the collapse of forage fish stocks and recommends risk-based management tools that would track a fishery’s numbers and suspend fishing when necessary. Michelle Ma reports. (UW Today)

http://www.washington.edu/news/2015/04/06/fishing-amplifies-forage-fish-collapses/

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The Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, the people who have been fighting the Navy’s expansion and noise issues on Whidbey Island for decades, put together this short list of facts that are worth noting. Those of us on the Olympic Peninsula, especially those who might be affected by the Navy’s latest expansion of electronic warfare training, should clearly understand what they are facing with the proposed expansion of the Whidbey base. We do have a choice, at least on paper, to stop this expansion. So here’s some facts to think about when the Navy (or our politicians) claims that they can ‘mitigate’ the noise.

• The Navy has never had a requirement for engine noise in the design of engines for jet aircraft.

• Low-level Growler flight noise exceeds ALL National & State standards for noise emissions. Third party noise testing at real sites under real jets proves just how loud these jets really are.

• Growler afterburners increase jet noise levels by 5 to 10 dB. These occur during touch & goes.

• Aircraft noise exposure is a hazard that poses a significant public health risk for hearing loss, hypertension and stress. University of Washington researchers conducted a survey of articles on Aircraft Noise and Adult Health Impacts.  They found that noise causes hearing loss, stress hormones, immune toxicity, psychosocial impacts and cognition, cardiac implications such as, heart attacks and death.
• The Navy’s Auditors found:
  • According to Navy evaluators, the EA-18G emits, a maximum of 150 dBs. Anything greater than 84 dBs is considered hazardous! According to DOD Instruction 6055.12, at a noise level of 150 dB, the maximum daily exposure time with hearing protection is only 8.9 seconds before permanent hearing loss occurs!
  • The Navy did not attempt to mitigate jet noise hazard in the initial design and development of the aircraft, did not follow required guidance relating to risk levels and risk acceptance authority levels, and have not tracked the flightline/deck jet noise hazard and its residual mishap risk.
  • These conditions may contribute to a hazardous environment of high noise exposure associated with jet aircraft that, according to the Naval Safety Center, increases the likelihood of permanent hearing loss. Mitigation of these known noise levels was not pursued, as noted in this report, because of the costs to retrofit these aircraft with chevrons.

• According to Navy personnel Growler Hush Houses only hush about 120 operations out of 76,000 operations at NASWI. As a result, the San Juan’s get blasted with Growler noise, day & night.

• Chevrons cut Growlers noise ONLY by about 2.5 to 3dB and the financial cost is HIGH! The JSF Joint Program Office initiated a study to investigate reducing the F-35 near-field personnel noise and far-field community noise. It was the conclusion of the study that … at best they only offer a few decibels (dB) of reduction and even less for the peak noise at a distance of 1,000ft from the aircraft.

• The Navy wants 122 to 136 Growlers at NASWI. Flight paths are getting bigger, more jets fly more hours & noise is more constant. Add P8 training and Cumulative Noise becomes a bigger problem.

• Growlers are conducting Electronic Warfare Training over Whidbey and the Olympic National Forest – the ONLY stationary electromagnetic emitter is at OLF & it could be affecting your health.

• The “Navy was here first” claim is not only wrong but also a misrepresentation of facts. Even if “first” were to be logical and establish a cast-in-stone priority of sorts, the aboriginal population of Whidbey Island would be first, the European settlers second, and the historic town of Coupeville third, the Navy being a relative Johnny-come-lately, not arriving until the 1940s.

• There are many alternative fields for the Navy to use as a super-jet training site and/or for FCLP training. For 11 months the Navy used alternative sites – they could do this training elsewhere.

• The Navy’s Northwest Training & Testing Center along with Growler’s live-fire testing will severely impact birds, fish and mammals in Puget Sound, including our critically endangered Orcas.

• The facts are there — to show the millions of dollars that will be lost to tourism, outdoor recreation, the arts, agriculture and other sectors of the economy as a result of Growlers & unprecedented Navy expansion.

Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound | 5 Comments »

We cannot be too complacent. The snowpack in the Olympics is very low, and we are likely to be drawing water from the reservoir lake much earlier this year than prior years. The PT paper mill has committed to reducing their water usage by 2 million gallons a day, but if the rivers run too low, that will be an optimistic projection.  California, meanwhile is in crisis, and will face a very long hot summer. Life as they knew, will not be the same this year. But since CA produces a vast amount of the nations’ food, there are much more critical concerns than whether they can maintain golf courses (many of which already use recycled water).

California Governor Jerry Brown ordered statewide mandatory water saving measures Wednesday. Water managers are preparing for drought in Oregon and Washington state as well. Washington and Oregon’s governors have already declared drought emergencies in select counties where farmers depend on runoff for irrigation. In Olympia, a drought and water supply committee that has been dormant for years has been reconvened. Tom Banse reports. (KUOW)

http://kuow.org/post/western-drought-response-kicks-higher-gear

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And this also impacts survival of the Orca.

Nations around the Pacific Ocean may have to cap the number of hatchery salmon they release if sockeye salmon runs are to return to sustainable levels, according to a new study. Record high numbers of pink salmon in the North Pacific coincided with the disastrously small 2009 Fraser River sockeye return, while the unexpectedly large 2010 sockeye return interacted with 40-per-cent fewer pinks, said Brendan Connors, co-author of the article published by the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. The findings have implications for fisheries management and hatchery programs in Russia and Alaska that produce most of the five billion hatchery fish released into the Pacific each year. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

http://www.vancouversun.com/More+news+wild+sockeye/10938957/story.html

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More good news for the ongoing work to create significant wildlife corridors on the west end of the Peninsula. Good reason  to renew your Nature Conservancy membership!

The Nature Conservancy has purchased 3,184 acres of Rayonier timberlands in the Hoh River drainage in a $7 million acquisition that is part of a broader forest-restoration effort on the Olympic Peninsula. The land sale, which closed Monday, will help in the creation of a 32-mile conservation corridor extending from the Olympic National Park to the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/conservancy-buys-7m-in-timberland-on-olympic-peninsula/

Here’s the Nature Conservancy’s press release.

FORKS, WA | March 31, 2015

The Nature Conservancy has purchased 3,184 acres along the Hoh River near the Washington coast from Rayonier, the two organizations announced today.

The purchase is part of a Nature Conservancy initiative to increase salmon populations, promote sustainable economies and restore temperate rainforest on the Washington coast.

This $7,004,800 acquisition, which closed Monday, March 30, builds on work by the Hoh River Trust, which owns 6,800 acres along the Hoh River, to create a 32-mile conservation corridor extending from Olympic National Park to the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Home to old-growth and temperate rain forest, the Hoh River corridor provides critical habitat for marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, bald eagle, and bull trout. It also supports some of the healthiest native salmon and steelhead runs in the lower 48 states.

“On the Washington Coast, generations have drawn their livelihoods from a wealth of natural resources—abundant salmon and trees that grow faster than anywhere else in the world,” said Mike Stevens, Washington State Director for The Nature Conservancy. “We’re working with local communities to ensure that these wild salmon rivers and forests will continue to provide recreation and sustainable livelihoods for generations to come.”

“The Hoh River Trust is pleased to welcome The Nature Conservancy to the Hoh Valley,” said Randy Messenbrink of Forks, president of the Hoh River Trust. “Just as we have endeavored to create a restored and open land corridor we are confident The Nature Conservancy holds these shared values and bring a great synergy to the Hoh River, the Forks community and the greater West End.”

“We’re pleased to again partner with The Nature Conservancy to preserve, for future generations, this important regional forest landscape and the fish and wildlife habitat it will protect,” said David Nunes, Rayonier president and CEO. “In addition to safeguarding salmon habitat, this project connects a large forested landscape from the mountains to the sea. The responsible stewardship provided by generations of Rayonier foresters since the 1940s makes this partnership possible. I would like to thank and acknowledge the collaborative work between the Conservancy and our team for their creative and innovative approach to this transaction resulting in an economically viable agreement that will not only keep the land ecologically healthy, but also in a forestland cover.”

This acquisition is made possible with support from the Wyss Foundation, the Norcliffe Foundation, and other private donors and supporters.

“Everyone should have the chance to gaze up at the towering cedars of the Olympic Peninsula and experience the wild steelhead runs of the Hoh River,” said Hansjörg Wyss, who started the Wyss Foundation in 1998. “Thanks to the foresight and leadership of local communities, future generations will be able to hike, hunt, and explore the remarkable rainforests of the Hoh River from its source in Olympic National Park all the way to the Pacific Ocean.”

The Hoh is one of four major river systems flowing from summit to sea in the Olympic rainforest. It is expected to offer Pacific salmon and steelhead some refuge from the impacts of climate change.

The Conservancy has also purchased and is restoring forest lands on the Queets and Clearwater rivers, and is working with the Quinault Indian Nation for restoration of forests on the Quinault River. Together with the earlier acquisitions on the Queets and Clearwater rivers, the Conservancy is now managing 11,130 acres of forest lands in Jefferson County. Conservancy foresters and ecologists have developed long-term plans that include planting trees, restoring important salmon and wildlife habitat, and sustainable long-rotation timber harvest where it makes sense, said Stevens. All these activities generate jobs in coastal communities.

The Conservancy plans to maintain a forest designation and pay property taxes on this land.

Farther south on the Washington Coast, the Conservancy owns and manages nearly 8,000 acres at the Ellsworth Creek Preserve adjoining Willapa National Wildlife Refuge on Willapa Bay. The Conservancy also owns 47,921 acres of forest land in the Central Cascades east of Snoqualmie Pass.

All the Conservancy’s land on the Washington Coast continues to be open to public and tribal use for hunting, fishing, traditional gathering of plants and medicines, boating, birding, hiking, and other coastal outdoor activities.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working in Washington and around the world to protect the lands and waters on which all life depends. Visit The Nature Conservancy’s Washington Program on the web at washingtonnature.org.

Rayonier is a leading international land resources company primarily engaged in timberland management and the sale of real estate. Rayonier owns, leases or manages approximately 2.7 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S. and New Zealand. Rayonier is structured as a real estate investment trust. To date, Rayonier has joined with conservation experts to ensure more than 200,000 acres of forestland will remain in conservation for future generations.

More information is available at www.rayonier.com.

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Research on algae fuel.

Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Sciences Laboratory are working to develop a new, low-cost process to draw carbon dioxide out of the air to grow algae that can be refined into alternative gasoline and jet fuel. The beauty of fuel derived from algae is that it is “carbon-neutral,” meaning that the amount of carbon dioxide, or CO2, released when it is burned is equivalent to the amount the algae consumes during growth.  If it were cheap enough to be in mass production, algae-derived fuel could, scientists say, put the brakes on emission into the atmosphere of CO2, which accounted for 82 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2012, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Chris McDaniel reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150329/NEWS/303299986/algae-into-energy-new-process-studied-at-sequim-lab-could-lead-to

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Things are changing far faster than hoped for or even anticipated. It seems that we are in for a very unusual year.  There is just no way for many creatures to cope with this fast a change.

It’s a double-whammy kind of year for the Pacific. An unusually warm winter in Alaska failed to chill ocean waters. Then this winter’s El Nino is keeping tropical ocean temperatures high. Combine these and scientists are recording ocean temperatures up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average off the coasts of Oregon and Washington. Jes Burns reports. (KUOW)

http://kuow.org/post/warm-ocean-temperatures-could-mean-trouble-marine-life

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The Canadian Government and the RCMP employ techniques that would make a communist dictator like Stalin proud, all in an  attempt to intimidate a professor who happened to take photos of a proposed controversial pipeline route . This outrageous behavior is indicative of the ongoing decline in democracy for the sake of business profits in what was once one of the most progressive nations on earth. The majority of Canadian citizens continue to appear sleep walk into a what can only be considered by tactics like this to be  a future totalitarian state.

A B.C. climate change scientist says he got an “intimidating” call from RCMP because he had taken pictures on Burnaby Mountain near the site of a proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline. Tim Takaro, a health sciences professor at SFU, says he was having lunch in Tofino with his family on Wednesday when his daughter’s cellphone rang…. He says the officer asked him if he had recently had been taking photos near a TransMountain pipeline work site on Burnaby Mountain. They also told him they knew he had been to protest rallies that had taken place there a few months earlier. (CBC)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sfu-prof-tim-takaro-gets-in-trouble-for-taking-photos-near-kinder-morgan-site-1.2993421

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It’s been reported that Northwest Straits Foundation Executive Director Robyn Du Pre has lost her battle with cancer. There will be a longer obituary in the near future. But my heart goes out to her family and close circle of friends. She was a unique woman and I consider it an honor to have worked with her in the efforts of protecting the Salish Sea. Words cannot convey my sense of loss and true sadness for all of us. Goodbye Robyn. We already have missed you. We will carry on your work.

From Ginnie Broadhurst, the Executive Director of The Northwest Straits Commission

Dear Northwest Straits Commission members and MRC staff, It is with great sadness that I share news that Robyn du Pre passed away on Monday evening at home after fighting a courageous battle with cancer.  Robyn served as Executive Director of the Northwest Straits Foundation from November 2012 through this past summer.  She was a close friend, colleague and exemplary leader to many of us.   Previous to her work at the NWS Foundation she was Exec Director at RE Sources for sustainable communities in Bellingham.  She was a life-long environmental advocate, naturalist and adventurer.

I’ve attached a photo of Robyn taken just this past January as she and her husband launched a kayak that she was building.  She is greatly missed.

Robyn made it very clear that she did not want a memorial service nor did she have requests for donations.  For those of you who knew Robyn, I think that  the best gift that we can provide to her and her family is to carry on the work that was vital to her – keeping our environment healthy for ourselves and future generations.  Please join me in carrying her work and her legacy forward.

Joan Drinkwin, has been acting as Interim Director of NWS Foundation since Robyn stepped down to fight her cancer. A search is ongoing for a full term ED.

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